Driven Away By Rain and Snow

I awoke this morning to the clouds moving in, the winds picking up, and rain starting to fall. I broke camp and checked the forecast. Mixed snow and rain all day! Not terribly good weather for much of what I wanted to do. So I took another suggestion from the ladies of Conrad, MT and went to Cody for the day.

It was a good decision because on leaving the park I ran into 3 different buffalo herds, one of which was straddling the roadway. The first group of five was "hiding" behind the Soda Butte, but eventually they moved out from behind. I got some great pictures!

The trip to Cody was wild! The roadway climbed up to 8000 feet with lots of switchbacks and beautiful views of the Shoshone Mountains. One bridge going over a river was about 1000 feet high. Bungy jumping anyone?

After geting into Cody, I went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum. It actually has five different parts, but the most interesting one was the Museum of the American Indian of the Plains. It had actual clothing, ceremonial garb, weapons and tools from the various indian tribes dating from the mid-to-late 1800's. It has been described as the Smithsonian of the Plains Indians. The picture is of Sitting Bull's tomahawk, given to the Army when he surrendered.

Tonight, I am staying at the Buffalo Bill State Park which overlooks the Buffalo Bill Reservoir which is created by the Buffalo Bill Dam. Do you see a pattern here?

By the way, the local Walmart here in Cody is filled with RV's!