Gun Fighting and Rodeos

Cody, WY

Gun fights and rodeos.  What could be more "real west"?

On Friday evening we attended a gunfight in front of the Irma Hotel in downtown Cody.  The Irma Hotel was built by "Buffalo Bill" Cody in 1902 and was named after his daughter. Today, the hotel retains much of the look it had of over 100 years ago.

During the summer months, actors stage a 30-minute gun fighting skit in front of the Irma Hotel. The show runs Mon-Sat and begins nightly at 6 PM.  Here is a picture of the crowd beginning to gather.

In the skit the bank gets robbed by the "bad guys", then the good guys come and shoot 'em up.

Although the skit is somewhat shallow, everyone appears to have a good time.

The cast of the show gathers afterwards and acknowledges the cheers from the crowds.

Immediately after the gunfighting show we went out to the western edge of Cody to attend the Cody Nightly Rodeo.  During the season, the rodeo occurs every night of the week at 8 PM, with the gates opening at 7 PM.

View from "Buzzard's Roost" before the Rodeo

The rodeo lasts for two hours and we had a very nice time. (Actually, we liked it so much we attended the next night at a 1/2 off ticket price.)  If you go, sit in the stands across from the entrance in an area called "Buzzard's Roost".  All of the chutes are closer to that side, and it's shady as well.

We arrived just after the gates opened and had our choice of seats.  We were sitting in the front row (near center) and overlooking the bull and bronc riding chutes.

One of the "cutest" events in the entire rodeo was when a 6 year old little guy rode in the barrel riding event. (For those not familiar with rodeos, females are usually the riders in the barrel riding event.) Notice the size of the horse this little guy is riding. He, of course, received a lot of cheers from the crowd.

I took several short videos, but will only include a short clip of the bull riding event.  It was not a good night for the bull riders tonight.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Day 2)

Cody, WY

Thursday we finished our visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, WY. Because William F."Buffalo Bill" Cody is essential to the history of Cody, WY, an entire hall is devoted to his life and accomplishments.  In his early life Cody gained notoriety as a scout and guide. During this period he also picked up his nickname of "Buffalo Bill" after the American Civil War when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat.

Costume from the Wild West Show

Many artifacts from Cody's family life are on display. It was apparent from reading several of the items belonging to Cody's wife Louisa Frederici Cody that she was not happy that Buffalo Bill spent much of his time away from his family during the years when Cody was touring and promoting his Wild West Show.  Cody had four children with Louisa.

Arta Cody (1866-1904)
Kit Carson Cody (1870-1876)
Orra Maude Cody (1872-1883)
Irma Louisa Cody Garlow (1883-1918)

Kit died of scarlet fever in April 1876, and his daughter Orra died in 1883.  Buffalo Bill was very fond of his youngest child, Irma, and  eventually built and named the Irma Hotel in Cody, WY after her in 1902. The Irma Hotel is still very active today.

A large display area is devoted to  Cody's Wild West Show and set-up during its' time in New York City.

Cody formed the Wild West Show in 1883 and toured the US and Europe for the next thirty years. At the turn of the twentieth century Cody's name was known world wide.  He took his entire show overseas and played for Queen Victoria.  The museum possesses what it claims to be the largest outdoor poster for Cody's Wild West Show in London for 1887.

Before the museum I will admit that I knew very little about William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.  Afterwards, I've decided that I'd like to do some more research and learn more.  He seemed to have been a very interesting character. Quite a promoter!

The next portion of the museum is dedicated to the Plains Indians.  Many display items are dedicated to the history of the tribes in this area of the country. We are shown artifacts belonging to the tribes from long ago, then shown how and where they were relocated to reservations, and finally displays show the life of the Plains Indians during modern times.   A really nice display shows the daily life of a tribe as the seasons change.  Audio and visual props are used in a 2-story gallery setting.

There are many cases displaying the beautiful bead and feather work done by many of these tribes.

We took a little break from looking at static displays and attended one of the Center's educational programs given daily. This one was called Relaxing with Raptors. Two handlers led an informal discussion about

some of the birds common to this area.  All of these birds were "rescued" after being involved with car accidents or other maladies.  Their physical conditions are such that they would not be able to survive in the wild if released again.

Hayabusa: peregrine falcon

Isham: red-tailed hawk

Kateri: golden eagle

The final portion of the museum is called the Whitney Western Art Museum. Contained within it are bronzes, 

paintings, sculptures, and castings for bronzes centered around "all things western". I will not pretend to be well versed in art, but I know what I like when I see it.

There are famous bronzes such as "End of the Trail" by James Earl Fraser (cast 1918-1923)

and paintings like "Lower Yellowstone Falls" by Albert Bierstadt.

Then there are modern works of art such as "The Menagerie" created by Michael Scott (2007-2011).

Perhaps one of the most recognized of western art pieces actually resides outside the museum.  The large bronze entitled Buffalo Bill-The Scout was created by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1924 and became the corner piece of what would eventually become the Whitney Western Art Museum.

Trust me, I have only scratched the surface of what's held in the museum's collection.  I would advise anyone who would like to visit the museum to allow at least 2 days. For someone interested in the fact and folklore of the West, this is the place to come!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Day 1)

Cody, WY

On Wednesday and Thursday we visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, WY.  For anyone who has ever been to this "museum complex" you'd understand why it took two days to see.  The Center contains all things western and is beautifully designed.  It is comprised of 5 different areas of interest to include: Cody Firearms Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, and the Whitney Western Art Museum.

Because this facility encompasses so many things to see I've decided to break this blog into two parts.  It would be far too long to attempt to squeeze everything into today's blog.  The museum used to be called the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, but the name was changed in recent years in an attempt to broaden the scope of the center.  Still, "Buffalo Bill" Cody's influence is still very strong throughout.

We first visited the Cody Firearms Museum.  The museum asserts that it houses the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world.

I would certainly not disagree.  I will say upfront that I am not a "gun nut" and and not that well versed in the history of firearms in this country, but all I can say is "WOW"!  This place holds the entire Winchester collection of firearms which was moved from New Haven, CT back in 1975 and has now become a permanent home for this collection.

There is everything here from entire makers' collection of guns as in this handgun display of Smith and Wesson models................ to

displays of Commemorative and beautifully inlaid works like this shotgun made by James Purdey and Sons of London, England in 1978. It is said to possibly be one of the most exquisitely decorated shotguns ever made.

The gold inlay work and engraving was done by English master engraver Ken Hunt. .........to

a very impressive display of both air handguns and long guns.  If anyone remembers the movie "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie couldn't have a Red Ryder BB gun because "he might put someone's eye out", here's the Red Ryder.

The firearms are displayed in cases depicting the growth of the United States from the Colonial times up through present day.  Special displays depicting weaponry used in different war times were very well done.  This collection is very impressive, even for those who are not well versed in the history and evolution of firearms.

The latter part of our first day was spent in the Draper Natural History Museum.  This section deals with much of the wildlife found in this portion of the country, and within Yellowstone National Park in particular. If you haven't gotten a chance yet to view the animals in the wild, then you can certainly find them somewhere in this gallery (even if they are stuffed and not too mobile anymore).

Top (L): Grizzly Bear and Wolverine  Top (R): Marmot
Bottom (L): Elk  Bottom (R): Pronghorn Antelope

The design and layout of the displays is very well done.  The wildlife and natural land features were grouped in different "zones" beginning at the bottom floor (which dealt with elevations below 5000 feet) and worked its' way upward (literally) until you were examining features which occur above 10,000 feet.

The center is designed to be educational in ways other than just static displays.  Tours and special interest discussions are given throughout the day.  Just select one you're interested in and show up at the appropriate time and location.  We attended a very informative talk given by a member of the US Forest Service on "Hiking in Bear Country".  Because we were "easterners" for many, many years we never encountered bears as you might in this part of the country.  Be learned two essential things when hiking where one might encounter a bear.   Number 1:   Make lots of noise.  This will greatly lessen the chance that you will have an encounter with a bear to begin with and Number 2:  Carry bear spray with you and make sure it's accessible for quick deployment.

Well, we can definitely handle #1, but we have to buy some of the bear spray as we intend to do some hiking in Yellowstone Park next week.

That's it for the first day of our visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  I would advise anyone who comes to Cody to try and make time (preferably 2 days at least) to see this wonderful display.  Tomorrow, day 2 at the center.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Cody Trolley and Buffalo Bill Dam

Cody, WY

Monday was a nice weather day so we decided to take the Cody Trolley Tour to get an overview of Cody and the surrounding area. We purchased a combo ticket which included the Trolley Tour and a 2-day pass to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (museum complex).  After speaking with other folks, we'll save the museum tours for some other days, as the collection is quite extensive.

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was quite a character in his day. He was known for being an Army scout, Pony Express rider, ranch hand, wagon train driver, buffalo hunter, fur trapper and gold prospector, but possibly best known as a showman with his "Wild West Shows".  It was said that Cody was the most recognized man in the world at the turn of the twentieth century.

Cody's vision brought Cody, WY into existence.  In the early days of the town very little existed in this part of the Wyoming Territory.

The tour highlighted many of the older structures around town and the guides presented old photographs as the town looked in its' infancy.  I'll go into several of these "attractions" in following blogs as we get a chance to photograph and experience them.

For me, one of the most important spots on the tour was a quick trip out to Buffalo Bill Dam.

 I had not even considered visiting this area (not sure how I missed it in my internet research) prior to taking the Trolley Tour, but we wanted to learn more and visited after leaving the 1-hour Trolley Tour.

Buffalo Bill Dam is located only 6 miles west of Cody on US16-14-20 (Yellowstone Highway).  Initial construction on the dam began in the spring of 1904 and was finally completed in 1910.  At the time of completion, Buffalo Bill Dam was the tallest dam in the world at 325 feet.

 The dam was originally built to create a source of irrigation for the Bighorn Basin.

In 1922 the dam began to be used for power production.  The Shoshone Power Plant came on line in that year and expanded in 1931.  The plant continued in use until 1980 when the plant was decommissioned due to a deteriorating state of repair. Another power plant was constructed downstream towards Cody.

The dam has a Visitor's Center administered by the NPS and the site itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Far Side Looking Back Toward the Visitor Center

Spillway Towards Cody

We decided to drive about 15 miles west towards Yellowstone just to check out some of the road to the park.  We still haven't decided whether to drive the MH directly from Cody to Yellowstone Park and over to West Yellowstone, or take an easier (but far less scenic) route north out of Cody back to Interstate 90 into Montana.  We would then travel west and head as far as Bozeman, MT before turning south on US191 towards West Yellowstone.  If anyone has taken the direct route west from Cody to the east gate entrance of Yellowstone Park we would certainly appreciate any insight.

This was a a view of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir as we traveled west past the dam.

Thanks for dropping by to take a look!