Estes Park to Cody, WY

Highway 36 from Longmont to Estes Park is a beautiful drive, as is the road from Estes to Fort Collins. We enjoyed both, as well as our two-night stay at Elk Meadows RV park. While in EP, we had dinner both nights with Frances and Roy Marvin, Michal's cousin and her husband. The Marvins have lived in Estes Park for a number of years, and have a lovely home in Windcliffe which has a fantastic deck for sipping a chilled beverage and watching the sun set.

We had time to explore the downtown area, where restaurants and shops open onto a lovely area alongside the stream which runs through town. Feathers, Nickie and Lucky Dog also enjoyed the Estes Valley Dog Park.

It's a winner for all of you who travel with canine friends...lots of friendly dogs, room to run, agility equipment and even a gate giving access to the Big Thompson River for a swim. The National Youth Finals Rodeo was also in town. We stopped by to watch but only saw a couple of events. Nickie was so excited at seeing the calves pened nearby that she whined and yipped incessently, so we left.

Sunday night found us in Douglas, Wyoming, not far from Cheyenne. The dogs liked the KOA where we stayed because it had a nice, fenced, dog run and three horses just across the fence. The campground was outside of town and was bordered by a field of young grain that provided grazing for a large flock of Canada Geese.

From Douglas, I put in a couple of hours behind the wheel of the Falcon while John watched for oil wells and pronghorn antelope. East of Buffalo, we picked up Hwy. 16, and had a lovely drive across the mountains on one of Wyoming's scenic byways.

Evening found us in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Only some 380 people call Ten Sleep home, but it's a friendly little place, with the Ten Broek RV Park and Horse Hotel ready to serve travelers' needs. According to the explanation, the town got its name from the Sioux Indians. It seens it is located between the site of two Indian encampments which are "ten sleeps" apart.

From Ten Sleep, we traveled to Cody, Wyoming, and arrived in time to spend several hours in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The Center houses five different museums under one roof, and is well worth a visit. We spent another couple of hours at the museum on Wednesday morning before heading west to Yellowstone. A museum admission ticket is good for two days, and we could have easily spent another day or two exploring it. Permanent exhibits include the Buffalo Bill Cody section, the Natural History Museum, and the Firearms Museum. There is also a gallery of western art, and traveling exhibits such as the paintings depicting the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was a wonderful way to get reacquainted with the history of the region.

Cody also hosts a nightly rodeo, which showcases local talent in events such as calf roping, shown here.
.