Great West Trip 2023: Part 3

This is a cross-post from Flyin' the Coop

 

Decision time: Do we go north to Banff, northwest to Glacier, or south to Yellowstone? When I looked at how many miles it was to Banff, it looked like we would spend 6 days just getting there and back to Billings. So, we decided against it. We also decided against Glacier. Cody was of some interest to us, so we made the choice to drive there. The views were well worth it:

This house on top of the butte interested me. It seemed like it was the only house around for miles.

The different colors of the mountains/hills were beautiful.

Again, this sight struck me as interesting!

2 tunnels on the road: it kind of reminded me of Ireland.

After we arrived in Cody, we went by the visitor's center to get information on the town, as well as a recommendation on where to eat lunch. The young lady was most helpful and suggested Irma's. The official name is Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel. Buffalo Bill Cody built the hotel in 1902 and named it after his daughter. The building is a working hotel; the rates are actually quite reasonable. Some of the rooms are historical while some were added on as late as the 1970's. 

The grill was recommended to us for lunch. We split a sandwich and had potato salad for a side. I'm super picky about my potato salad so I try to steer clear of ordering it at a restaurant, but theirs was just like my mom's! Quite a pleasant surprise!

This cherrywood bar was presented to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. She shipped it to the hotel after his performance for her in London.

The fireplace is in the hotel section of the building. It is made from rocks, fossils, ores, and minerals from the Big Horn Basin.

After we ate we visited the Cody Historical Society and learned more about the town. I asked the ladies who were working if any of Buffalo Bill's family still lived in the area. He had 2 descendants (from Irma) who were in the area. One of them steers clear of the Cody name; the other one used it to make his fortune. Sadly, he was killed in an airplane crash. I wasn't able to confirm this by researching on the internet; there isn't much published about the family.

From Cody we headed to Yellowstone. There are several campgrounds along the way. We chose Rex Hale because it is the closest to the park gate that has a bathroom. Although we have a bathroom in the van, it's nice to have one close by so we can empty the cassette toilet before leaving. 

We almost turned around and went back to the Wapiti Campground since it looked like it was better shaded but there was a spot here. The camp host was extremely nice. He is a retired archeologist and was very interesting to talk with. Plus, the vault toilet was the best-smelling vault toilet I've ever been in! He kept it immaculate!

There are no showers, electricity, or other amenities here. But the views are worth it! Maeve looked great in that setting:

It was very quiet and peaceful; exactly what we wanted and needed. The host said there were little to no worries about bears. The North Fork Shoshone River runs behind the campground and if there are any bears to be seen, they would be fishing in the river. We chose not to chance it and stayed away.

That was our big day in Cody. We discussed going back into town before we headed to Yellowstone but then chose to keep going. Yellowstone has to have a post all on its own!