Cowboy Town: Cody Wyoming!

So yeah, back to Wyoming for this post.  Let's just say it is about the time of the year I start missing Yellowstone.  Snow Lodge is closed for the winter, and Yellowstone had her 139th birthday and trust me, she don't look a day over 100!  But I am saving Yellowstone for some later blog something or other.  So we will just have to go with one of the next best things!  Cody Wyoming!!

If you haven't been there I would totally recommend it.  It isn't big, but it has some cool stuff.  Oh and that part of Wyoming is a pretty awesome desert.  Of and they have the Buffalo Bill Cody museum, which is gigantic.  Honestly though, Cody is a nifty little tourist town with a real history.  And there is a definite cowboy feel to the joint (which in my book is always a plus.)  Oh and a big ole dam too (if you're into that sort of thing).  But honestltly the majority of my trips to Cody were with the main purpose of shopping.  Trust me when you live in Yellowstone 80 miles isn't that far...  Oh and they have a mock gunfight comedy thing (which is kinda neat)  Oh and a Rodeo that in 7 years I never went to, not for lack of trying on my part

 And trust me on this the drive to Cody from Yellowstone is totally worth it!

Bear!

Tetons across Lake Yellowstone

Wild Thing: Mooses!

 Ok, it is not much a secret that moose are not my favorite thing.  I think they are silly looking, but actually real moose are cool, but you don't see them a lot.  And my mom has a toy one that takes all its frustrations out on me... well kinda, it is a bit of a joke.  As far as it goes, I am not a huge moose fan, I might be someday.  I've seen probably about 6 in my life.  Something like that, most in the greater Yellowstone/Teton ecosystem and a set somewhere between YNP and Sheridan Wyoming in 2006.  The only moose pics I have are from my very last moose encounter.













It took a few summers before I saw a moose in Yellowstone.  I think it was my 3rd one.  The summer of 2006, me and some friends were headed down to Grant Village from Lake, and there by the marina was a cow moose and her baby (at least I think the baby was there- it kinda was a quick pass by).  It was neat.  Lake is not always a common place to see moose, but really where is. Then I saw 2 moose in the meadow in front of Lake Lodge one morning.  That was really strange, especially since in June the bears are still really active.  But there they were just sauntering by.



 The following summer I saw one in mid May, just after the lake broke.  There is a bit of an old causeway, where the old road used to be, and there was a moose just ambling along.  It was awesome, I didn't have my camera.  And by the time I processed that it was a moose, it was too late and I didn't want to turn around.  Later that summer me and some friends headed down to Jackson Hole and on the way back we noticed a bunch of cars at Moose Junction.  Not being one to stop for animal jams, I was convinced that we needed to stop.  It was worth it, because hanging out along the rivers edge was a bull moose. 

I Think I Like the World Better in the Fall

Fall comes early in the Tetons

Apparently it is fall.  I think it snuck up on me.  Just last week it was ridiculously hot here in southern Minnesota and then one day it rained and it has been lovely ever since.  I am a fan of fall.  It is a great season.  The leaves are achangin' and it is jeans and long-sleeve shirt weather.  That and fall means hockey season is just around the corner and that means winter is in the coming.  Winter means skiing!  And this year, if we get the snow we should, I plan on doing lots of skiing -of both varieties.

Moose Falls YNP

I think autumn is as lovely as the spring.  It is just a different loveliness.  Spring is green and bright colors, new life.  Fall is rich, and bold colors, crisp weather.  I think I have some waiting to do before the leaves start turning, but it is always worth the wait.  If I am lucky, I might be able to head north for a few days in the fall, and catch the color up there first and then down here in my corner of the state.

North Ridge overlooking The Mississippi

Having worked seasonally for several years, until I returned home and eventually found myself back in school, I gained an appreciation for the month of October.  It is the best month to travel in.  You lose the crowds, the weather is usually pleasant.  Yeah, sometimes things are not open or the hours are shortened.  But in the grand scheme of things, you still can travel well.   No place is ever the same, it is true that you can't go back.  But if you go somewhere in the spring and then some later fall, you are going to two different places. 

Wolf Pass Colorado

 The world changes in the fall.  And I fall in love with it every year.  Big fan of blustery days, it reminds me of Winnie the Pooh.  Maybe it is the kid in me, the one that likes puddle jumping and leaf piles, and dancing in the rain.

Red Rock Canyon Kentucky

 Autumn rocks!  It is time for pumpkin flavored cheesecakes!  Icky pumpkin flavored cappuccino-not a fan!  Seriously it is gross, you do not need pumpkin flavored everything.  But heck it comes with the season!  With sunset happening earlier, you get way more time to look at the stars.  Which is probably one  of the things I miss the most from living in Yellowstone.  You can see a ridiculous amount of stars, especially in the winter! 

Sunset at the bus barn house, La Crescent

 So YAY for fall.  I am going to celebrate the heck out of you.  I got plans for you.  So let me know when the color changes.  And hell, if I remember my camera someday at school, I might use my ungodly long break between classes to walk to the park.  I look forward to your best blustery day!  After all they are my favorite!!!