Our Cody Adventure

Did you know that Cody, Wyoming, is the "Rodeo Capital of the World?" Mark and I weren't thinking much about rodeos when we drove through town on the way to Yellowstone. But when we passed under a banner that read, "Rodeo Tonight - 8:00," I suggested to Mark that we go. I've always wanted to go to a real live rodeo and I don't remember ever having been to one, which is as good as never having been to one. But by the time we got set up in our campground and settled in, we were tired and decided not to go that day.

Whenever we arrive at a new location, we look for brochures and tourist information, and we happened upon a brochure for Cody with an advertisement for "Dinner, Show, and Rodeo" for a very reasonable price. I called and made our reservation for Sunday. Sunday would be our day in Cody.

The first place we stopped was the Buffalo Bill Dam. Built on the Shoshone River, this was the tallest dam structure in the world at the time. It's SO tall, that I could not get up the courage to walk out onto the walkway and look over the edge. Mark, however, who claims to suffer from acrophobia, not only went out onto the bridge, but leaned over to take a picture. I no longer believe he really has acrophobia. My stomach was doing somersaults just thinking about walking out onto the bridge.

Then we were on our way into Cody. Our next stop was the Buffalo Bill Center, a museum honoring the famous Buffalo Bill Cody, the Plains Indians, native wildlife and such.The Center houses a gigantic firearms collection which Mark enjoyed browsing through. All I saw was a bunch of guns: some were new, some were old, otherwise they all looked the same. It was like a gun show where nothing was for sale. Anyway, the rest of the museum was very interesting. We spent a couple hours there and still didn't see everything.

After that we stopped at Walmart to do some shopping.

Finally we headed over to the Cody Cattle Company for our "Trifecta" meal and entertainment. Dinner was buffet style, but the food was delicious. Long picnic-style tables were set up in the dining hall and everyone was seated together "family style." The gentleman who seated us found us a place at the front table (he turned out to be the fiddle player in the show), which was fortuitous because we were the first to go through the food line. All the people around us were campers like ourselves - visiting Yellowstone. The MC, who gave us the low-down on the evening turned out to be the leader of the band.

The show was a lot of fun. Those guys are extremely talented entertainers, which surprised the heck out of me. What are they doing buried in the little out-of-the-way town of Cody? Turns out they have a winter gig in Apache Junction, Arizona, that we'll have to check out sometime.

The show was over at about 7:30 and the rodeo was a five minute walk from the restaurant.

The rodeo was a blast. There was bucking bronco riding.

There was calf roping.

There was bull riding.

There was barrel racing, and junior events, and clowns, and screeching popcorn vendors. About halfway through, they called all the children, aged six to twelve, into the arena and told them that the first two to capture the ribbon off the tail of the calf would win a prize. Then they let go two calves into the arena with a hundred crazy children chasing them around. It was hilarious.

For those of you who don't know, my dad's father was a rodeo performer back in the 1920s. He got his start in Roundup, Montana, breaking wild horses, and rode in some famous rodeos, including Cheyenne, Denver, and even Madison Square Garden in New York City. I don't know if Cody was on his circuit, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

It was a wonderful day in Cody. If you ever find yourself there, make sure you include the Cody Cattle Company and the rodeo in your activities. You'll be glad you did.




Pics from the museum...