When we pulled into Cody after a long day wandering around Yellowstone, we drove right past this huge rodeo ground. I guess it was the beginning of their Rodeo Days or something of that nature. It looked pretty interesting, but we were pretty beat and opted to order a pizza and relax at our hotel. Very exciting, right?
The next morning, we rolled into town. Cody had the feel of an old town that had been gussied up a bit; given a new coat of paint and a shoe shining. Not so much a tourist trap, but welcoming to the occasional out-of-towner. A place where you could buy leather gun holsters, cowboy boots, lasso's and a Davey Crockett coon skin cap. You could also go to the Buffalo Bill museum.
We did none of the above, but we did see a giant rifle and ate at the Irma Hotel, which was built by Buffalo Bill and named for his daughter. The dining room is a large hall with an old fashioned tin metal roof that truly conjures up a picture in your mind of the real old west. I debated ordering the Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I began to conjure up in my mind a bull sans his sack. Instead we went with a few of their sandwiches. Alison rolled with the BLT and I opted for a fried chicken sandwich. Both excellent and both served with their delicious home-style potatoes.
This photo is very patriotic.
The front of the Irma.
There were lots of cool neon signs throughout town, this was the one outside the Irma.
The dining hall at the Irma.
Alison's BLT and A.
Bob's fried chicken sandwich.
After hanging out in Cody, it was time to head toward Worland where we were going to meet some of Alison's family. Along the highway, there is a little town we came across called
Meeteetse. Calling it a 'little town' is quite an understatement. I think the entire town consists of an old auto repair shop, the cowboy chocolatier shop (which we later found out is famous) and two bars. Of course, we had to wet our whistles after a fifteen minute drive in no traffic at the
Cowboy Bar and Cafe.
The building that houses the bar looks like a movie set at Knott's Berry Farm. Except for there are salty locals inside taking shots of
Fireball instead of kids hopped up on funnel cake. In addition to the interesting patrons, the inside of the bar also consists of an array of decorations that appear as if they haven't been moved in years. The beer was cold and we had a couple before heading on down the road to Worland where we saw some real cowboys.
The Cowboy Bar and the highway.
Looks like something from a movie set, right?
Pretty awesome signage.
Guns double as doorhandles.
I wish I was there right now.
I plan on taking interior design notes from this place.
This was the bar next door. They had a drive-up window.
Alison wound up in jail, we couldn't afford bail.
Next stop was Worland where we met the family for a reunion. There were a lot of people and I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but by the end of my three days hanging out with the family I think I had a handle on all of the names and relationships.
To say we drank a bits is an understatement. The beer (American) flowed freely and everyone had a grand ol' time. Highlights included a Roping exhibition, hanging out a bar called
Gooses', driving ATV's in the middle of nowhere, fishin', porch sittin', happy hour by the crick (how you pronounce creek in Wyoming) and just being awesome.
Here's a few pictures from the mini-rodeo put on by the Bower family.
Eddie Spaghetti enjoying some rodeo snacks.
Cowboy Bob looking like he knows a thing or two about horsing around.
This is the skull of a bull that gored one of Alison's relatives.
Supposedly we ate the meat from that very bull one evening.
If you're into checking out more pictures from our trip, you can go
here.
Next stop - Lusk, Wyoming.
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