Mary & JJ: June 5-6 - 2018 Cody, Wyoming

Tuesday, June 5th, we moved from West Yellowstone, Montana to Cody, Wyoming. (130 miles/210 km).
We went straight through Yellowstone National Park from west to east. It was a nice drive through the park, around the lake, alongside rivers, buffaloes etc. etc.
Except for one thing: Sylvan Pass. I knew it was going to be tough on me, so I went online to learn a little more about it.
And then I found this:

“The road does cling to the side of steep mountains but the stone retaining walls and new, wider asphalt roads make this another excellent scenic drive. Unless you have a severe phobia of steep drop-offs alongside the road you won't have any issues here.”

I don’t know if this was written to help or scare, but it sure didn’t help me😊. I don’t think I have a severe phobia of heights (højdeskræk) (If you ask Mary, I do 😊) but probably close. The alternative to our direct route was to go north and go around, but that was an extra 250 miles. So eventually I decided to give it a try.
We made it! But the 2-3 miles over the pass and down were not fun at all and did cost a few extra cigarettes in order to calm down again.

The town of Cody was founded (grundlagt) and named after William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill was an army scout during the Civil War and Indian Wars, a buffalo hunter, a ranch owner, hotelowner and much more, but not least a showman known for the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show that brought the wild west to the civilized part of the eastern US and Europe. (One of the stars in the show was Annie Oakley (Annie Get Your Gun) – but that’s another story).

We went to the Buffalo Bill Center of The West. A very interesting and informative museum. Much nicer and bigger than we had expected. It had, of course, a big section about Buffalo Bill. But also a Western Art Section, and an Indian Museum (more about that later).

The show toured a lot of the US and Europe

There was a picture of the people involved in a show. Must have been close to 400 people. I cannot help thinking about the logistics. Moving that many people, their belongings, all the guns, animals, stage (scene), seatings, etc. etc. across the US, let alone over to Europe and across Europe must have taken extreme coordination and logistic skills. And this was over a 100 years ago. Impressive.

Buffalo Bill performed at Queen Victoria's 50 year jubilee

Annie Oakley's gun, rifle and gloves

Not a word about his death and gravesite at the museum!! Maybe because they are missing the jewel in the crown: His grave.

In his will (testamente) he wanted to be buried in Cody, but on his deathbed (dødsleje) he changed his mind and told his family that he wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. We saw his grave there. People in Cody were upset about this and tried to get him moved to Cody. Unsuccessful though.
When rumors started to spread that the people in Cody were planning on stealing Buffalo Bills body and move it to Cody, the people of Golden poured several tons of concrete on top of the casket (kiste). Just to be sure 😊. Supposedly his body is still in Golden.

Sign from Lookout Mountain, Golden, Colorado

We also went to “The Old Trail Town” in Cody, where they have a collection of old houses/cabins, stores etc. moved here from other locations in Wyoming and Montana.