Eight thirty and we passed through the West entrance to Yellowstone for the last time. Two groups of seven each are on the way to Cody Wyoming today- a very short trip by all standards. The first leg of the trip was a retreading of our first Day trip on the Grande Loop as far as West Thumb, which was our first potty break. A small hot pool greeted us at the entrance to the rest stop area. Eight large tour buses joined our little group . . . we got there just in time to be the first ones in line for the rest rooms!
We passed along the shores of Yellowhead Lake and evidence of recent forest fires was found on both sides of the highway. Recent as in days. The air is heavy with smoke as the fire fighters continue to contain the blaze.
I thought it would have been stellar if we managed a whole day without road work, but alas it was not to be. Minimal construction today and we passed through fairly quickly. Just down the road, there were two other areas that had bridge work but were controlled by lights, which were quite short. We’re on a Roll!!
We reached the East Gate of Yellowstone just before lunch and decided to stop at a resort area/ gas station/restaurant etc to eat our packed lunches.
I thought it would have been stellar if we managed a whole day without road work, but alas it was not to be. Minimal construction today and we passed through fairly quickly. Just down the road, there were two other areas that had bridge work but were controlled by lights, which were quite short. We’re on a Roll!!
We reached the East Gate of Yellowstone just before lunch and decided to stop at a resort area/ gas station/restaurant etc to eat our packed lunches.
Great place for photos and stretching – poor Rick was lying flat out on the ground and we began to worry if he was alright. Turns out his back is bothering him- we should have enlisted some of those little oriental girls from the Tour Buses at West Thumb to walk on his back! What a missed opportunity!
The scenery changes as soon as we exited the Park and entered Shoshone National Forest What can only be described as ‘sand castle-like’ surrounded us on all sides. Stunning! Not to mention the roads were like snakes and pegs were scraping the pavement freely! In my opinion, the best riding to date!
Cody was only 54 miles from the East Entrance and we came upon it soon after leaving the Shoshone Forest. Everything is bone dry here, unless the irrigation sprinklers can reach it. The town itself, named after Buffalo Bill Cody is quaint and western themed. Once reaching the motel, we shot off in all directions like desperados!
Relaxing was in order for some, and laundry duty for others. Sightseeing was a little ‘iffy’ with thunderstorms predicted as the wind blew up and the dust swirled.
The skies cleared finally and a beautiful evening came into view. Our crew took in the Chuckwagon Buffet followed by a top-notch musical review by a Family who could play guitar like nobody we’ve ever seen. What a fun show and the bonus was, they did a lot of the songs that Ted has been rehearsing for the Rotary Dinner Theatre in October later this year! A quick 10 minute walk took us to the Cody Rodeo: small but fun. I got a big kick out of the Peewee classes for steer riding, barrel racing and breakaway calf roping. The funniest thing was to see the Under Five girls doing barrel racing, their times were under 35 seconds! I kept wondering how on earth they stayed in the saddle! We caught the KOA bus home and I must say, it was a great day!
