Today, we were on the road by 7:30 AM leaving Jackson Hole. As we drove away, Debbie heard crunching in the back. Jerry was eating the last ice cream drumstick. No ice cream left behind.
We were heading to Casper so went back to Yellowstone. After mile one, we pulled over to tussle with the gypsy guide. Our car doesn’t have Bluetooth and our Gypsy’s gets in a snit.
On the way, we saw a herd of Buffalo. There should have been great views of the Tetons but it was too hazy from the California fires’ smoke. We continued on to the south entrance of Yellowstone and out the east gate.
Once we left the park, we took the Buffalo Bill Cody scenic byway. (well I guess that is where Cody Wyoming got its name. The Route is known for rock formations, and wildlife.
Bear sighting! We saw a mother grizzly and her cub. Debbie was vigilant in how fast she could retreat to the car but figured she could scramble in a car faster than some of the other people. The bear’s name was Roxanne. How do we know the name? We learned this from retirees whose hobby is bear watching. They are bear chaser (get it like storm chasers.
We stopped at Buffalo Bill’s Pahaska tepee hunting lodge. Fun fact: This was Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge. The site for Pahaska Tepee was marked with an ax by Buffalo Bill. It is about 50 miles west of Cody in the Absaroka Mountains. Pahaska Tepee was named at the suggestion of Buffalo Bill’s Lakota friend, Iron Tail. Pahaska probably comes from “pahinhonska,” Buffalo Bill’s Lakota name, which means long hair of the head. Tepee is Lakota for lodge. The name is literally Long Hair’s lodge. We would like to show you a picture of the lodge but took a picture of the wrong building.
We stopped at the Bill Cody dam which was free. Bonus! Another fun fact: The original name of the river was Stinking Water. It was changed to Shoshone in 1901 to attract more tourists.
Next stop was the Heart Mountain camp. This camp is where 14,000 Japanese American citizens were interned during World War II after Pearl Harbor. They were held in a camp surrounded by barbed wire with armed guard towers. It is a sad incident in American history.
We ended today at the Holiday in Lodge in Casper Wyoming. We ate dinner – guess where? Another Chinese buffet called the Chinese Family Buffett.
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Art Shot -
There is a grizzly down there some place -
Formations along the way -
Too bad Debbie never gets to eat. -
I am Larry Eng, still a professional -
Buffalo Bill’s Lodge? I think not -
Bill Cody Damn -
Shoshone Lake -
Stinking Water