5 August, Wednesday

CODY, WYOMING. Great little town nestled at the East entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Actually Buffalo Bill Cody planned it that way. Yellowstone was the first National Park with only a North and South entrance. Cody decided an East entrance would benefit him and the park. He laid out the town and built the first hotel, the Irma.
It was named after one of his daughters. On the early pictures not a tree is to be seen. But as people moved in and built more houses and businesses Cody thrived. In order to get to the East entrance of Yellowstone you have to pass thru Cody.

The Cody museum is a main attraction in town. It shows the history of the plains indians in one wind, the history of Buffalo Bill Cody in another wing and the third contains Western art collections of the Whitney family. There is also a trolley tour that will take you by the various buildings. Each night there is a Western Shoot Out in front of the Irma as well as a Rodeo in the arena. The population of Cody is about 9,000 but they have over 500,000 visitors each year.