Wyoming con't
We left Yellowstone National Park and drove east to a town called Cody. We originally hoped to see Montana too, but we realized that we'd probably need to add another day to our trip to do it. I have a feeling that we'll get there sooner than later.
Our drive to Cody provided us with continuous views of jagged mountains, rushing rivers, log cabins to rent, and some awesome cloud formations. We passed Buffalo Bill State Park just six miles away from our stopping point, and we paused to take pictures. The rain had just stopped, and the sun was starting to peek behind the clouds.
It turns out that Cody, Wyoming is named after Buffalo Bill (his full name was William Frederick Cody), who founded the town. Since it's located at the gateway of Yellowstone, many tourists stay there or pass through on their way to or from the park. If you stand in the middle of the town, you might imagine a wild west shoot-out that you see in old western movies. You could imagine cowboys on their horses passing through, in their boots with spurs. In fact, they do a re-enactment of a shoot-out every summer! We also learned quickly that Cody loves the rodeo. We passed the stadium, called Stampede Park, just as we entered the town. It was packed with people.
With our alarm off at 6 the next morning, we once again hit the road early and drove straight east. We weren't sure what to expect on our way to South Dakota, but we did get some surprises. Like our drive into the foothills of the Rockies, we came across some more tiny towns.