1129 September 7, 2024 The Road To Cody

I made a stop for a yummy, creamy, pumpkin spice latte on this crisp September morning.

We pulled out of town and as we left, we saw a raven sitting on top of a dumpster with a whole slice of pizza in his mouth. I wish that I had been able to take a picture…it would have been prizeworthy! We fueled the RV with diesel and drove through the West Entrance. At 9am, there was already a long line of vehicles waiting to get in to the park.

It is remarkable that we see any wildlife at all with all the traffic that goes through but there was a black bear on the opposite side of the Madison River, standing on hind legs, and foraging among the trees.

There was another traffic delay and rangers were out in the road and there was a tow truck and a dump truck as well. It looked like there was a large male buffalo, dead in the field a short distance from the road. It seemed that the crew had been dispatched to remove the carcass. I am quite sure that no one wanted wolves and bears so close to the road.

We made a right onto Grand Loop where there was another big buffalo strolling on the shoulder.

As we continued our ride, we saw a herd of about 100 buffalo grazing in a meadow. The steam geysers in the background made an interesting back drop for pictures.

We drove past all the geyser basin parking areas. There was nowhere to put our big rig towing!

Biscuit Basin remains closed. In July of this year, there was a hydrothermal explosion at the site. The area is closed for the remainder of the season as geologists and seismologists monitor activity.

We drove past Old Faithful and over the Continental Divide.

We took a break along Yellowstone Lake.

Another stretch break. Tim’s back is still tight and sore. I have given him Tylenol and fluids but there isn’t much else that I can do…

It was a glorious day for a paddle.

We continued up and then down the mountain and out of the park. We drove through the Shoshone National Forest. We found a beautiful lunch spot.

We traveled through Buffalo Bill State Park, past the reservoir and the dam.

We went through the three tunnels, over the Shoshone River and then we arrived in Cody.

The campground owners, mother and daughter, both graduated from Western Maryland College and so there was lots to talk about!

We rested in the afternoon and then got all dolled up to go to dinner. We went to Cassie’s Steakhouse. Back in the day, this was a bordello. We had excellent food. We haven’t had steak since Christmas. Tim does not, as a rule, eat red meat. We decided though that while we were in Wyoming, we would treat ourselves to a steak dinner. The steaks were prepared perfectly with delicious baked potatoes and fresh green beans. It was the best meal that we have had in a while!

We had two choices after dinner. There was a collegiate rodeo competition or a walk downtown. We were so full that we chose to walk.

We were browsing in a shop when Tim saw a guy wearing a Ravens shirt. It turns out that this man grew up in Glyndon and Tim knew his family. It is such a small world!

We saw lots of people coming down the sidewalk with ice cream. We stopped at the Big Chill. Tim had a caramel concoction and I had a bourbon, maple, pecan dish. We sat on a bench and watched the people go by.

We had a wonderful drive and a great evening!