Red Roads State Pages

Cody

1. Cody Nite Rodeo

2. Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Devils Tower
        Devils Tower National Monument

Yellowstone National Park

1. Overview of our visit to Yellowstone National Park

2. Wildlife

3. Natural Formations

4. Park History

Cody

    Cody Nite Rodeo

    Our first experience with live rodeo was the closing night of the 2004 season of the Cody Nite Rodeo. (Yes, that's how they spell it.) We couldn't tell how authentic the action was, but it seemed like a good introduction for us. The action included rodeo events we had seen on TV, although there weren't many competitors in each event. The cowboys came from Australia and Canada as well as the U.S. There was a calf scramble for the kids in the audience and a clown with corny rodeo jokes. Since it was the last night of the season, many awards were presented for the summer's accomplishments. J even joined the autograph session after the show.

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    Buffalo Bill Historical Center

      The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a large complex with five museum galleries. The Buffalo Bill Museum was my focus. Here I saw artifacts from the life and times of W. F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. There were posters from his Wild West and costumes he wore. The Annie Oakley display interested me because she was from Ohio, like me. This overland coach was used by Buffalo Bill in his shows in both Europe and America.

    For more about the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, including all five museums, visit the official web site.

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Devils Tower

    Devils Tower National Monument

    Devils Tower was first national monument in the United States, established by Theodore Roosevelt on September 24, 1906. We stayed at the campgrounds in the monument in late August 2004. We took a guided hike around the base of Devils Tower. We saw the monolith from various angles as we made our way around it and learned about its history. Devils Tower 

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Yellowstone National Park 

    Overview of our visit to Yellowstone National Park

    We spent nine September days in Yellowstone National Park in 2004. We had made reservations for Fishing Bridge RV Park, which had full hook-ups, because my research had indicated that was the only place with sites big enough for our rig. When we began exploring, however, we found several sites in Grant Campground where boondocking would have suited us just fine. Maybe next time!

    September turned out to be a great time to visit the park. With fewer people on the roads than in the summer, our driving times from point to point were about half as long as the published estimates. That made a big difference in this big place! We also didn't have to fight crowds at meal times or at popular observation spots. It was also the right time of the year to hear the bull elk bugling to their herds of cows. Those eerie calls sent shivers through us! The weather was generally cool but pleasant for hiking. Toward the end of our stay, however, it got colder than we would have liked. We knew it was time to head south!

   

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    Yellowstone Wildlife

    Wildlife viewing is one of the big attractions of Yellowstone National Park. With the help of a park wildlife spotting guide, we learned what animals to watch for. Bison, elk, and mule deer were pretty easy to notice.  Our bear sightings were not many, but we did see both  a grizzly sow with her cub and  a black bear sow with her twins. We spied a moose and calf as we were driving one day, but were unable to get any photos. And in spite of spending time in the company of experienced spotters, we didn't see any of the elusive wolves.

   Our Yellowstone National Park photo album shows more wildlife.

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    Yellowstone Natural Formations

    Probably the most well-known natural formations of Yellowstone are the hydrothermal features. The park contains more than 75% of the world's geysers. Old Faithful, easily-recognized icon of Yellowstone National Park, earned its name in 1870 for its nearly regular schedule. Here is a view of an eruption from the "back" of the geyser, with the Old Faithful Lodge (not the Inn) in the background.

    In the West Thumb Geyser Basin, one of the first areas we visited, we observed that small features could be virtually anywhere. Even if we saw animals walking around, we could not assume it was safe for us to leave the boardwalk, because the ground might be quite hot.

    One afternoon, we joined a park ranger for the Mud Volcano Exploration Walk. One this two-hour hike, we saw first-hand that Yellowstone is still a very dynamic region. Even in developed areas, unexpected changes can occur. The ranger took us off the trail through territory not to be explored on our own. She showed us a feature being studied as it developed.

    Our most unique geyser viewing experience was a nighttime exhibition at Grand Geyser. This is the tallest predictable geyser in the world with eruptions sometimes reaching 200 feet. We had been to Grand Geyser on our afternoon walk and had seen the posted prediction of an eruption between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. After eating supper and watching another Old Faithful display, we returned to Grand Geyser at 8:00. We waited there, sitting on one of the benches, as it got colder and darker. A few other people joined us, but not many. There were few warning signs we could observe in the darkness, but at 9:05, Grand Geyser suddenly erupted with a spectacular spray of water. David had read the sign and knew that there would be a quiet period of about a minute, followed by another display, even higher than the first. That was exactly what happened! The total eruption lasted more than ten minutes. We used flashlights to illuminate the geyser as best we could, but we didn't even try to take photos.

   Our Yellowstone National Park photo album shows more geysers, plus Yellowstone Lake and lots of waterfalls.

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    Yellowstone Park History

    Since Yellowstone was the world's first national park, civilian administration during the first years was somewhat shaky. In 1886, U. S. Army personnel were assigned to protect the park. Temporary facilities were used for five years, but in 1891 the first permanent structures of Fort Yellowstone were completed in the Mammoth Hot Springs area. Many of these buildings are currently used for park purposes, including the Albright Visitor Center. You can read more about historic Fort Yellowstone on this page at the National Park Service web site.

    Arriving late one afternoon just before closing time, we had an abbreviated visit at the Museum of the National Park Ranger. We learned about the early history of the park ranger profession and looked at an impressive collection of badges and insignia, both historic and current. Unfortunately, we missed the last screening of the documentary movie. 

   One day we drove out the North Entrance of the park and had lunch in Gardiner. We passed through Roosevelt Arch from both directions. This historic structure marks the first major entrance to Yellowstone. The huge stone arch was designed in 1903 by Robert Reamer, also the architect of Old Faithful Inn, to make an impression on the tourists who rode into the park in coaches from the railroad depot in Gardiner. President Theodore Roosevelt placed the cornerstone for the arch, which then became known as Roosevelt Arch. On the top of the arch is a quote from the Organic Act of 1872, the legislation which created Yellowstone, the world's first national park: "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people."

    When we visited the park in 2004, the centennial season of the Old Faithful Inn was being celebrated. We "ooh"-ed and "aah"-ed as we entered the Old Faithful Inn lobby. On a guided tour, we got to go in one of the rooms. The docent was quite knowledgeable and made her presentation very interesting. We learned about an ambitious two-year (2004-2006) restoration project to "un-do" some of the inn's renovations and return some of the structure and features to their original designs. You can read about the project in a sidebar with a wonderful article about the inn in the Yellowstone Science quarterly.

    Our Yellowstone National Park photo album shows Old Faithful Inn, Roosevelt Arch, the Museum of the National Park Ranger, and Fort Yellowstone.

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