8/22/2018 – Yellowstone – Trip to Cody

When we got to Yellowstone, we planned to have one long day to drive the Chief Joseph highway to Cody. We decided to do that trip today. It was a long day but we saw a lot of spectacular scenery.

We left Alice (our RV) at 8am and headed through Mammoth and out the northeast entrance to the park. That takes a while and by the time we got to Cooke City, which is a few miles away from the beginning of the Chief Joseph Highway, we were ready for a stop. We went into a very nice gift shop and looked around for a while. I saw straw Stetson cowboy looking hat that liked so I bought it and wore it out of the store. I tried on a couple other Davey Crockett style coon skin hats but Nancy didn’t care for them 🙂  We hit the road toward Cody and turned onto the  Chief Joseph Highway to Cody……it is one beautiful road. Per Wikipedia, the road “follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he led the New Pierce Indians out of Yellowstone National Park and into Montana in 1877 during their attempt to flee the US Calvary and escape into Canada”. And as beautiful as it is, the road is so nice that the speed limit for most of it is 65 mph. Nancy was really impressed with all of the different landscapes this road offers. We took pictures but there is no way they come close to depicting the magnificent beauty of these rolling high meadows and mountains. And the Indian history associated with this  mountain range is very interesting too. We even passed some “real” cowboys that were rustling up some stray cattle near the road. That was pretty cool!

When we got to Cody, we parked and looked for a nice place to eat. We ended up at the Proud Cut Saloon, one of my favorite’s since the first time I went to Cody. We split a roast beef hoagie and a spinach salad…both were outstanding. When we saw they had fresh apple cobbler ala mode, we decided to split one…..omg…. it was so friggin good! I could easily have eaten another one.  We stopped into a store that happened to sell Keen’s, which are Nancy’s new favorite shoes.  She picked up a pair and we left to head back.

Cody hadn’t changed much since I was last here….that’s a good thing.  It’s a very comfortable, artsy town that offers just the right mix of old cowboy charm and modern conveniences.

We headed back toward Yellowstone via the road leading into the southeast entrance to the park. The drive takes you through the Shoshone national forest and follows the Shoshone River before you re-enter the park. The drive was really nice but we were both amazed to see the damage from one of the more recent forest fires. We drove several miles before we got back to where there wasn’t fire damage. Just as in other area’s of the park, it’s making a good comeback (lots of new 3-5 ft pine trees)  This road ultimately takes you to Fishing Bridge near the Yellowstone Lake Lodge…… we stopped by for something to drink and to use the restrooms before heading back north to Mammoth/Gardiner.

We didn’t see any moose or bears but did see plenty of buffalo, elk, swans, and a lone coyote. We got home at about 7pm. We were both exhausted.  Tomorrow I’ll be heading out early to fish with a guide on the Yellowstone River. Hope to land a couple big trout!

Animal Jam!

Chief Joseph Highway

Very twisty road leading up to Dead Indian Pass…..

Cody