The Cody

Leaving Gillette, WY we crossed the Big Horn Mountain on our way to Yellowstone National Park. Up on the mountain, some 10,000 feet up, we encountered low clouds, snow, hail and lots of road construction. I was able to see the scenery but Sammy had to keep his eye on the road. The mountain was made of rock over 500 millon years old...limestone... dolamite..even ...

... morning we got up early and made our way to Wyoming, which immediately proved Andrew's premonitions correct that it was both incredibly beautiful and desolate. We learned that Wyoming is America's foremost coal producing state and were awed by how barren the areas right off the highway were. We drove through Bighorn National Forest which took us to our first +9,000ft elevation, and some seriously scary mountain pass driving. We then went on ...

<br><br><br>We were advised by our lovely RV hosts that a town south of Cody were having a Labour Day festival and Rodeo. We have been trying to find a rodeo to watch so we decided to pay Meeteetse a visit.  <br><br>When we turned up we didn't know whether to stay.  Meeteetse is a very tired looking place (albeit a spanking new school) and consisted of the main street (with mainly cafes, bars and interestingly, a really lovely chocolate shop) and ...

... newspapers (Headmaster Ian doing a terrific job). After being tested and the kids reciting their Junior Ranger promise (which was an optional extra I must add) they were bestowed their new rank. The Ranger stood up and announced their award to the whole of the Visitors Centre and a large round of applause followed (well as much noise as 12 people could make). The kids were really chuffed. <br><br>We left Yellowstone through the west exit which was about 9,000 feet above ...

... 8212;the designer Borglum changed his designs 9 times as problems were encountered with the rock. Incredible that 90 % of the sculpting was done with dynamite and the finished product is so smooth and truly lifelike. Finally found a grocery store and got fresh supplies&#8212;real burgers over the campfire cooked with genuine "buffalo chips" that we had picked up earlier that day. We took a hike down the horse ...

... amazing after 3.5hrs at the wheel). Indeed, since Minnesota, road kill has been pretty much everywhere and it's not hard to see why - the deer and elk have a strange habit of running into the road then stopping right in front of you - it will be a great step in evolution when one of them figures out that standing still whilst a 2 tonne lump of metal comes speeding towards them is not the best idea. Cody is named after ...

Today I was driving to Cody, Wyoming to stay for the night before going to Yellowstone National Park. It was a bit hard to get started in the morning after night before, so I walked into town first to do some shopping and get something for breakfast. <br><br>Feeling rejuvenated and hopefully under the limit, I headed off for Cody. On the way I went for a look at the Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. This rock formation was made famous in the Close ...

... horses for those that wish to ride in the park. As Karon prepares lunch Rick heads over the terrain to take some photos of another herd of bison we had spotted as we pulled in,(yes the 3rd) with Karon explaining "loudly" we don't want to see returning at a great rate running ahead of a herd of Bison! "be careful" The herd was slowly walking along grazing on the other side of the river and fishermen waiting on the bank for them to settle down and pass. The noise and ...

... fascinating to see horse in the wild... they are such beautiful animals and their interactions were amazing. The dominant males were guarding their females from inquisitive younger males. There was also a young foal in the herd that was well protected by its parents. Back in Cody by late morning, we took the rest of the day to explore the impressive old west town... it's essentially a man-made street on the outskirts of town that has been completely recreated to resemble what the main ...