On our trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, Days 5 & 6 were spent in the Cody, WY area as was explained in yesterdays Blog. Yesterday focused on our accommodations and today I want to share some scenery and noteworthy attractions in the area. The first couple images in the slide show are images of the thunder clouds as we approached Cody on our initial drive into town. After our large breakfast at the K3 Guest Ranch B&B we went to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West which is a 5 museum complex . . . it encompasses a third of a million square feet of exhibition space. The 5 museums include; The Whitney Gallery of Western Art, The Cody Firearms Museum which holds the world’s largest assemblage of American Arms as well as European arms dating back to the 16th century, The Plains Indian Museum, The Buffalo Bill Museum and the Draper Museum of Natural History. They do have a cafeteria in the building as this is almost a day long adventure. It is recommended to leave at lest 4 hours to view all 5 Museums; we took about 6 hours. Most of the photos in the slide show are images from the Firearms Museum. It was difficult to get photos as the Center was crowded and in most cases, the lights were low.

We also toured the Buffalo Bill Dam, a marvel for it’s time. It’s 6 miles West of Cody on the road to Yellowstone. If you are going that way, you should consider a stop at the Dam Visitor Center and watch the video on the construction project. A couple interesting facts concerning the Dam . . 

• Drilling to find bedrock for the foundation began in the Spring of 1904;
• Seven men were killed during construction;
• There is no Chinese steel in the dam. In fact, there is no American made steel or any steel reinforcements in the dam! It’s all concrete.
• At the time of it’s completion in 1910 the dam was 325’ tall; the tallest dam in the world and the final cost was $929,658. Today, after a 1985 renovation, the dam was raised 25’.
• The Heart Mountain power plant now operates at the base of the dam where a tunnel directs the discharge of water from the dam.

Tomorrow’s Blog will deal with our 5 nights in Yellowstone National Park . . .