Cody has a lot to offer

 July 5, 2025

Cody Trout Ranch Camp site 24

Cody, Wyoming

So they all took off and left me behind once again.  There is just too  much for them to do in this area.  Today they began the day with Wade and Chuck on the Cody Trolley.

Momma said the trolley had a full load for the first run of the day.  The driver, Wade and his partner Chuck had their presentation well organized and well memorized without any down time, sharing tidbits of information and stories.  Bill Cody was quite a visionary and his Wild West Shows had earned him enough fame and money to turn those visions into reality.  Buffalo Bill realized the town of Cody needed five things to survive:  Water, a newspaper, lodging, transportation and visitors.  He used his influence to lobby Congress for federal money for the dam.  He started the Cody Enterprise newspaper in 1899.  He built the Irma Hotel in 1902.  He convinced the railroad to bring a spur to Cody in 1901. He helped built two additional hotels and the used his money to help build the road to Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance securing the town's future as a tourist attraction.  Five for five!

Many of the original structures are still standing today as pointed out by our tour guides.

The next adventure was a stop at the weekly Saturday morning Farmer's Market.  Pam found some fried pies that took her eye while Momma picked up a small bag of granola.  After tasting it later, she was sorry she didn't purchase the larger bag.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West tickets are good for more than one day, so that became the next stop.  After all, they still had three of the venues out of the five available to visit.  A special exhibit by a local Cody Hot-Shot Fireman was on display.

Kyle's focus is to tell the story of the men and the process of fighting wildfires through the lens of his camera while working a fire.  

Kyle has upgraded his camera equipment three times over the years and his state of the art equipment has allowed him to capture some dynamic scenes.

His special exhibit was located in the Natural Wildlife area, along with all the animals.  Here are just a few ...

Of course there was loads of signage full of information to educate the visitors.

Dad enjoyed the Firearms display.  What a huge collection that was presented by time periods.

And the final museum was the art gallery full of paintings, as well as lifelike sculptures in metal and plaster.

The gang returned just before the late afternoon rain shower but headed out again for the evening 'shoot out' in front of the Irma Hotel.

And of course in any shoot out, someone always winds up laying on the ground.

The show was free unless you paid three dollars to reserve a folding chair.  Momma said the actors would never make it to the big screen, and she was sure it wasn't a paid performance.  

Another busy day in Cody.

I'm Chloe