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Day of total relaxation. Friend from Vail drove over the pass to visit. Sat in the sun and caught up on old times. Also got the new bike rack assembled and the bikes cleaned up. Went to Breckenridge for dinner.

Short easy drive over the mountain to Interstate 70 at Silverthorne, then west to Frisco/Dillon and down to Breckenridge. We are staying at Tiger Run RV Resort, and it is indeed a resort. It is open year round for the skiers and extremely busy in the summer. After setting up we ventured to Frisco for a sidewalk Art Fest and then back into Breckenridge for their birthday celebration of 150 years.

Rawlins in the morning was very nice; no wind, beautiful sunrise over the mountains. Left there and took the back roads heading towards Steamboat Springs. After leaving Interstate 80 the road climbed to over 8,000 feet and remained there for most of the trip. Not much taffic or homesteads along the way. As we entered Colorado and proceeded south of Walden we notices many people running along the side of the road. Then there would be pockets of vans or suv's with signs and logos on them. Turns out that Steamboat Springs was having their RUN FOR LIFE. There were well over a hundred vehicles and four times that amount of runners. This continued for the next 30 miles until we reached Steamboat.

It was Saturday and Steamboat was alive with not only runners but little league baseball players and tourists.
I am surprised we were able to secure a campground site. We chose to eat dinner at a local pub on the Yampa river and watch the floaters drift by.

Cody to Rawlins. One thing about Wyoming there are miles and miles of miles and miles. We departed Cody heading for Rawllins to exit on the south border of the state. Not much, or any traffic, trees or homesteads.
After passing thru Thermopolis we entered the Wind Canyon. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S. It winds along the river climbing from 5,000 to 7,000. Lots of curves, rapids and trees next to the river. I would recommend you take the route if in the area.

On the secondary roads of Wyoming there are signs about 3-5 miles out of each town. It states that if lights are flashing, return to town. At one point it wasn't even a town, just a gas station. This is for the winter storms that occur. They don't want you breaking down in the middle of no where and have to wait for the snowplow.

Rawlins was having it county fair with street dances, 4H auction and demolitions derby. (There way of getting rid of clunkers) The wind was blowing across the plains with no trees to deflect it. It make even our coach rock and roll.

Cody again. Headed to the Murals of Cody, displayed in the Mormon church. These were done by a local artist and depict the movement of Mormonism from New York state to Utah and the settlement of the Great Basin by the Mormons.

Next stop on our agenda today was the Buffalo Bill Dam. This was completed in 1910 and at the time the tallest dam in the world. Placement was on the Shoshone river about 4 miles west of Cody on the entrance route to Yellowstone Park. When built it contained no steel reinforcement. Sections were poured and large rocks and boulders were placed on the surface of the pour. The next pour was then put on top of that and again rocks were laid. This procedure was copied when building the Hoover Dam, only rocks were not used, sections of concrete were off set. The primary purpose was to gain water for irrigation, but soon after completion a power house was added.

Final stop at the Buffalo Bill Museum. This time we visited the wing with the guns. Over 4,000 are on display arranged by time period and manufacture. Another 5,000+ are in the archives in the basement of the building. Several of the guns were used by various actors in their movies, owned by politictians and other dignitaries.

Big plans for attend the rodeo in the evening (a rodeo everyday during the summer) were halted when a huge thunderstorm and severe weather warning occured. The rodeo went on, rain or shine, but we opted to stay in the coach.

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.

Great day!! Had to coach to Big Sky RV by 0900 and they started work on fixing the motor assembly of the awning. Went to eat and as we were finishing eating, a call came and the awning was fixed. This got us out of Bozeman earlier than expected. Heading to Yellowstone National Park for a drive thru. Rain threatened but only a few drops and some thunder. Drive thru Yellowstone was very scenic, with dear and bison along the way, and a few dozen or more tourists. Seems that the Harley Davidson meet at Sturgis also brings them out all over.

We exited Yellowstone at the East entrance and followed the Shoshone river east bound. This is a highly recommended route for beauty. As we arrive in Cody, WY, the skies opened up and a real rain and wind storm ensued.

Clean up day for the coach and rugs before we leave Fairmont. Only a short 100 mile drive to Bozeman and repair on our awning. Stayed at the Bear Canyon RV Park. Very unique, close to the freeway, but high on a hill so noise was minimal. Spent the afternoon in Bozeman seeing the city and finding our repair facility.

As you notice, Barbara has posted several new photos of our trip. Mainly Glacier National Park, a most magnificent area. The GOING TO THE SUN HIGHWAY used to be open to all traffic. I can remember being there in my pickup camper. Busses would pass each other on the road. NOW it is restricted to vehicles under 25 feet in length. You do see a few pickup campers, but they are chancing damage to the sides of their units.