One of our best days was the result of something we couldn't control--the weather.
 |
| Our trip so far |
We left Douglas in the morning, set off west and north. In
Casper we went through another western museum—the National Historic Trails
Interpretive Center. This one is very hands-on and interactive. Perfect for
kids and people like us who like to push buttons and watch things happen. Its
focus (pretty clear from its name) is educating people about the main trails
emigrants used to push westward.
I am now 100% convinced that I would never have made it on any of the trails. I'd have frozen to death, died of starvation, drowned, been killed by an Indian, gone crazy, or caught a train back east (if I could find one and had any money left)
I’d never heard of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
before the standoff in Nevada with ranch owner Cliven Bundy last week. Well,
the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is a cooperative partnership
between BLM, the National Historic Trails Center Foundation, and the City of
Casper.. Just yesterday Mr. C. purchased a $10 senior (!) lifetime pass that
lets him and me into every site administered by a branch of the National
Park Service. So! The total cost would have been $12 entry, but we got in
free!!! So far we’re $2 ahead on the senior lifetime pass. BTW, senior starts
at 62 for the passes.
After the museum we pointed Gypsy to Cody, Wyoming. That’s about a 4-hour drive from Douglas--totally manageable. Halfway
there it started snowing. By the time we made it into Cody the snow was about
an inch deep and the lady at the campground told us the weather people were
predicting 5-6” of snow. Our plan had been to spend the night in Cody, then
drive into Yellowstone.
Well, we were afraid Gypsy might end up in a ditch if we tried to drive her higher into the mountains in a snowstorm so we ditched that plan.
Instead we went out for Mexican food at a local place, then
came back, put on our jammies, and fired up the dvd player with movie we'd brought with us “Lost In
America.” It’s a classic. We laugh all the way through it. If you haven’t seen it put it on your Netflix list. A couple sells everything, buys an RV, and sets out to find themselves. And it has Albert Brooks in it.
We also had some Reese's peanut butter cups. Excellent.
So the snow came down in giant flakes. It was beautiful and
quiet and peaceful. The next morning we made a quick decision to stay another
night in Cody. It was the right decision.
 |
| You can get some grub and belly up to the bar at the Irma Hotel |
Okay, yes, we went to another museum. Actually it was four
museums in one location. All four
museums are located in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West: The Buffalo Bill
Museum, The Plains Indian Museum, The Cody Firearms Museum, The Whitney Gallery
of Western Art, and The Draper Museum of Natural History. We went through the
first four. The Smithsonian is involved in the museums and they have lots of
rich east coast donors on a plaque. It’s all first-rate.
Buffalo Bill was really successful in everything he did:
Pony Express rider, military scout, international showman, investor,
builder….except he did die penniless, three of his four kids died at early
ages, his wife divorced him (but later came back to him), and he was on the
road all the time.
 |
| Me On Buffalo Bill's Saddle |
 |
| For my brother: Palladin's six shooter |
Oh yeah, when we came in the man at the admission desk asked us for our zip code. Turns out he grew up in St. Louis and went to Chaminade High School right across the street from our house.
Since we left there people ask us, “Did you stop in Cody?
Did you go to the museums?”
Loved Cody. It’s very much what I pictured a western town
would be like.
 |
| That's a statue of Buffalo Bill in the background |
Kathryn
No comments:
Post a Comment