Cody, Buffalo, Casper, and Home

 

Cody's Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a massive museum complex, and includes sections on Firearms, Buffalo Bill Cody, Natural History, Plains Indians, and Western Art. The Plains Indian section was large and particularly impressive. It was very respectful, and did not gloss over the poor treatment of the Indians. The Western Art section was full of paintings by Bierstat, Remingtons, Catlin and many others. The Buffalo Bill section discussed his Wild West Show, but also other parts of his life, including his attempted divorce from his wife, which the judge rejected. I enjoyed the posters from his European tours, and the video of his wild west show.

We took a lunch break, where we ate at Wy Thai. The woman set up her business in a parking lot away from the central business district, using a gooseneck trailer that her father rebuilt and outfitted as a kitchen. The food was good; the medium spice was plenty hot for me. Her mother was the cook. There were plenty of leftovers, which we put in the refrigerator.

I returned to the museum, while Sandi walked to the nearby downtown, as she was on museum overload. She bought a pair of jeans, and a bunch of books. I continued with the museum, including spending some time talking to and watching a saddlemaker work leather. The chasing and repousse that I do in copper has lot in common with working leather; both use similar tools to create a low relief design in the material. I learned about checkering files, which create fine grooves in metal. I was not familiar with this tool, and will certainly buy one or two for myself, to use in creating texturing tools for chasing copper. The firearms museum was large, with a bewildering array of weapons. I learned a few things, including how a lever action rifle works. The natural history museum was divided into small sections for various climate zones, including the birds and mammals. I closed out my museum tour listening to actors portray some of the famous gunslingers of the old west. After that, we drank a beer on the patio of a brewpub, bought ice cream sundaes from Dairy Queen, and went back to the camper, where Sandi fixed pork chops and leftovers. The camper is mostly dried out, it seems, although we are leaving the fan on overnight.

On Tuesday, we drove to Buffalo, Wyoming, crossing the Bighorn mountains on highway 16. The warning signs were unique, including a diagram of the road. They have a cable system to stop runaway trucks. There were several sections of 7% or 8% downhill grades, sometimes separated by uphill sections. It felt different than any other mountain pass that I could recall. The drive was quite beautiful, and included a large herd of sheep. When we arrived in Buffalo, our first stop was to visit Mountain Meadow Wool. Sandi has purchased some of their wool, and wanted to visit the mill. They get their wool from local ranchers, and process it themselves, washing carding, pinning, spinning, and dyeing. The mill is good sized, with up to 30 employees, including part time. The machines have been redesigned by their foreman, including having to make replacement parts. They recently acquired knitting machines from Myramar, and use them them to knit hats and hoodies. It was an interesting tour, largely self-guided. We proceeded to Deer Park campground, very wooded, we like it very much.

Pinning machine for wool

Thursday morning we visited the Gatchell Museum, a surprisingly well done local museum. It covered the local history, including the Johnson County war, which was between the cattle barons and the local ranchers. Major bloodshed was avoided when the US Cavalry was called in. Mr. Gatchell was very interested in Indians, including speaking their language, and sometimes traded medicine for material goods. We thought that the bookstore was particularly good. 

Lobby of the Occidental Hotel

We visited the historic Occidental Hotel, and had lunch at the restaurant next door. We also visited a local potter's gallery, and Sandi bought a couple of bowls. We headed south to Casper, and visited the National Trails Interpretive Center, about the California Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the Pony Express. We found the Rive r's Edge campground, which is next to the North Platte River. We drove to Aaron and Geneva's house, which is 100 years old, and then to “The Office” sports bar for dinner.

On Friday, rather than take I-25 home, we decided to go west from Casper, and then take Wyoming 487 south to the town of Medicine Bow, where we picked up US30 to Laramie, and then UN287 home. The drive on 487 was particularly empty, although there was a rest area with a WYDOT facility across the street. Medicine Bow, with such an elegant name, looked pretty sad and run down. The drive home was uneventful.