Cody, Wyoming Part 2, Westward Ho Part 8b

Cody is Cowboy Country but the new range rider roaming the west is the biker. All across the west roamed bands of steel horses. The clans were outfitted in leather & bandanna regalia but they weren't the outlaw gangs of the 60's & 70's. The bikers encompassed a wide variety of ages and demographics enjoying the freedom of the road and the sun & wind on their faces....and just like men of all stripes, cowboys & bikers also have to wait for their wives as they shop!








We poked around in all the Cody shops. Tourist shops, American Indian shops, Western Wear and Home Furnishing stores.

















Bob looking ridiculous in a Hoss Cartwright hat!


Molly & I actually found a Cambridge style coffee shop in town, The Beta Coffee House. It seemed quite out of place but we loved the coffee!!


We had a great meal one night in a place called Wyoming's Rib & Chop House. Boring name and decor in the restaurant but the food was fine. The most memorial part of the meal, not to diss the food, was watching Michael Phelps win his gold medal in the 100 meter Butterfly. The whole restaurant stopped eating as the race started and watched in anticipated silence for the outcome. Michael was behind in the race. Slowly he began to gain ground and edged into second place as he and his Serbian rival swam for the final wall. We gritted our teeth, our toes curled and our hands clenched as we squinted our eyes and watched the TV ....and Bam!!, Michael lunged. A split second later the finish results popped on screen, #1 Michael Phelps. The room erupted! We didn't know another sole in the place but we all had arms up, voices raised and hearts beating with the pride of America. It was cool to be here in the middle of the country sharing this event.


We also signed up with River Runners for a morning run on the Shoshone River. This was our first ever white water rafting experience. It was really more of a float than a white water experience but never the less we had a rollicking good time. Us four Welches were matched up with a local Wedding Party. The wedding crew had been up howling with coyotes and wolves until the sun came up the night before and they continued to be in rare form on the river. The bride was from Cody but all her friends were from the Idaho college they all attended. We paddled, caused trouble and splashed the other rafts. We discussed every Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard CD I should own. We tipped the raft as we ran white water trying to increase the danger and fawned at the deer we saw foraging in the gorge.

Everywhere we went we found out we were a few days behind the Travel Channel's Samantha Brown. She ran the Shoshone with the River Runners, went to the Cody Nite Rodeo and hit Cassie's too. Check out her Wyoming.


After a couple days we got the call of the wild again. Cody is known as the Eastern Gateway to Yellowstone Park, and it beckoned. I packed the car but before we left I snuck next store to our hotel to take a brief look at Old Trail Town. Old Trail Town is a collection of 26 buildings dating from 1879 to 1901 reflecting the Wyoming frontier and it's colorful historical figures like Jeremiah Johnston, Butch & Sundance and the "Hole in the Wall" Gang. I loved the weathered collection of buildings.



If these walls could talk I'd love to hear the tales they told.