Hello from Cody, Wyoming!

Yes, it's me - not Vrai.

The Foxhound and I are joining Vrai & Monello (and Apollo!) on this little leg of their excellent adventure! We've never been to Yellowstone National Park, so we're definitely looking forward to that.

We picked the same place they















booked to stay - it's pretty cool - cabins at the foot of the mountains. (As is everything, we're in the Rocky Mountain region, of course!) Got caught up on jet lag yesterday and got the lay of the land. It was a bit sprinkly and cloudy, bit I did get some amazing aerial views while in the plane. This morning it's a bit cloudy, so we missed the sunrise , but we're going out in a bit to explore some more.

Can't wait to see V & M tomorrow! :

P.s. we already have a pet! The rabbit was hopping around pretty freely and stopped at the base of our porch when we opened the door. Seemed like he wanted to come in! There were several out and about, so they must be used to us interlopers. They allow domestic pets here, so I'm not sure they'll stick around once Apollo arrives.

We'll be there by dinner tomorrow - can't wait!!

I am so jealous!!! How long did it take you to fly out?

We are at Cody Cowboy Village, and the dumb thing I did was not reserve a suite. But now that I'm thinking about it, I remember Petra saying that there weren't any available for a two week block when I reserved, which is why we went ahead and got the normal room.

BUT! The bed in here is amazing. I'm a new woman this morning, after two weeks of sleeping on the terrible bed at our campground in Rapid City. The cabin itself is spacious (for a just a room), very comfortable, and clean clean clean. Plus we have a million dollar view of the mountains outside our window and a nice area to walk Apollo. Probably the worst part is that we're used to being able to prep our own meals at least on a small level and not rely on restaurants, and that's not gonna happen here. Also there's no table for me to set up shop, so I flipped my suitcase over and am using it for a desk. But there is a fan in the bathroom, which you don't see a lot of in hotels or cabins.

So far I'm sensing an ennui from the assorted service and business people we've encountered here. With the exception of Petra at the hotel desk, none of them are particularly happy to see us or welcoming in any real way. Which is fine, just noticing a general attitude, which is unusual in a tourist heavy area. Or maybe it's because it's a tourist heavy area.

So far the highlight of this leg of the trip (except for seeing Bann and Foxhound ) was going through Big Horn National Park on our way from Rapid City to Cody. We hit Devil's Tower on the way, which I didn't expect to be impressed by but it was quite magnificent. From there we took 90 to Buffalo, then 16 south through the lower part of Big Horn. Part of that road goes through the most incredible canyon I've ever seen. It was surreal. Monello pulled off so we could get some pics, which will surely not do it justice, and the sense of disorientation was a bit overwhelming. Photos don't capture the enormity and depth of these places.

As a general rule, I'm not a scenery person - you seen one tree, you've seen 'em all. Never thought Skyline Drive was a big deal, etc. "Oh, let's take a drive and look at the fall leaves!" - no, I don't want to do that boring thing. But the landscape in the West is just incredible and leaves you awe struck. It jumps out at you, as in you'll be driving driving, normal normal, then you round a curve and - BAM! - there's something glorious.

Today we're spending the day in Yellowstone.

Post lots of pics of your adventure in Yellowstone!

Another thing:

From Gillette to Buffalo we had about a 40 mile stretch of...nothing. Just rolling prairie and sagebrush. An occasional cow. Except for the fencing and the paved road, there was no real sign of human involvement. It was pretty cool.

vraiblonde said:

Another thing:

From Gillette to Buffalo we had about a 40 mile stretch of...nothing. Just rolling prairie and sagebrush. An occasional cow. Except for the fencing and the paved road, there was no real sign of human involvement. It was pretty cool.

Click to expand...

I can see how that could be impressive.

mAlice said:

I can see how that could be impressive.

Click to expand...

It was like in the movies. Not a place for someone who gets anxious with large open spaces.

Fun Fact:

The population of the state of Wyoming is 584,000+-. It is dead last in terms of US state population, yet the 10th largest state by land area. It's largest city is Cheyenne, population 62,000.

vraiblonde said:

It was like in the movies. Not a place for someone who gets anxious with large open spaces.

Fun Fact:

The population of the state of Wyoming is 584,000+-. It is dead last in terms of US state population, yet the 10th largest state by land area. It's largest city is Cheyenne, population 62,000.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the first thing I thought of when you posted that was the long road in the movie Fargo.

If you can, go to the rodeo in Cody. Last time we were there, we hit the big Plains Indian Pow Wow. Very impressive and cool to witness.

Some notes to Vrai's post - I am exactly the same way about "you've seen one landscape, you've seen 'em all". I even drove out this way in 1990 with the Ex and Thing1 when he was an infant. I kept wondering when the heck it would all end! I never thought I'd really care about seeing a mountain (or mountain range) again. But this trip is so different.

I have a lot of pictures, but I can't post many with my cellphone. As Vrai said, they don't do the scenery justice but hopefully they do show the majestic grandeur that is literally just as far as your eyes can see.

Yesterday, FH and I took "Trolley Tour", which is a 1 hr tour that winds it's way in and out of the "old town" and they give a very entertaining history of Cody and of course, Buffalo Bill. It's was very cool! The tour also went out past where we are staying - between a mountain pass which, when you go around the bend, turns out to be the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir - HUGE and spectacular! Seriously, this is *right around the corner from where we are staying. I'd spent 2 days wondering what was on the other side of that mountain pass, and yesterday we saw it. If you continue on the road past this reservoir, you end up at Yellowstone National Park's East entrance.

b23hqb said:

If you can, go to the rodeo in Cody. Last time we were there, we hit the big Plains Indian Pow Wow. Very impressive and cool to witness.

Click to expand...

The rodeos here have ended for the season BUT! There is a "Collegiate Rodeo" competition right down the road (walking distance, actually) at the "Stampede Stadium" on Fri. and Sat.or whathaveyou, and we want to catch that hopefully on Fri night.

luvmygdaughters said:

I am so jealous!!! How long did it take you to fly out?

Click to expand...

We left BWI at 7am our time - 3 hrs into Denver, with a 1-1/2 hr layover and then just under a 1-1/2hr flight to Cody. MDT is 2 hrs behind the east coast, so we arrived at 12:45 MDT. WE stayed over at BWI and had to be at BWI by 5am, so that meant getting up at 4. Not too bad.

Went to Yellowstone yesterday and spent the first half of the day marveling that anyone would fly halfway across the world and spend umpteen bazillion dollars on food and lodging...to see some trees. Don't they have trees in Japan? Because half the population of Tokyo was buzzing around taking pictures of them and exclaiming about their beauty.

Old Faithful was cool, but only because it's Old Faithful and an American icon. What was really cool was that while I was taking the dog back to the car, a bison rolled up through the crowd, attacked a tree (because he doesn't get it either), and wandered away. I missed this because I was settling the pooch in another area and had to hear about it second hand.

We went to the inappropriately named "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone," which is a cool canyon and small waterfall, but not even close to being Grand Canyon-esque.

We drove. And drove. And drove. And drove some more. (Yellowstone encompasses over 2 million acres.) Bann and I were wedged in the back seat with the dog between us, couldn't really see anything of interest. So I bitched and moaned, and Monello (our driver) agreed to pull over and let us walk around, see some of the "geothermal features" and other points of interest.

At that point, the trip got WAY!! better, and now I don't have to say that Yellowstone was the worst, or at least the most overrated, attraction we've seen all trip (that distinction still goes the the Crazy Horse monument).

Boiling mud pits may not sound interesting to you, but when you think about them they're cool as chit. Prehistoric earth stuff. Makes you feel terribly small, but also like you're a part of something enormous and mind boggling. Like you want to rethink your education path and study geology. Canyons and mountains and geysers, oh my. You can picture dinosaurs roaming much of this area without using a whole lot of imagination. Then you remember...this is America. And it doesn't look like Maryland, or Louisiana, or New York, or Florida, or even Nebraska. It's distinct and unique.

I did not pack for this - stupid me - so today I need to get another pair of jeans, more socks, and a pair of good hiking boots. This landscape screams to be walked and explored, and that's what I intend to do.

Pine cones from Yellowstone

Bann said:

Pine cones from Yellowstone

Click to expand...

Welcome to our country, Bann-san

vraiblonde said:

Not a place for someone who gets anxious with large open spaces.

Click to expand...

something like .4 people per square mile .... my kind of place

Well, We've been to Yellowstone 9 times - three times snowmobiling in winter, and 6 in summer. Been snowed on at least once every trip. If you think it is all trees, then get out of car seat and do some hiking, and I recommend one hike if you do no other - one - that will change your mind. Hike up to the ranger observation pillbox on top of Mt. Washburn (about 10,300 feet). It will take you about 3.5 - 4 hours round trip. You climb 1700 feet in elevation going up, and the same coming down. Either the Dunraven Pass trail or the Chittendon trail - opposite sides of the mountain, but the same 6 mile round trip. Layer your clothing - you will work up a sweat during the hike, and will probably have to bundle up at the top. The vista and scenery on the way up is spectacular, and you stand a good chance of encountering bighorn sheep, and even grizzlies (on the Chittendon side). You can see 100 miles from the top - hard to beat.

We encountered bears, both black and grizzlies, consistently, on the road between the two trail heads.

Sorry you are disappointed in YS. It is by far our favorite destination, and getting off the figure 8 road will open your mind up a bit about the beauty of the park.

http://us.yhs4.search.yahoo.com/yhs...51&os=Windows+8.1&p=mt+washbuyrn,+yellowstone

b23hqb;5 691073 said:

If you can, go to the rodeo in Cody. Last time we were there, we hit the big Plains Indian Pow Wow. Very impressive and cool to witness.

Click to expand...