Waking up refreshed, I was surprised that I didn't have too bad of an allergic reaction to the feather bedding and pillows in the hotel room. We all showered and got dressed and went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. It was fantastic! There were the make your own waffles, scrambled eggs, hash browns, back bacon, and oatmeal for hot items, a fantastic fruit salad, a choice of fruit and cereals, breads for toasting, many toppings, juice, coffee... almost too much to list really, it was way, WAY better than what we had at the Ho Jo's in Lethbridge. We filled our tanks, finished packing and checked out by 9:15 a.m. and were on our way to find a gas station to fill up then head to Cody.
This is where it got interesting. Tim and his iPhone directed us to the nearest Exxon fuel station (my Esso Fleet Card works there so we have been fuelling at them regularly). Try #1, nothing there, try #2, no pumps and shut down, finally, clear across Billings, try #3 we found a fully functioning Exxon. We gassed up and headed out to Cody, WY, whose founding father was none other than W.F. Cody, otherwise known as Buffalo Bill Cody.
There was lots of construction on the way to Cody, 3 different locations we had to stop and be piloted across the construction. It was interesting driving through though, not much but sage brush and the odd tuft of grass in the valleys.
We (I mean I) decided the best way to start would be to take the Cody Trolley Tour. They claim "if you give us 1 hour we'll give you 100 years!". That was certainly true!
 |
| between the tunnels, looking towards the dam. I think that is a natural rock arch. |
 |
| The inside of the trolley and the back of Patty's head |
 |
| You can't see them in this picture but this is where the rock climbers go to practice their skills. |
 |
| The dam holds back 12 miles of water! |
 |
| looking back towards the dam. It was an engineering marvel when it was completed, the tallest arch dam ever. Hoover Dam is based on it's design. |
 |
| The mountain that Buffalo Bill wanted to be buried on. |
We also got to see a large portion of town via the trolley and get the basic lay of the land so to speak. Our next stop was for lunch, we popped in to a little Italian place called Adriano's: Home of the Spaghetti Western. I don't know about that but the sandwiches Tim and I had were delicious and Connor could not finish his cheese pizza. We had to sample the Cannoli, still not like at home from the Italian Centre Shop but still good.
Next was the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It not only featured Buffalo Bill, but Annie Oakley and many of his famous friends. It also had a Natural Museum of Yellowstone, an Art Museum and a Gun Section. It was amazing. If you are ever in the area, seriously give yourself 2 days. We got kicked out and we only saw half!!
 |
| Photos compliments of Tim with my camera whose batteries died!! |
We had to hit the road anyhow so we fuelled up again (not that we had to but you have to take the less expensive gas when it crosses your path) and headed to East Yellowstone Entrance with the plan to eat at Fishing Bridge again. What an extraordinarily breathtakingly beautiful drive that was.
It was all so amazing. Of course our trip would not be complete without our buddy, Buffalo Bob making a cameo appearance roadside!
 |
| Bob, are you stalking us?? |
There were also some astonishing views of Yellowstone Lake coming in from the East side.
We made it to Fishing Bridge by 8 p.m., they closed at 8:30 so we had to eat quick and leave. It was dark out by the time we left and we still had to get across the park to West Yellowstone. This took us another 2 hours!! People can sometimes try ones patience I tell you!! We finally got back to our trailer, quietly unloaded and tucked ourselves in. A long but enjoyable day.
No comments:
Post a Comment