I decided to stay put for a day to recharge my batteries before the marathon ride home. I made use of the laundry facilities to wash my limited wardrobe. Then I updated some blog stuff. I had to change motels as they didn’t have a room for tonight. I rode back towards Yellowstone to better appreciate the Shoshone Valley that runs out of Yellowstone through the Shoshone National Forest and the Buffalo Bill State Park before it ends at Cody. Last night I just rode straight through as it was late, I was tired and my gas was low. So, I took my time, stopped at the lookout stops and took photos. In my opinion this part of the ride was more scenic than Yellowstone. I had a short fruit picnic in the State Park on the shore of the reservoir. Then I rode back to town and visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. I expected a hokey museum about Buffalo Bill Cody and cowboy lore, but was very surprised by the quality of the exhibits. There are actually five museums housed in the same building: the Buffalo Bill Museum; Cody Firearms Museum (with 7000 guns from around the world and throughout history); Draper Natural History Museum; Plains Indian Museum and the Whitney Western Art Museum, and it’s affiliated with the Smithsonian. They also had a raptor demonstration outside in the courtyard where they displayed a peregrine falcon and a golden eagle. Both had been injured and are doomed to be educational birds, but at least they are taken care of. Then I settled into my new room. I had dinner at a restaurant and then went to see the ‘World Famous Buffalo Bill Cody Rodeo’. It started with a long prayer thanking God for everything, then a long speech about ‘why do I stand’ (during the anthem), followed by a very passionate version of the anthem and finally by commercials! As the announcer read out the commercial women riders rode around the arena waving the banner of the sponsor. Yikes, but after that it was good fun, with demonstrations of riding, roping and other cowboy activities. It was difficult taking photos because of the lighting, the distance and the speed of the action. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of the feature activity: bull riding. Why anyone wants to do that is beyond me... It kind of put a final seal on my tour of cowboy country here in the Western US. Just 166 kms today, as I took it easy and enjoyed Cody for the day. Tomorrow begins the ride home.
This from Wikipedia about Buffalo Bill:
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. Buffalo Bill started working at the age of eleven, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 15. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the U.S.Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honour in 1872.One of the most famous and well-known figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill's legend began to spread when he was only 23. Shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and continental Europe.
Imagine what was involved in taking a wild west show complete with cowboys, horses and Indians to Europe in the 1890's!!
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