Cody, WY - June 2-5

We were tired of the rainy days in Casper so we changed our itinerary and added Sheridan as well as this short stop in Cody, WY.  Cody was founded in 1896 by Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.  We made a stop in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  It is actually 5 Museums in one: the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Museum of Natural History.

 

 

We loved the mosaic map that helps you to realize why Cody, WY serves as the historic entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

One of our favorite ways to get an overview of anyplace we visit is to take time to see the museum's video.  We weren't disappointed - this was a huge screen providing amazing views of Wyoming!

 

The Buffalo Bill Museum opens with Buffalo.  Buffalo Bill was a successful hunter of buffalo, a one time Army scout, and ringmaster of a worldwide traveling show.  He loved this area and made his home here.  We found it quite interesting that Buffalo Bill Cody was an investor in commercial real estate, city planning and hydro electric power.  We were shocked that although he was quite the entrepreneur, hiring thousands of people for his world renowned show, he died penniless.

 

We really enjoyed the walk through the forest environment in the Draper Natural History Museum.  We loved seeing all of the wildlife we saw in Yellowstone!  Aside from the Bear, Mark's favorite is the pronghorn shown in the second photo collage in the far right corner.

 

In the Western Museum we saw a mock up of the art studio of the famous U.S. artist, Frederick Remington.

 

 

We got to see the Lone Ranger's Colt .45 pistol, Tonto's knife and all the Ponderosa's boys firearms in the Cody Firearms Museum.

 

 

But what really blew us away was the fact that more than 7.000 firearms are housed here.  The museum is currently housing an exclusive collection from the Smithsonian including a musket that was given to Thomas Jefferson.  There were numerous rooms like this one full of differing types of firearms.

 

The highlight of the museum for us was the "Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience."  We got up close with this beautiful golden eagle...

 

... as well as this peregrine eagle.

In Cody, Wyoming you have to make a stop at the Irma Hotel that Buffalo Bill Cody built in 1902 and named for his daughter.  The Cody gunfighters perform nightly!

Last stop in Cody - a candy store for this wondrous collection of sweets!

That's it for our quick stop in Cody.  Now we are off to travel through Yellowstone National Park on our way to Bozeman, Montana!