Let the adventures continue! If you're just tuning in, I'm recapping an epic road trip that Al and I did over the summer. I had a draft of a post saved from July or August, and then school happened. Whoops. Recapping this may be the most fun I've had in months (besides the trip that Al and I took to the Shedd Aquarium on Sunday), so I'm just going with the flow and seeing where these posts will take me.
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.
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.
Then, we drove to Cody.
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We didn't know much about Cody other than the fact that it was in a convenient location to stop for the night and that the town has the same name as my parents' awesome dog Cody. If you've read my blog in the past, then you have seen lots of photos of him. For that reason alone, I was excited to go there.
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.
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.
We checked into our hotel and walked into the main part of town to explore and eat dinner.
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We ate dinner at Adriano's Italian Restaurant, which had Italian food with a western flare. There were cowboy decorations all over the walls. We sat in a little nook by the window, and I got a glass of wine for $3. I'm lucky to find a glass of wine in Chicago that costs as low as $6, so I was pretty pumped (I have yet to develop a sophisticated wine palate). When we were done eating, we wandered into a souvenir shop and bought a few T-shirts, a hoodie, and a mug. We then walked back to our hotel and crawled into bed. We were exhausted. By the way, the bear that you see in the picture above was outside of our hotel, and it scared the crap out of some dog walking past it (our hotel was dog-friendly, so there were lots of them around the property). The dog kept barking at it. Cody obviously likes bears, too.
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.
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.
SHELL. POP: 83. ELEV: 4210.
Then, the green grassy mountains turned into this:
We were suddenly driving through a rocky canyon that reminded me of somewhere in Arizona. We were entering Bighorn National Forest. It was another unplanned, unexpected treat.
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Shell Falls reminded of me of McKenzie Falls in the Grampians in Victoria, Australia. It was definitely worth it to drive through this forest and to get these pictures.
Wyoming is a gorgeous state.
Although I knew that the land would inevitably flatten out, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as we approached the eastern border of the state. When I could no longer see the mountains in the rear- view or side mirrors, I had to angle my body and press my left cheek against the window so that I could catch the last glimpses of the majestic Rocky Mountains behind us. Rockies, we will be back.
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That's all for Wyoming! South Dakota is coming up next.
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