Jun 28, 2012 - Heart Mountain Interminent Center

This is an encampment where Japanese were sent after of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. In the ensuing months the United States Government ORDERED all Japanese residents residing in Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona to report to interment centers. The Heart Mountain relocation center just north of Cody, WY was one of the 15 centers. More than 14,000 Japanese Americans were confided there during WW2. They had only a short time to gather all of their belonging and leave their homes behind. They were told they could...

Jun 27, 2012 - Irma/Rodeo Night 1

We had lunch at the Irma Hotel today (a buffet). The Irma Hotel is known as the "Bill Cody Motel". This hotel was designed and built by Buffalo Bill Cody in 1902. The Irma is the centerpiece of Cody, WY where gunfights are performed twice daily in the street. At noon time they hold up the bank and at 6:30pm they shoot up the street for the visitors enjoyment.

Jun 26, 2012 - Off to Cody

Tom is now off for 5 days so we are heading to Cody, Wyoming. Lots to do there, rodeos, museums and get some real groceries. We will be taking the scenic drive there via the "Chief Joseph Highway". I will be breaking this trip up into several sections for your convenience.

Jun 26, 2012 - Carter Mountain Motel

While visiting Cody, WY we stayed at the Carter Mountain Motel. It is run by a family. I met Fran the owner. She and her bird work in the office until late at night. She was very friendly. A nice place to lay your head when you are tired at night. We stayed there 3 nights.

Jun 19, 2012 - Cody to Yellowstone

After another night of unrelenting wind, we were thankful it calmed down this morning for our trip across the Absaroka Range on 14/16 AKA the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway from Cody to Yellowstone. The scenery was gorgeous and diverse – rocky ledges, a beautiful lake, and desert lake prairie land. Awesome. (I know I’m overusing that word.) As we entered the park, there was an immediate traffic jam. We wondered if it was road work or vacationing gawkers.?? NO – it was a buffalo meandering from lane to lane - not in a hurry to go anywhere. With a...

Jun 18, 2012 - Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Hwy

Today we drove the Beartooth Pass Loop with a return to Cody via the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. It was a 178 mile round-trip, but with so much to see, the day flew by. These are said to be the most scenic drives in America. Our day included stops at quaint little cafes in Red Lodge and Cooke City. The scenery climbing Beartooth Pass was breathtakingly beautiful. We took tons of pictures, but I’ve just grabbed a few to post. None of the pictures really do justice to the spectacular “purple mountain majesty” we saw at every turn along the...

Jun 18, 2012 - Jackson/Yellowstone Tour

Cody, Wyoming The last 24 hours have been breathtaking. We managed to score a natural campsite alongside a lake last night just south of Jackson, Wyoming. There’s nothing like a lake view and a fire to put your mind at ease at the end of a day of driving. We celebrated Father’s Day on the road, doing Pete’s favorite thing, camping! Today we drove all the way up Jackson Hole valley through Yellowstone National park and out to Cody Wyoming (admittedly a bit of a let down after a day of spectacular sightseeing!). We could not resist stopping...

Jun 17, 2012 - Cody Wyoming Rodeo

You might think a night out at the rodeo was a little strange for Steve’s Father’s Day gift, but I thought it was just the ticket…considering we’re here in Cody, Wyoming, the rodeo capital of the USA. We were most impressed when they began the stampede with prayer for the safety of the riders and the well-being of the animals. It’s wonderful to live in a land where we have such freedom in public places. We had great fun watching the cowboys (and cowgirls) ride the broncos, rope the calfs, and speed around the barrels. I must say I felt a...

Jun 16, 2012 - Cody, WY

Went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center today. It really is five museum's in one-Plains Indian, Western Art, Firearms, Yellowstone Natural History and one wing just on Buffalo Bill Cody-really impressive. The 31st Annual Plains Indian POWWOW event was taking place next to the museum. Tribes represented were the Crow Nation, UTE Nation, Northern Cheyenne Nation, Sioux Nation, Shoshone Nation and the Arapaho Nation. This was the real deal for the plains Indian tribes-pretty neat when we get to the Little Big Horn tomorrow. Also went to the...

Jun 15, 2012 - Cody, WY

Left West Yellowstone around 08:00 headed to Cody, WY. Cody is east of Yellowstone around 135 miles. Got to drive through Yellowstone again-saw more buffalo, elk, coyotes and people stopping everywhere-we are one of those!! Crossed Sylvan Pass "elevation 8530 feet" and went down a steep, curvy two lane road-sure was glad I had an Allison transmission in my truck. About halfway down-traffic started backing up to a stand still-not the kind of thing you want to see on a steep downhill. Got closer when traffic started moving-it was Big Horn...

Jun 12, 2012 - Yellowstone

Summer at last! After the Sunday worship hour at the Alliance church in Polson, Montana we set out towards Yellowstone park. We stayed close enough to the park that we got in early in the day. Up to this point it was still raining as it had been for many days before but Monday morning at least the sun was out but temperatures remained in the low teens. Yellowstone is a wonderful park with amazing mountain ranges, large green valleys and many lakes and streams. But between all this you are constantly reminded that you are actually on top of...

Jun 9, 2012 - The Trail Museum in Casper to Buffalo Bill in Cody

Hi, Everybody, OK, I've been lax in the updates. I'll try to fill in some gaps with this posting. Casper, WY's Trail Interpretive Center was wonderful. We pulled up to see a pronghorn waiting for us and it just got better from there. It pointed out that most trails west passed through what is now Casper after leaving St. Joseph, MO. The Oregon Trail, The Mormon Trail, the Pony Express and the Gold Rush Trails all followed these routes created by the Indians and the fur trappers. The coming of the Railroads saw the end of constant traffic on...