Buffalo Bill in Cody

The weather was pleasantly cool...not cold...when I left Red Lodge, MT this morning. It only took a little over an hour to drive to Cody, MT, my destination of the day. I would be spending the whole day at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This complex contains five museums: Buffalo Bill Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum and Cody Firearms Museum.

The center is named after William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, a man of many aspirations, but most famous for his Wild West shows. His statue graces the front of the building, but his life was no exaggeration. I decided to check out the Buffalo Bill Museum first and I spent the longest time of my day there. Even though I knew some of his story, I learned a lot of other things, too. He earned his nickname while providing meat...bison...for the workers building the railroad in the Midwest. His reputation as a scout, Indian fighter and buffalo hunter resulted in many comic book stories in the 1870s.

This fame soon led to the Wild West shows. Buffalo Bill was very progressive in his views of women's equality, respect for the native Indians and interest in people from other countries. They all performed in his shows and even traveled around the world. They had displays of the real posters advertising those shows and Buffalo Bill's outfits, including the jacket shown below.

After lunch at the center, I visited the other museums. Here are some of the more interesting things I saw. An Indian war shield cover decorated with a raven, Ben Cartwright's (Lorne Greene) gun from the TV series Bonanza and a painting by American Western painter Frederic Remington.

After seeing all the taxidermy animals in the natural history museum, I was happy that they actually had some live ones. They had a live raptor program where handlers displayed and provided an educational talk on birds that are unable to be returned to the wild. Suli the turkey vulture was too imprinted on humans, Hayabusa the peregrine falcon could no longer fly, and Isham the red-tailed hawk lost an eye. There was also a bald eagle on display in the courtyard...it also had a damaged wing. It was wonderful to see such beautiful birds of prey up close.

It was almost a shame to spend such a nice, sunny day indoors. But, the forecast looks to be equally as good tomorrow! I'll be spending the morning revisiting Yellowstone, then onward to Grand Teton National Park. Looking forward to more great natural sights and majestic scenery!

Hot springs and valley views

Well, whatever faux illness I had seems to have gone away, thankfully. When I woke up this morning in Gardiner, MT, it was chilly...mid-20s! Before leaving town, I stopped to snap a few pics of the Roosevelt Arch. President Theodore Roosevelt actually laid the cornerstone of the arch when it was constructed by the U.S. Army back in 1903. While admiring the landmark, I noticed a couple elk helping themselves to some of the local greenery.  Then, it was onward for my second day at Yellowstone National Park.

I spent a couple of hours revisiting Mammoth Hot Springs.  After driving to the Upper Terrace area, I strolled along the boardwalks admiring the sights. I also saw a little bird...I'm pretty sure it was a Yellow Rumped Warbler...checking out the hot springs, too.

I also took some photos of Palette Spring in the Lower Terrace section. The formations are so beautiful, it's really hard to take a "bad" picture.

Next, I traveled east through the Lamar Valley area of the park. It was my first visit to the valley and I had heard it was possible to see lots of wildlife there. I saw a lot of bison...most from afar...but, that was it. Still, it was an amazing sight, especially the bison wallowing in mud pits.

A little further down the road, I stopped to check out a rock formation known as Soda Butte. There was a bull bison across the road, which I thought was a sufficient distance away from me. Well, that quickly changed when it decided to cross the road. A pickup truck had to stop very quickly to avoid hitting the animal, and I stood behind my car as a safety precaution.

Since Beartooth Highway was closed, my alternate route was another scenic route on State Highway 296, also known as Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. Just as I was about to make the turn, some mule deer crossed the road in front of me. After they passed, I parked near the intersection, and walked back with my camera too see if I could get a few pics. I found out the deer were just as interested at looking at me!

My alternate route proved to have more than enough impressive scenery to satisfy. For one brief moment, I thought I might see a wolf, thanks to a kind trucker's tip to some of us stopped at a scenic overlook. Alas, when we arrived at the two black cattle that he described the wolf was eyeballing, there was no wolf in sight. Oh, well.

Tomorrow, I'll be back in civilization, so to speak. The good weather has been holding up so far. I hope it continues as I have many more outdoor adventures to go!

Autumn in Yellowstone

Before leaving Twin Falls, ID this morning, I went to a grocery store to pick up some allergy and cold medicine, and a box of facial tissue with lotion. I'm not entirely sure what is bothering me, but I wanted to suppress the symptoms. I took an allergy pill but later regretted it. About an hour later as I was driving down the road, I started feeling very drowsy. I stopped at a rest area to take a break and felt a little more awake. As I write this, I just looked at the box and saw that the generic stuff I bought is comparable to Benadryl. Well, that explains everything. That's the one product that definitely makes me feel sleepy!

After driving all morning, I arrived at Yellowstone National Park in the early afternoon. Since I've seen all of the most popular areas of the park already...and that includes the geyser basins...I planned to experience places I haven't done. Due to a construction road closure, I didn't have as much time to sightsee. As I entered the park from the west entrance, I saw elk and buffalo sharing a field next to the Madison River.

I had just enough time to take in a short, but somewhat strenuous hike to the Brink of the Lower Falls located in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The 0.8 mile round trip trail takes you down via a series of switchbacks. You tread carefully for the descent, then huff and puff going back up. Believe me, I wasn't the only one. The 7500 foot elevation really has an effect on you. But, the trek was worth it. Even with the cloudy skies, the view was impressive.

Afterward, I headed north on the Grand Loop Road over Dunraven Pass. The recent snows covered the Washburn Range in a blanket of white. I stopped at a viewpoint to admire the scenery and take a few pics.

Below the snowline in the town of Mammoth Hot Springs, I checked on road conditions at the visitor center in preparation for my park day tomorrow. The lawns around the town buildings are a popular lounging area for elk. I wasn't disappointed...there was a handsome bull elk and his harem relaxing on the grass.

Well, I think I'll hit the sack early and hopefully tomorrow, I'll feel well rested and free of this pesky allergy/cold that hasn't really manifested itself...and with luck, never will!

History and half pillows

Okay, this has been an ongoing beef of mine ever since I started road tripping. The infernal hotel half pillows. You would think it would be easier to outfit hotel rooms with standard size pillows. But, possibly in an effort to provide a more artistic bed presentation, the half pillow was invented. I don't know about you, but I can't sleep on half a pillow. In fact, in order to get a consistently good night's sleep, I bring my own king-sized pillow. It doesn't matter what type of bed I get, the pillow makes all the difference. Anyway, for your viewing enjoyment, here's an example of last night's half pillows with my own pillow to provide scale, and tonight's offering.

I left Kennewick, WA this morning and drove about two and half hours to Baker City, OR. After a quick lunch, I went to my only fun destination of the day, Baker Heritage Museum. This museum is fairly small, but loaded with nice exhibits of local history and miscellaneous items.

Of the historical artifacts, most were pretty standard...stuff about gold mining, cattle ranching and pioneer life. Still, there were some things I found interesting. Here is a school wagon, equivalent to our modern day bus, a 1939 era Snickers candy box and vintage dolls. I thought the dolls were a bit creepy. That second one appears to be looking at me.

There was a cool scale model of the town they built for the movie, Paint Your Wagon, which was filmed near Baker City back in 1968. I thought the scat quiz for kids was educational and humorous. I sure learned a thing or two!

The museum also had a special exhibit of rocks, minerals and fossils donated by two local families. I was very impressed by the sheer number of beautiful items. Here are a couple that I found particularly unique that I had never seen before...the second one is a fossil coral.

Tomorrow, I'll finally be seeing some outdoor natural wonders as I head over to Yellowstone National Park. The weather and roads have been pretty iffy for the past week, so I'm a bit apprehensive what I might find when I get there. To make matters worse, I might be coming down with a cold. I hope it's not the case. I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning...

The first day of fall means...ROAD TRIP!

Yes, it's that time of the year...time for my fall road trip. Actually, I was packed two weeks ago. It was a rather sad day, though...the last day with my beloved cat Kimi. She was 19 years old and was too sick to keep going on. I said my last goodbyes that day and the next day she was gone. Her absence has left a big void in my heart, one that will eventually be filled with another feline friend. In the meantime, I'm using my road trip as a pick me up, and to forget about work for awhile.

Day One of my fall road trip was a whole lot of driving. I stopped at Uwajimaya in Bellevue to pick up lunch and some other road trip food essentials. About an hour and a half later, I stopped at a rest area and enjoyed my unagi...that's eel with teriyaki sauce...rice bowl.

My only sightseeing destination of the day was The Reach Museum in Richland, WA. This museum has exhibits showcasing the geology, history and science of the surrounding area and southwest Washington.

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I found the exhibits on how the Ice Age created the amazing geological formations in the Columbia Basin especially fascinating. There was also a very informative presentation on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and its importance in providing plutonium for the Manhattan Project...our first nuclear bomb...and our entire nuclear arsenal thereafter. After looking at the indoor exhibits, I went outside to check out a travel trailer that families stayed in when Hanford was under construction during World War II. Before leaving, I noticed some pretty seed heads of a plant I couldn't identify.

So, the first day of my road trip was a bit understated, but things will pick up as I continue on my journey. Tomorrow, I head into Oregon and Idaho, losing an hour along the way. The forecast says sunny skies and that's always welcome when you're road tripping!