Buffalo Bill Center of the West – Cody, Wyoming

This was a huge museum, with actually 5 museums in one.  There was so much to see and experience.  There’s no way I could possibly accurately go in to everything.  So I’m going to try and give only a few highlights.

So the first thing we saw, wasn’t even in the museum itself.  During the summer months, someone makes beans, biscuits & coffee over an open fire.  Each person gets to try a little.  They were some of the best I’ve had in a while.  I think there’s something about that open fire that puts just the right flavor in it.  Or maybe it’s just me.

This is a representation of Buffalo Bill’s Show he put on twice a day, almost every day of the year.  The Native Americans, according to what we read at the museum, held him with high esteem because he tried to accurately represent the Native Americans and treated them with respect.

All those dots all over the map is where he took his show in the United States.

And if the picture’s not too blurry, this is where he took his show in Europe.  I can’t imagine taking a ton of people, plus horses  and bison across the ocean in a boat, just to “take the show on the road”.

And this is a representation of the state, with Yellowstone National Park mapped out.

There was lots more to see, native american artifacts such as beautiful ladies gowns, tools and mockasins.  There was an area just for guns.  There was also a large area that showed the different levels of what animals live in the different areas in Wyoming.

This was in the garden area of the museum.  This lady had a falcon and…

this gentleman had a golden eagle.  She was so heavy that he needed help to support her.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Randomness

Sometimes, as we’re driving along, we something that makes us want to take a picture, just because it’s so random.

Like this airplane in front of the Don Q Inn where we stopped for a quick, much needed break in Missouri.

Or this guy, just passing through at a rest area in Missouri.

I turned us around and went back, just so Tim & the kids could see this bike statue in South Dakota, while on our way to see Custer State Park.  I knew they’d love it.

And finally this.  I think someone told us that it’s a “Big Boy” statue that seems to be part of a fast food chain somewhere.  However, it definitely looked out of place in a field in Wyoming.

UPDATE (11/9/15): We just saw another Big Boy statue in a town in Oklahoma. (I think, it’s been quite the week.)  I’d have posted another picture but we went by it too quick & we had the camper attached.  This one was on a pole near a strip mall.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Yellowstone

Here are some of the more famous things we saw from Yellowstone.

Waterfalls is one thing that the park is know for.  We didn’t do a lot of hiking to see some of the bigger ones, but we did see a couple smaller ones.

This is Gibbon Falls.  I don’t think anyone but Tim & saw this one.  The rest didn’t want to get out of the car, or couldn’t.  I don’t remember which.

This is a roadside waterfall.  This was the first thing we saw in the park.

Old Faithful.  Need I say more?

We waited a good half hour to an hour to see this.

Geysers are another famous attribute of Yellowstone in which “Old Faithful” is the most famous.

This is a picture of Sulfur Cauldron.  The geyser itself is right about Caleb’s head, but what I especially like about this picture is their facial expressions.  No one ever tells you how awful the geysers smell.  It smells a bit like rotten eggs or someone passing gas in your face, constantly.  Thankfully, some places are not as smelly as others.

This is the West Thumb Geyser.  This is pretty much all it did.  I don’t think it ever did any more.  Still, it was neat to see.

I think this is a great representation of the Upper Geyser Basin.  There were more geysers like “Old Faithful” that smoked, some that didn’t and even one that went off right about the time we saw “Old Faithful” go off again.  But the land around everything was orange or rusty and some places that were a clear or a pretty teal color.

The “Artist’s Pots” or “Paint Pots” is an area were the pools of water are colored in almost erie colors.

This is in the “Paint Pots” area, but wasn’t really one of the pots.  However, this was the kids favorite spot.  It bubbled up like hot mashed potatoes and the bubbles splatted hot clay in every direction.  The kids thought this was hilarious, especially Seth.

Here’s an example of a red pot.

And here’s an example of a blue one.

And finally, here is Yellowstone Lake.

The cool thing we found out about Yellowstone Lake is that it’s the biggest lake in the world, at mountain elevation.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Yellowstone – The not so famous stuff

When I think of Yellowstone, I think of “Old Faithful”, gorgeous landscapes, and erie colored pools.

What I didn’t expect was to see things like this: tree graveyards, that have just started to come back to life.  Fire rages in the park on a regular basis, though we didn’t see any.

What I like about this picture, is what you really can’t see.  Right outside the park, people live their normal lives.  It’s sort of a “Well, duh!” But it’s something you don’t think about.

The animals were something else I didn’t think about.  I guess, I expected to see animals.

But I never thought I’d see this guy.  And no, this is not in a gated park.  This guy/girl was just passing through.  There was a ranger near by to make sure no one got hurt – the people or the bear.

And… the front gate – you never think of that either.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Cody Dinosaur Museum, Wyoming

Talk about never judge a book by it’s cover.  Never judge a museum by it’s building.

We started by going to an actual dig site and talking about how they go about digging up bones.  Our guide was great.  He even went out of his way to show the kids things and answer their questions.  I could have done without the “millions & millions of years ago” bit, but it’s hard to find any museum on dinosaurs that doesn’t have that.

The museum itself was small, but really nice.  They had some interesting fossils,

as well as the big guys everyone loves.

One of my favorite parts of the museum though was seeing that our guide wasn’t just our guide.  He was actually an archaeologist.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Noah (June 2004 – July 2015)

My beloved first “born” Noah has been lost.  The morning of the 4th, he got outside and we couldn’t find him and we had to make the dreaded decision to leave without him or stay.  We hoped that someone would find him right away and call us, but it has now been 3 months and so we are no longer hopeful.  We hope that he has either found a new family to love or that he was taken quickly.  We have mourned his loss.  He’s been Handsome Hubby’s cat for 11 years, so he especially took it hard.  (Even though he was supposed to be my cat…)  We loved him dearly & know he’s in God’s hands.

May God bless your socks off as He has ours.

Rachel

How we spent the 4th of July

Yes, I know… I’m a bit behind… But I’m catching up.

We stayed in a Walmart parking lot for the night.

And ended up watching the fireworks from behind the Walmart.

It was pretty… even the fire that started because of it…

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Tunnels!

Tunnels!  I love tunnels!

God bless your socks off!

Rachel

National Historic Trails Museum, Wyoming

The National Historic Trails Museum was in Casper, Wyoming.  This was at the spot where about 5 different trails, like the Oregon & Mormon Trails.

On the inside we watched a movie about the trails, we got to see how big a wagon wheel was,

rode across a river on a wagon,

rode a stage coach,

and got to pull a hand cart.

It was a pretty fun excursion.

May God bless your socks off!

Rachel

Wyoming

Wyoming, oh Wyoming.

I haven’t totally decided whether I love Wyoming or hate it.  I think I’m leaning more towards love.  I thought the landscape was absolutely beautiful.  Of course, the kids may have thought it was totally boring.  I can see why Wyoming is ranch country.  The wind gets sweeping down and not much can withstand it’s force.  Perhaps though, that’s just what I see.

We saw what we thought to be snow fences, which made us think that the winters there might be intense.  Though, i suppose the locals may not think it’s that bad.

The dandelions get big there.

And every so often you see a random butte (pronounced byout, not but).  It just means random tall hill out of no where with sloping sides and a flat top.  It’s kinda neat to see.

May God knock your socks off!

Rachel