Sightseeing in Cody, WY

We began our day early since we wanted to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and take the trolley tour through town.  We found out we could save a few dollars purchasing the combination ticket for the trolley and historical center.  We got our tickets and headed over to the center since the trolley would pick us up there at 11:00.

The historical center is actually 5 museums in 1:
     Buffalo Bill
     Greater Yellowstone Natural History
     Western Art
     Plains Indians
     Firearms

Luckily, the tickets are good for two days, because we only made it through the Buffalo Bill and Greater Yellowstone Natural History museums.

The Buffalo Bill Museum was fascinating.  There was so much information about Willam (Buffalo Bill) Cody.

There was this buffalo exhibit

and items that belonged to the stars of the show as well as Buffalo Bill.  This trunk and guns belonged to Annie Oakley.

We had gotten halfway through the Buffalo Bill museum when it was time to catch the trolley ride.  We have done these in several towns and it really helps us to learn more about the town and know where the important things are that we might have missed.

This was no exception.  The tour lasted an hour and pointed out all the high points in Cody as well as making a trip out to the Buffalo Bill Dam.

Some of the interesting things we learned were that Buffalo Bill purchased the land in hopes to create a town.  At the time, Yellowstone National Park had two entrances, the north and south.  He was instrumental in getting another entrance to the east.  He even put down $50,000 of his money to help build a road to the park.  He envisioned Cody as a tourist town, a stop over and gateway to Yellowstone National Park.

There are extremely wide streets in all of Cody.  That was also his idea.  He had traveled in so many countries and towns with his wild west show and was always frustrated with the narrow streets.  He also build the Irma Hotel for travelers, but also build a tent campground because he knew not everyone could afford $3 a night at the hotel.  It sounds like he would have definitely been an rver if they had been around in his lifetime. :)

 After the trolley tour, we went back to the museum, going through the Greater Yellowstone National History Museum.  It was full of information about the animals and environment in the Yellowstone area.

We left about 4 and plan to return tomorrow to see everything else.

We had tickets to the gunfight this evening, one takes place every day during the summer in front of the Irma Hotel.  You can stand and watch for free, but we chose to pay $2 for reserved seats.  We had a front row seat for the show.

Buffalo Bill began with the introductions and history of Cody.

Then, we all sang the national anthem.

Then, the gunfight began.  There was lots of shooting, corny humor, and overall good fun.

Everyone posed for a photo op.

 It was a busy, fun day, the best kind!