Warm and Windy, Cody Wyoming

     We headed to Cody with reservations at a RV campground for a week, we are now starting our 3rd
week here.  What can I say, we Love this town.   The Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museums(5)
are beyond words.  I spent 3 hours just in the Plains Indian Museum, and still had the Cody Firearms Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum, and the Draper Museum of Natural History Museum to go through...good thing you purchase a 2 day pass.  We went to the
Cody Rodeo one night, enjoyed a narrated Trolley Tour of Cody, visited the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum (yep that's right, dug up guns), we went to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center (one of many Japanese war relocation centers) another atrocity that the U.S. Government did.  I had heard that that they have the best fly fishing anywhere, here in Cody.  So that being said Dwain and I booked a full day, fly fishing float with a wonderful guide to teach us the art of fly fishing.  It was a successful day...we learned we conquered and we caught alot of fish, Brown, Rainbow and Cutbow.  All in all a PRICELESS day.  Oh and we look forward to many more of those days, we purchased our fly rods and are waiting for the reels to arrive any day now.  So one of the weeks we rented a car so that we could travel in and around Yellowstone and surrounding areas a bit easier, and one day we took a ride up to the Beartooth Highway a scenic byway...ya maybe for the first 8,000 ft. I was fine, then we had the major meltdown...did I mention I am afraid of heights, as in deathly afraid.  We won't be making that trip again that's for sure.  We went into Yellowstone National Park one day, and had a fantastic time.  It was as beautiful as you hear others talk about this park.  Everyone has seen those pictures on TV and in magazines with buffalo walking in and around cars in Yellowstone...well that was us that day.  I mean right next to Dwain and my car window...I couldn't decide aim and shoot my camera or roll up the window for protection, yep, Dwain laughed at me.  More recently we have been scoping out future RV sites close to the rivers for future visits.  I cannot recommend visiting Wyoming enough, and all it has to offer...visit Cody for sure.

Beautiful scenic cliffs in Cody

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

The Cody Firearm Museum

My Favorite Rifle.  The S. Hawkens, Circa
1835-1840.  Some day I will own one of these.

Cody Rodeo Park

   They have a rodeo every night from June
   through August...they had Break Away
  Calf Roping for women, and Steer Riding
  for kids, 2 events we have never seen... 

Beartooth Byway

This picture was before the meltdown...

The Buffalo herd crossing the road in Yellowstone

Hello Mr. Bison

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Spectacular view in Yellowstone

The falls in Yellowstone.

Another view of the Falls.

I literally could have reached out and touched this BIG guy

Every Day is a Saturday...

      Although we have only been on the road for a month, we are awestruck by the state of Wyoming.  I can't seem to get enough of what this state has to offer.  Starting in Cheyenne, the museums such as the Nelson Museum of the West... Awesome.  On up to Buffalo, visiting Ft. Phil Kearney (http://www.philkearny.vcn.com/fortphilkearny.htm), the Wagon Box Fight, and the Fetterman Battlefield (http://www.wyomingheritage.org/fettermanBattlefield.html) was amazing.  Walking in the tracks of the Bozeman Trail (http://www.philkearny.vcn.com/bozemantrailhistory.htm) where thousands of wagons passed crossing the wild west country to the Oregon trails.  We moved on to Sheridan, thought we would be there for about 3 to 4 days when we discovered there was a PRCA rodeo and a pow wow about the time we would be leaving...lets check our schedule...wait, we don't have a schedule so lets stay a week...Yippee!!!  What a great week that was.  The Sheridan Museum, the Don King Western Museum which you would never find unless you knew where to go.  You walk through the King's Saddlery store, through the back door, across the alley where they manufacture King's Ropes and within that building is the museum.   What a find that was, thousands of saddles and my favorite Native American (plains) Indian artifacts, I was astounded.  We attended the rodeo all 4 nights, saw events that we don't have on the west coast such as steer roping, PETA would be all over that event.  We also saw the Indian relay race, LOVE LOVE LOVE this.  No wonder our Calvary and cowboys were afraid of the Indians on horseback, they ride like the wind.  We enjoyed their annual pancake breakfast put on by the Kiwanis and brought chairs to watch their parade.  Saving the best for last was the Pow Wow, this was so great.  We met Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (http://www.pbs.org/thewar/detail_5177.htm), he was being honored at this pow wow, he will be 100 yrs  old in October.  He is the oldest living Crow Chief.  He was the first male Crow to graduate from college and went on to get his masters and doctorate degree.   He has written several books, which of course both Dwain and I  had to run out purchase and read two of them right away.  We also met his son Ron Medicine Crow who was a marvelous man who gave me a great deal of backround information on his father.  What great heritage to have come from, the Absaroka (Crow) Indian.  Stay tuned...August 15-19 is the annual Crow Fair which is a the largest Pow Wow, and we have reservations to attend. (http://visitmt.com/listing/categories_NET/MoreInfo.aspx?IDRRecordID=8832).

Don King Western Museum

 The Mint Bar established in 1907

The Jumbo Tron board at the Sheridan WYO Rodeo

Pre- Rodeo Drink of choice, Texas Twister Yummy

A bad shot of the Indian Relay Race

Dr. Joe Medicine Crow with his son Ron

Pow Wow dancing

The Adventure Begins...

 Dwain and Kent Reimer relaxing at
Shipshewana...



Dwain and I with friends, Jan and Kent Reimer
getting ready for our Amish buggy ride...



Friends...Jan and I enjoying our shopping time...

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     Happy Birthday to me...today we are leaving Grants Pass Oregon, to begin our traveling adventures.  We are headed back to Goshen, Indiana for a DRV rally (http://www.rvbusiness.com/2013/06/drv-owners-high-on-14-product-during-rally/).  There were 138 DRV suites at the Goshen Fair grounds.  We met up with friends that we got to know from a West Coast DRV rally from 2 years ago in Lake Havasu, as well as forged new friendships with other couples with the same common goal...Gypsy travelers, lol.  We loved the Amish country, and appreciate all their hard work.  Shipshewana was an amazing Amish town, which we thoroughly embraced.  We were in Indiana for 3 weeks, then headed west back towards Wyoming.  We had another rally in Gillette the end of June with a group called Escapeeshttp://www.escapees.com/escapade/, for their 53rd escapade.  Escapes is a huge group of people that just love traveling whether its occasional, part time or full time RV travelers.  There were over 580 RV rigs at this rally, what a site to see, and everyone with the same common goal...traveling.  At all rally's there are multiple seminars to take that can enhance your traveling experience.  For example I took a seminar on how to take pictures on your android phone.  Sure you say everyone knows how to do that but they went over all the options and you did it while they explained...loved that.  Another one I took told you how to start a blog...wow...so look, here I am actually utilizing their network knowledge.  Of course Dwain took some seminars on guy fixing things, that I am sure are worthwhile to him and our coach, but a snooze to me.

OUR FIRST YEAR

     After years of brainstorming ideas we finally agreed to our retirement lifestyle and had a plan, we were going to embrace the life of the full time "gypsy" RVer's.  Dwain and I had to compromise on some things in order to achieve this goal.  First I would be leaving my job security of 31 years, was I ready to leave the career I had known and loved for 39 years, this was difficult but Dwain was so miserable at his job I couldn't see him continue this daily unhappiness.  I gave my 5 1/2 month notice I was leaving, wow that was so hard to do.  I wasn't leaving because I was unhappy, I was moving on to a new chapter in my life, retirement.  I still cried, they had become my family.  Second we had to give up our home of 23 years, that was much easier, poof gone.  Third I had to sell off half of all our/my "stuff", 3 yard sales later that disappeared and wow cash in my hand for traveling.  We had agreed upon storing some items that I was emotionally unable to part with, Dwain on the other hand felt he could sell or get rid of everything...Really.  We purchased a 40ft. cargo container and placed it on friends property.  As we began to fill the container with my items, Dwain had an epiphany, he now figured out he too could keep some of his tools and other paraphernalia guy things.  Needless to say the container is filled and I still have that sense of comfort knowing that my "stuff" is waiting for me if and when we choose to end our traveling journeys.  Finally saying adios, that came quick and unexpected, when we got the call from Oregon that my father was now requiring full time care, two days later Dwain and I and our 3 furchildren were now moving to Grants Pass to care for my dad.  God had a plan for me, as I look back on the change of events I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to retire when we did, and be allowed to go and care for my dad as he passed from this life on to his next. 
     As many of you know me...I don't do well with change, I am the type that lives in the same house for 23 years, stays at the same job 31 years, we don't rearrange the furniture, we keep the same pets, and "BAM", no house no job no furniture, 2 of our loved pets and my dad of 86 years all gone in less than a year.  Life is filled with peaks and valleys, this past year there were alot of valleys, you just have to pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and get on again.  Life is but a dream, and we are going to get ours.  Let the good times roll!!!