John and I slept in a little longer this morning before heading down to the breakfast provided by the motel.  After a leisurely breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed out for today's adventure.  The weather was just about perfect with a few low clouds hanging over the mountains.

We decided that our first stop of the day would be the Buffalo Bill Dam located about six miles west of Cody.  This dam was built in the early 1900's and at its completion, was the tallest dam in the world.  The main purpose for its construction was to provide irrigation to approximately 93,000 acres of farm land.  Right now the water level is at it's lowest point of the year, but continues to rise as the snowpack is melting and the water is running into the river.  In a few weeks the water level will reach within a foot or two of the top of the dam.  At that time water will be diverted upstream and sent through pipes that will empty into the river below the dam.  It was fascinating to see how the dam was built.

Reservoir formed by Buffalo Bill Dam
 

   
Once we toured the visitor center at the dam and walked across the top, we headed a little further west along the lake and found a place to stop for more photos.  John also found quite a few pieces of driftwood he'll be bringing home for wood carving.  We then drove back into Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill museum to see the sections we didn't get covered yesterday.  John and I started with the Buffalo Bill area and then took in the Natural History rooms along with the Cody Rifle rooms.  This museum has over 2700 rifles in addition to handguns on display.  Some were used in the Revolutionary War.  We also saw some extraordinary animal displays.

 

It was late afternoon when we left the museum after having taken in as much information as we could absorb.  We hit a few outlet stores where we found some great sales on shoes and then visited the Wild Ram Exhibit. By this time we were pretty tired, so it was back to the motel to rest for an hour before heading off for some supper.  Cody has a new Wal Mart, so we made a stop there to stretch our legs and walk off some of our meal.  While out and about today, we discovered a DQ, so the final stop of our Cody adventure was there for some ice cream to top off our last day.  Tomorrow we head back to Gillette where we'll meet up with Matt's family at Amy's.  John and I had a great time and learned so much about the history of the West.  We think we might come back in the fall and visit Yellowstone again.