Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Did I say Wow?  Wow! 5 museums in one.  There is so much to see that your entrance fee allows you to come back the next day and continue to visit.  We started out in the Buffalo Bill Museum, learned about William F. Cody.  Not only was he a scout for the Army, he was a showman (Buffalo Bill and The Wild West Show), an outdoorsman, a visionary, a husband, father, grandfather - but he always yearned for the old days of the West when life was simple and easy.  Was very impressed with the displays in the museum, the authenticity of artifacts, telling his story.  Did not take many pictures, too busy reading and looking.

What a visionary he was.  The Buffalo Bill Dam was one of his ideas, bringing irrigation and electricity to the Bighorn Basin.  He also wanted to tell the real story of the west, developing the Wild West Show and using American Indians as themselves.  He made a movie of life in the old West and he also wanted to develop the town of Cody and sought people who would help him.  He developed lodges for travelers to Yellowstone, was friends with many important people who helped him acquire his dreams of the town.

Really cool hologram greeted us at beginning

Museum well lit so you could read!

We moved on then to the Plains Indian Museum, again was blown away with telling their story.  After a quick bit to eat in their restaurant, we toured to Draper Natural History Museum which informed on the land we are in - the environment, the animals and birds, ecology, etc. Then we moved on to Cody Firearms Museum and last, toured the Whitney Western Art Museum.  Very long day on our feet.

If you are ever in Cody, you need to visit this huge center.  Impressive.  The Cody Stampede Rodeo which is located on the western side of town has a rodeo every night from June 1 to September 1, the longest running rodeo in the country - again, the idea of William Cody to display the wild west.  Many people go to this rodeo and one night when we were in town and passed the rodeo, it was packed.  Cody also knew the importance of electricity and by installing overhead lights was able to have rodeos at nighttime.

One little known fact - trapper John Colter who was part of the Lewis and Clark's 1804 to 1806 expedition visited Cody in 1807 he told of its boiling waters (the Shoshone River right below the Rodeo has hot springs) to other trappers who in turn knicknamed the area "Colter's Hell".  We stopped and looked down to where Colter knew of the sulfur springs and saw the remnants of the springs.

Right behind the Stampede Rodeo

The sulphur springs right below the Stampede Rodeo

I am happy.  We came to Cody to learn about Buffalo Bill and in turn learned so much more than we bargained for.  Cute town for tourists - Cody's main business is tourism.  Many places to eat, sleep, be entertained, lots of shopping, horseback riding, outdoor things to do.  River rafting, biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, all close to Yellowstone.  Buffalo Bill certainly was a visionary!