2011--Cody & Lowell, Wy
Day One--Thursday, July 14, 2011
I had decided to get up at 4 AM and put an hour in on the exercise bike. I figured with a 9 hour road trip to do on Thursday, I wouldn’t have much time to log any walking. 4 AM got there pretty early, but the hour on the bike went surprisingly quick. We wanted to be on our way by 6 AM, but it was more like 6:20 before we left. We made good time. Wyoming has plenty of wide open spaces and we brought a radar detector. We stopped about every two hours to stretch, pee, and once for lunch and gas. Those stops added about 50 minutes to the total drive time. Mapquest says it should take 8 hours of straight drive time. We pulled in at 3:15 PM, which was 8 hr and 35 minutes. That included sitting for 15 minutes at an area near Cody where they were resurfacing the highway, and it was down to one lane.
We got to the hotel and checked in. The room is a little small, especially for the $140 we are paying per night. That’s what happens when you stay at high season in the closest city to Yellowstone National Park. Not that it is that close. It’s still an hour drive to the park. I doubt we will have time to go. We took the kids back in 1995, but it would be nice to go again.
Once we got checked in Margo called her cousin, Julie, Aunt Helen’s daughter. I found out recently two things that I had wished I had known before I was making plans for this trip. First Aunt Helen doesn’t live in Cody, like I had been told. She lives in Lovell, WY, an hour away. Julie lives in Cody. Aunt Helen used to live in Cody, so that is why Margo called her. The second thing was that Julie and her parents are feuding right now. Oh, well. Julie was still at work when Margo called, and said she would be until about 5 PM. So while Margo unpacked, I decided to go for a walk. I never get enough exercise during vacations, and I always eat like a horse.
I had a nice two mile walk in a residential area of the city. We were on a part of the city that could have a nice view of the mountains, if you could find an unobstructed view. I eventually did. On my quest I saw and took a picture of a mule deer fawn. It was grazing on the side of a house that backed up to some open space. After that I walked to my turnaround spot and headed back. Julie showed up shortly and we (including her husband, Jeff) all went out to dinner. We ended up at a restaurant right beside our hotel. The food was decent. Then they showed us around downtown Cody. We wandered the shops for about an hour. But, I was about out of gas. So we went back to the hotel. It was about 8:30. I got undressed and crawled into bed. I was done for the day.
We got to the hotel and checked in. The room is a little small, especially for the $140 we are paying per night. That’s what happens when you stay at high season in the closest city to Yellowstone National Park. Not that it is that close. It’s still an hour drive to the park. I doubt we will have time to go. We took the kids back in 1995, but it would be nice to go again.
Once we got checked in Margo called her cousin, Julie, Aunt Helen’s daughter. I found out recently two things that I had wished I had known before I was making plans for this trip. First Aunt Helen doesn’t live in Cody, like I had been told. She lives in Lovell, WY, an hour away. Julie lives in Cody. Aunt Helen used to live in Cody, so that is why Margo called her. The second thing was that Julie and her parents are feuding right now. Oh, well. Julie was still at work when Margo called, and said she would be until about 5 PM. So while Margo unpacked, I decided to go for a walk. I never get enough exercise during vacations, and I always eat like a horse.
I had a nice two mile walk in a residential area of the city. We were on a part of the city that could have a nice view of the mountains, if you could find an unobstructed view. I eventually did. On my quest I saw and took a picture of a mule deer fawn. It was grazing on the side of a house that backed up to some open space. After that I walked to my turnaround spot and headed back. Julie showed up shortly and we (including her husband, Jeff) all went out to dinner. We ended up at a restaurant right beside our hotel. The food was decent. Then they showed us around downtown Cody. We wandered the shops for about an hour. But, I was about out of gas. So we went back to the hotel. It was about 8:30. I got undressed and crawled into bed. I was done for the day.
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Day Two--Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday, Margo and I got up around 7 AM to get the day going. We ate breakfast at the Sunset House next door. It was OK, not bad, but not great either. Then we were on the road to Lovell, WY to see Margo’s Aunt Helen. It was about an hour drive including the delay for construction. It still seemed like a fairly short drive. Our GPS took us right to their house. We pulled up, and Aunt Helen and Uncle Gary were waiting for us on the porch. We got their about 10:30 AM. We all went out back to sit on the shaded porch and to visit. We talked for about 1 ½ hours and then Uncle Gary invited us to lunch.
Lovell is a small town of a bit over 2000 people. It doesn’t have a decent restaurant, but there are two other small towns nearby; Byron and Cowley. Cowley has a nice place called Cowtown. We got settled and ordered. Aunt Helen had clam chowder as she had a tender lip, after a trip to the dentist. Margo had a mushroom-swiss burger and Uncle Gary and I had a regular burgers and fries. We visited a little more while our order came out. The burgers were very good. That was some of the best beef I have ever had. The burgers were all cooked perfectly; no pink, but still juicy. We had a very enjoyable lunch and then went back to their house to gather ourselves up.
Uncle Gary knows quite a bit about the area and its history, so he took us out of town to the Bighorn National Recreation Area. The drive through Bighorn Canyon was pretty. We stopped at Devils Canyon overlook, which has a spectacular view of the river, which is technically a lake since they dammed it. We were in the Pryor Mountains, which are somewhat famous for their herd of wild horses. The horses that run wild here are descendants from the original animals brought over to North America with the Spanish Conquistadors back in the 1500s. So we had our eyes out form them, Bighorn Sheep, and antelope. We struck out on the antelope, but we saw a few sheep and a few wild horses.
Margo and I got a few pictures, including a couple of some ancient teepee circles. These were circles of rocks that were used to secure the teepees of Indians that had lived in the area hundreds of years before.
After a couple hours of touring the area we headed back to town. When we got there and I got out my notebook and paper and started my interview with Aunt Helen. I am researching a family history book on Margo’s maiden name; Jones. So I needed to tap Aunt Helen’s memory for what I could. The book will include a biography on her, so I spent most of the next two hours asking questions about her and Gary. The time always seems to fly by when we start reminiscing like this. Soon it was 6:00 PM and we were starting to get hungry. Uncle Gary was going to do something for dinner, but I didn’t want to impose any farther. Plus, I had my heart set on having a beer at The Irma back in Cody. So we said our good-byes and left with a promise to return tomorrow.
Lovell is a small town of a bit over 2000 people. It doesn’t have a decent restaurant, but there are two other small towns nearby; Byron and Cowley. Cowley has a nice place called Cowtown. We got settled and ordered. Aunt Helen had clam chowder as she had a tender lip, after a trip to the dentist. Margo had a mushroom-swiss burger and Uncle Gary and I had a regular burgers and fries. We visited a little more while our order came out. The burgers were very good. That was some of the best beef I have ever had. The burgers were all cooked perfectly; no pink, but still juicy. We had a very enjoyable lunch and then went back to their house to gather ourselves up.
Uncle Gary knows quite a bit about the area and its history, so he took us out of town to the Bighorn National Recreation Area. The drive through Bighorn Canyon was pretty. We stopped at Devils Canyon overlook, which has a spectacular view of the river, which is technically a lake since they dammed it. We were in the Pryor Mountains, which are somewhat famous for their herd of wild horses. The horses that run wild here are descendants from the original animals brought over to North America with the Spanish Conquistadors back in the 1500s. So we had our eyes out form them, Bighorn Sheep, and antelope. We struck out on the antelope, but we saw a few sheep and a few wild horses.
Margo and I got a few pictures, including a couple of some ancient teepee circles. These were circles of rocks that were used to secure the teepees of Indians that had lived in the area hundreds of years before.
After a couple hours of touring the area we headed back to town. When we got there and I got out my notebook and paper and started my interview with Aunt Helen. I am researching a family history book on Margo’s maiden name; Jones. So I needed to tap Aunt Helen’s memory for what I could. The book will include a biography on her, so I spent most of the next two hours asking questions about her and Gary. The time always seems to fly by when we start reminiscing like this. Soon it was 6:00 PM and we were starting to get hungry. Uncle Gary was going to do something for dinner, but I didn’t want to impose any farther. Plus, I had my heart set on having a beer at The Irma back in Cody. So we said our good-byes and left with a promise to return tomorrow.
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The drive to Cody went fairly quick again, and soon we were with in parking distance of The Irma. The town of Cody is named for Buffalo Bill Cody, one of the city’s founding fathers. Cody lived here and wanted to be buried here. But, he had the misfortune to die in Denver and the city officials back home, smelling future tourist dollars, buried him there on the top of Lookout Mountain, under several tons of concrete. So even if legal proceeding were to mandate his exhumation, it would be very difficult. The town of Cody was peeved, but life went on. Anyway, Buffalo Bill being of the entrepreneurial bent built a fancy hotel there it Cody. He named it after his daughter, Irma, in 1902. So, I figured as long as we were in town, having a beer at a 100 year old bar would be nice.
Margo pointed out on the way to The Irma, that they also served meals and it was dinner time. So a beer and a meal were now on. There was plenty of room at the bar, and we sat ourselves. I ordered a brown ale called Moose Drool. It was brewed in Montana and wasn’t half bad. We ordered, with Margo just doing the salad bar. When I saw a buffalo ribeye on the menu, I couldn’t resist. It was a bit pricey at $32.00, but it still fell with in the budget parameters so why not?
While we waited I chatted with our waitress, Marianna. When she took our drink order, I thought I detected an Eastern European accent. I was right; she is from Moldavia and here on a worker exchange program through her school back in Prague. She had only been in the US for a month and was enjoying herself. The food arrived and sadly, I was immediately disappointed. The steak was cooked medium, the way I had ordered it. But, it was still tough. I have had buffalo before and it is usually as tender or more so than beef. The baked potato was good. I didn’t let it bother me, as it was hard to complain when we were enjoying the atmosphere so much. Margo and I had Marianna take out picture behind the bar, and we paid and left.
Margo and I wanted to see the last Harry Potter movie which came out today, so that was our plan for 9:30 PM. But, it was only about 8:15 or so. So we decided to walk up and down the main street and check out the shops that were open. We ended up finding Margo a purse and a charm, plus several shirts for the kids. It got to be about 9 PM, and we needed to get going. But, Margo needed to get back to the hotel to go to the bathroom, so we detoured there first. We got to the theater at 9:25 PM. We had bought our tickets in advance, but we still needed to get popcorn. By the time we got into the theater the only seats left were in the first few rows. So that’s were we sat. I didn’t think they were too bad. The movie was good, and we will likely go see it again. But, by the time it was over and we got back to the hotel it was nearly midnight. I was up until 1 AM doing various things before I finally went to bed.
Margo pointed out on the way to The Irma, that they also served meals and it was dinner time. So a beer and a meal were now on. There was plenty of room at the bar, and we sat ourselves. I ordered a brown ale called Moose Drool. It was brewed in Montana and wasn’t half bad. We ordered, with Margo just doing the salad bar. When I saw a buffalo ribeye on the menu, I couldn’t resist. It was a bit pricey at $32.00, but it still fell with in the budget parameters so why not?
While we waited I chatted with our waitress, Marianna. When she took our drink order, I thought I detected an Eastern European accent. I was right; she is from Moldavia and here on a worker exchange program through her school back in Prague. She had only been in the US for a month and was enjoying herself. The food arrived and sadly, I was immediately disappointed. The steak was cooked medium, the way I had ordered it. But, it was still tough. I have had buffalo before and it is usually as tender or more so than beef. The baked potato was good. I didn’t let it bother me, as it was hard to complain when we were enjoying the atmosphere so much. Margo and I had Marianna take out picture behind the bar, and we paid and left.
Margo and I wanted to see the last Harry Potter movie which came out today, so that was our plan for 9:30 PM. But, it was only about 8:15 or so. So we decided to walk up and down the main street and check out the shops that were open. We ended up finding Margo a purse and a charm, plus several shirts for the kids. It got to be about 9 PM, and we needed to get going. But, Margo needed to get back to the hotel to go to the bathroom, so we detoured there first. We got to the theater at 9:25 PM. We had bought our tickets in advance, but we still needed to get popcorn. By the time we got into the theater the only seats left were in the first few rows. So that’s were we sat. I didn’t think they were too bad. The movie was good, and we will likely go see it again. But, by the time it was over and we got back to the hotel it was nearly midnight. I was up until 1 AM doing various things before I finally went to bed.
Day Three-Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday was our last day before the long drive home. We had planned to be up early, so we could get back to Lovell at an earlier time. But 7 AM was about the best we could do. We got our showers and got dressed. We were going to have breakfast at a place called “Granny’s”, but they had a waiting list already. So we decided to get something at a nearby Burger King. We probably should have searched for something better, but it was good enough.
We drove to Lovell and got there a bit after 10 AM. We sat and visited for about an hour, and then we decided to go to the Visitors Center for the Bighorn National Recreation Area there in town. It was a nice place and Uncle Gary has the ranger on duty cue of three films about the area. The films did not run on a schedule as it wasn’t busy enough to warrant that. We spent a bit more than an hour learning more about we had just seen the day before. It was interesting. Afterwards, Margo bought her and Aunt Helen a cookbook.
After that it was off to lunch. We went to a place that was formerly known as Langes Café, but was now the Brandin’ Iron, as it was under new ownership within the last few days. We got good service and good food. There was a couple eating that Helen and Gary know, so they chatted back and forth with them a bit as well. After lunch we went back to their house and I interviewed them for the next five hours. You would think in that time I would have found out all I needed to know. But, I know from doing this before that there will be tons of stuff I missed and didn’t even think to ask. Those holes will make themselves evident as soon as I start to do the actual writing.
Margo’s cousin, and Helen and Gary’s daughter, Julie, had invited us over for dinner. So around 6 PM we left Lovell for the 45-60 minute drive back to Cody. Julie and Jeff had grilled some pork and turkey steaks. They were pretty good. She had marinated them in BBQ sauce. There were veggies, beans, and fruit. Both of their kids, Allen and Shantel, came over as well. We had a nice visit and meal. Afterwards we played a card game called Nickel-Nickel. It was fun and they were good company. We only played one complete round which took about 45 minutes. I was tired and knew we wouldn’t be getting enough sleep again. So by about 8:30 PM or so we left. We stopped in downtown Cody long enough to get a couple of pictures and finish getting souvenirs. Then it was back to the hotel. We still ended up not getting into bed until after 11 PM. We always seem to find some reason not to get to bed early.
We drove to Lovell and got there a bit after 10 AM. We sat and visited for about an hour, and then we decided to go to the Visitors Center for the Bighorn National Recreation Area there in town. It was a nice place and Uncle Gary has the ranger on duty cue of three films about the area. The films did not run on a schedule as it wasn’t busy enough to warrant that. We spent a bit more than an hour learning more about we had just seen the day before. It was interesting. Afterwards, Margo bought her and Aunt Helen a cookbook.
After that it was off to lunch. We went to a place that was formerly known as Langes Café, but was now the Brandin’ Iron, as it was under new ownership within the last few days. We got good service and good food. There was a couple eating that Helen and Gary know, so they chatted back and forth with them a bit as well. After lunch we went back to their house and I interviewed them for the next five hours. You would think in that time I would have found out all I needed to know. But, I know from doing this before that there will be tons of stuff I missed and didn’t even think to ask. Those holes will make themselves evident as soon as I start to do the actual writing.
Margo’s cousin, and Helen and Gary’s daughter, Julie, had invited us over for dinner. So around 6 PM we left Lovell for the 45-60 minute drive back to Cody. Julie and Jeff had grilled some pork and turkey steaks. They were pretty good. She had marinated them in BBQ sauce. There were veggies, beans, and fruit. Both of their kids, Allen and Shantel, came over as well. We had a nice visit and meal. Afterwards we played a card game called Nickel-Nickel. It was fun and they were good company. We only played one complete round which took about 45 minutes. I was tired and knew we wouldn’t be getting enough sleep again. So by about 8:30 PM or so we left. We stopped in downtown Cody long enough to get a couple of pictures and finish getting souvenirs. Then it was back to the hotel. We still ended up not getting into bed until after 11 PM. We always seem to find some reason not to get to bed early.
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Day Four-Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday arrived way too quick. Margo got us packed up and by about 6:40 AM we were on our way home. We took the same route back as we did going. We went through the Wind River Canyon, which is very pretty. We stopped in Casper, WY and ate at Sanfords like we planned. The food was good and the portions generous. It looks like a fun place when it gets going. Our waitress was a bit new and was a bit forces with her banter trying to be friendly. But, it was more endearing than annoying.
Margo had me drive from Casper to home. We made really good time. Drive time without stopping is about 8 hours. We made about 1 1/3 hours worth of stops and got home at 3:30 PM, which was 8 hrs and 50 minutes. As quick as we got home, we unloaded the car and got right back in to return the rental. That went smooth and by 5 PM we were home again and officially done with the vacation. As usual it went quick.
Margo had me drive from Casper to home. We made really good time. Drive time without stopping is about 8 hours. We made about 1 1/3 hours worth of stops and got home at 3:30 PM, which was 8 hrs and 50 minutes. As quick as we got home, we unloaded the car and got right back in to return the rental. That went smooth and by 5 PM we were home again and officially done with the vacation. As usual it went quick.
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Day Five
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