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We arrived in Cody Wyoming July 25. The town was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody and a few other investors.  The first evening we had dinner at Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel. It was named after his youngest daughter and you can still book rooms in the iconic hotel. Every evening, they hold a gunfight reenactment on the side street of the hotel. We missed it the first night because we did not want our prime rib to get cold.

One can truly get a taste of the Old West while in Cody. Our dilemma, how do two gay women fit into a western town circa the late 1800’s? I know…… Git a hat! I tried to talk Terri into buying cowboy boots, but was unsuccessful. We wore or Keens instead. I think Birkenstocks  would have been a dead give away.  

Once Terri put on the hat,  she was possessed buy the spirit of Buffalo Bill Cody. Every time she passed someone, she tipped her hat and said, “Howdy Ma’am, Howdy Sir,  or Howdy Partner.” The looks we received were priceless. One Asian man had the same expression I had when I heard Julia Roberts married Lyle Lovett.

What do you do when you have a hat? Ride a horse!

Carlie was our Wrangler and she was terrific. We attempted to ride the first day and 15 minutes into the ride, it started to rain, thunder and lightening. She offered for us to come back the next day and we did.

First, I have never ridden a horse and that has been on my bucket list for years. Thank God she provided a small step stool to get up onto the horse. I don’t bend easily….but have no problem falling

I was a really freaked when I first got up on my horse Ruger.  He was antsy, and would not stand still.  I’m not looking too relaxed, check out the white knuckles:Terri worked at a stable when she was in her late teens and was an old pro. After we got started on the trail, I was more relaxed – until the lightening…

Ruger was a bit stubborn the first day so on the second day I got to ride Brody and Terri was on Ruger. She was able to handle Ruger much better than I. I think being on a horse, took Terri back to her days at the stable. She kept asking Carlie if she could help with the horses. I was hoping Carlie would give in and allow Terri to assist but I am sure it’s a liability issue. We climbed up a steep hill and caught a beautiful  view. On the way down, Brody would stop to eat and when he bent his head down, I felt like I was falling off, even though I was leaning back. As you can see above, the trail is narrow at the top and I felt like I was going to tumble over the edge. I think I may have swore a few times and the saddle may have been wet….

It was an awesome time… I wanna pony…

Bucket list-

Horseback riding: 

 

And now that we smelled like horse, we just had to go to a rodeo:

At one point, they asked all the kids to come down into the arena. Two baby calves with ribbons tied on their tails, were let loose. The children were tasked with grabbing the ribbons. Two riders got injured. One, the horse rolled over the rider and then kicked the rider in the head.  The other rider got kicked in the chest. They both were able to walk off.

I did not like the calf roping. They say it does not hurt the calf, but it looks like it would.

It was a beautiful Wyoming evening:

The following day, we hung up our hats for helmets. We rode around 2 lakes that were connected by a bike path:

Then through a sub division of Cody and I could not get over the amount of deer inundating the neighborhood.  Everywhere we looked, deer where making themselves at home.  Each pic is a different deer, except the pics of the herd feasting on the garden and fruit tree.

Mom watching her twins: This herd was devouring the garden

We saw many more, but I stopped taking photos.. Terri spoke to a postal delivery woman who told Terri there is a real issue w/ deer in these parts. Every year, they have a hunt to thin out the heard.

Cody was great. I wish we could have spent another day or two. We did not make it to any of the museums  or tour the reconstructed original town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Point is the iconic view point at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

We did part of the South Rim Trail and then listened to a Ranger presentation.  She explained the rock is Rhyolite- an igneous volcanic rock of granite composition. It gets its color from exposure to hydro thermal and geothermal activity.

View from North Rim

Other Falls at Yellowstone:

Other beautiful scenery:

There was so much more to see and not enough time…..

Yellowstone is a Super volcano that has had at least 3 eruptions that measured 8 on the Volcano Explosivity Index . The first was 2.1 million years ago, second was 1.2 million years ago and the third, 640,000 years ago. Here is a pic of a display at the visitor center. The Blue depicts Mt St. Helen’s Ash deposit. The other three were the 3 super volcanic eruptions at Yellowstone. The latest having the largest area of ash deposit.

 

For a more detailed explanation check out this link

https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/yellowstone-supervolcano

There are 4 different hydrothermal features at Yellowstone: hot springs, mudpots, steam vents (fumeroles) and geysers. For more explanation of the differences:

http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/geology.htm

Here are example of the geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots we visited. There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features throughout the park.

Old Faithful- the most visited. Rangers can predict the eruption within a 20 minute window.

Other smaller eruptions:

Bacteria gives these Hot Springs their colors.  Here is a bubbling mudpot-

One of the most amazing views was the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring. It is the largest in the united states and third largest in the world. We chose to hike to  higher ground to get this bird’s eye view.

There were many Geysers and Hot Springs we did not get to. Here is a view of an chilly  early morning drive and the Fumeroles (steam vents) are visible for miles.

We spent a day at Mammoth Hot Springs, this is where we saw the large Elk standing on the terrace. Here are some pics from our day at Mammoth Hot Springs:

Still our favorite pic!

 

 

 

 

 

Coyote in the distance-

 

Deer, Deer everywhere-

This was our first Elk sighting.

By Sunday July 22, we had our fill of Bison and before heading out, I said to Terri, “This is our day to see a Melk- A male Elk.. We were 10 minutes into our drive when we saw a herd grazing near a creek. 

Then this Elk stopped traffic. Check out the mom and babies on top the hill watching their friend make it safely across the street.  Topped the evening off with sighting another herd:

And these are our favorites. This Guy was hanging out at Mammoth Hot Springs.

We saw this guy on a hike:Look at that rack! It’s in velvet. Come December he will loose it and grow another next year.Sunday July 22, 2018 ELK Day at Yellowstone!

 

When you first see a Bison up close, it is very exhilarating. They are massive animals and the Park warns you to stay 25 feet away. They may seem docile, however people are injured every year by Bison. 3 weeks ago, a young man thought it would be a good idea to pet one. Well Mr. Bison did not appreciate the affection and gored him in the behind. The young man was flown to a nearby hospital.  As you will see in up coming pics, the Bison come right up to and on the road.  Here was one of our first encounters-

All he wanted to do is get across the road: Check out how close those people are to this poor confused fella-

One night we saw miles of large herds. We estimated we saw around 1,000 total.

Mamma and baby-

We definitely saw our share of Bison… We left Yellowstone on Wednesday and sat in traffic an hour and a half because there were 2 Bison that would not get off the road. Traffic was backed up for over 5 miles…

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone National Park was the first National Park and was established March 1, 1872 after President Grant signed a bill Congress had approved, setting aside  1,221,773 acres.

Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872)

Forty-Second Congress of the United States of America;

At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington, on Monday, the Fourth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.

AN ACT to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, and described as follows, to wit, commencing at the junction of Gardiner’s river with the Yellowstone river, and running east to the meridian passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone lake; thence south along said meridian to the parallel of latitude passing ten miles south of the most southern point of Yellowstone lake; thence west along said parallel to the meridian passing fifteen miles west of the most western point of Madison lake; thence north along said meridian to the latitude of the junction of Yellowstone and Gardiner’s rivers; thence east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.

SEC 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition. The Secretary may in his discretion, grant leases for building purposes for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in the management of the same, and the construction of roads and bridle- paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out the objects and purposes of this act.

Here is a link to the NPS publication outlining the birth of the National Parks system. Sounds like it got off to a rocky start.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/yellowstoneestablishment.htm

Above is Roosevelt Arch which is located at the North entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The inscription on the top is a quote from the Act establishing Yellowstone a National Park.  When I read the inscription, I cried.  I thought of all the generations before us and  all those after us, who will witness this beauty. This trip is overwhelming to the senses and mind. We have seen so much and we have only had a taste of each park. We live in a beautiful country and I am proud to be a citizen. But most of all,  I cried because this was the park Terri was so looking forward to and we made it!

We stayed at the West Entrance in West Yellowstone at the Wagon Wheel RV Park . We arrived at West Yellowstone on July 19th and stayed  6 nights. This was our longest stay, and it still was not enough time to see what all the park had to offer….

There is so much to share, I wanted to start with Terri and I’s favorite- The Wildlife… Enjoy the following posts…..

 

 

We arrived at Fireside Buffalo Valley RV Park in Moran Wyoming on July 16th. To my surprise and delight, another RV Park with a bar! What a great way to catch up on your laundry.   I just realized I didn’t get any pics. Our last night there,  Terri joined me this time.  We drank, had the bar singing “Sweet Caroline” and  took turns running next door to their laundry room. When My family and I get to singing Sweet Caroline we are headed for trouble, so I stopped at 3 beers.  I digress…

On the 17th , we visited the Grand Tetons  a mile down the road. The Tetons sit South of Yellowstone,

Tetons has many long backcountry trails for serious hikers. We are not the backcountry type. We drove the scenic route to Jackson Hole that sits South of the Tetons and did smaller hikes to overlooks.

The Grand Tetons multiple glaciers:

Above is an actual pic I took of the Teton Glacier. Below is an explanation of how the  Glacier is shrinking:

We stopped to visit a log cabin church called the Chapel of the Sacred Heart. A beautiful church, nestled in the foothills. It  was constructed in 1937 and continues to hold services today.

Saw some beautiful flowers along the way:

At one point,  we saw people gathered on a bridge staring down into a creek. We quickly realized there was a moose sighting.

This big boy was chillin’ and could care less about the crowd above:

Jackson Hole Wyoming is a quaint little tourist  town that is booming this time of year. We stopped at Cowboys Million Dollar Bar for dinner. Their bar stools are unique!

The following day we road our bikes to Jackson Hole:

Our campsite was located in Buffalo Valley and it lived up to it’s name.  We got up close and personal to some Bison:We also got a peak at some Pronghorn deer:This is just a taste of what Yellowstone has to offer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following morning we biked 20 miles on the Jordan River Trail  that runs behind campground.

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After the ride, we headed to the Great Salt Lake. The lake was very receded:

Salt Lake is almost 30 % salt compared to the Ocean which is 3. 5 %. The lake has no outlet, therefore the Salt deposits in the lake and remains there. Because of the high percentage of salt, it can not sustain aquatic life. Though it is not like the Dead Sea because it does have an abundance of microbes that can turn the lake bubblegum pink.

We are standing in the Lake -bed.

The smell was horrendous. There were bird carcasses throughout the lake bed and millions of gnats. Needless to say we did not go in the water.  Terri did touch the water and then slathered in Purell.

Here is a shot of the other end. There were people in the water. The water is so salty, you can float like a cork.

After we visited the Great Salt Lake, we headed out to play some golf:

A relaxing day before we set out for the Grand Tetons!