YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Yellowstone was the first area to be declared a National Park in 1872 and, although it is not the largest park, it covers 2.2 million acres with the majority in Wyoming and small parts in Montana and Idaho.  The wildlife is abundant and geological features are amazing. As you drive down the roads, you see the earth steaming and ponds bubbling as well as smell the sulfur from the hot springs.  We saw Bee Hive geyser erupt as well as Old Faithful.  Old Faithful is on an every 90 minute(+/-) schedule but Bee Hive only erupts 1-2 times/day on an irregular schedule.  I won't bore you with details on the whys and hows, just keep in mind that it is a place worth a visit. A major change to the tour was the inclusion of an audio tour on a GPS that everyone got for the Yellowstone days. Each guest simple set it up in there auto and as they traversed the park the GPS would trigger and give detailed narration of the area.

We stayed in West Yellowstone, Montana where there are many restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops.  While in town, the group saw a giant screen movie about Yellowstone and  visited the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center.  It is home to home to grizzlies, wolves and some birds of prey that are not able to survive in the wild.   

Of course, there is always time for fun and games.  This time Sue introduced us to Hula Charades.  Can you picture spelling out words like Badlands and Devil's Tower using your hips and butt?  It was hilarious.

ON THE WAY TO YELLOWSTONE

ELK HERD

BISON HERD

BABY BISON

OUR FIRST TASTE OF THE HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY OF YELLOWSTONE

GUESS WHO

GROUP AT THE I-MAX

HOWLING WOLF

GROUP AT RANGER TALK

WE FOUND THIS QUAINT LITTLE CAFE FOR LUNCH STILL THE ORIGINAL OWNERS
see story below

ANOTHER TRAVEL BRIEF

AND MORE FOOD - THIS TIME A POT LUCK DINNER

OH YES IT IS

TERRY DEMONSTRATES HULA CHARADES

GARY WINS

GIBBON FALLS

MOUNTAIN GOATS

PETRIFIED REDWOOD TREE

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS

A DORMANT GEYSER CONE

MULE DEER

BLACK SAND BASIN

BEEHIVE  GEYSER

OLD FAITHFUL

OLD FAITHFUL LODGE

CODY WYOMING

We spent several days in Cody, Wyoming before heading to Yellowstone.  The city is all about Buffalo Bill.  He designed the city including the placement of buildings and the width of the streets and  the main hotel is named for his youngest daughter, Irma.  The bar at the Irma is made of Rosewood and was presented to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria when he took his Wild West Show to England.  One magazine said that "his charisma and exploits made him the most famous man in the world by the year 1900".

There is a "gunfight" every evening through September with the main characters being Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Butch Cassidy.  It was more comedy than gunfight but a fun event.

The group went to the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue and had a fun evening listening to songs and stories from the old west.

Cody also has a museum that has been called the Smithsonian of the West.  An excellent museum with separate areas dedicated to Western art, firearms, natural history and, of course, Buffalo Bill.

To top off our visit to Cody, staff (the wagonmasters and us) prepared breakfast for our group so they could have full stomachs before exploring the area on their free day.

GUNFIGHT IN CODY 
AT THE IRMA HOTEL

IRMA HOTEL

ORIGINAL ROSEWOOD BAR AT THE IRMA

BUFFALO BILL

WILD BILL HICKOK

THE CAST

COULD BEVERLY POSSIBLY BE THE BANK ROBBER?

CALAMITY AND TIM

CAMPGROUND VISITORS

ON CITY TOUR 

OUR CAMPGROUND FROM ABOVE

OLDEST HOME IN THE CITY STILL OCCUPIED

COWBOY MUSIC REVUE

BUFFALO BILL BRONZE STATUE

THE SHOSHONE RIVER GORGE

PREPARING EGGS IN A BAG

BUFFALO BILL

TIM AND KATHY

BETTY PROVIDING TRAFFIC CONTROL WHILE KEN WORKED ON DAVE'S RIG