This morning we left Sheridan and headed over the Big Horn Mountains to Cody, Wyoming.  The trip took awhile as the road was steep and had many hairpin turns.  We also made many stops to view the beautiful scenery.  As we started out, the skies were overcast with low hanging clouds which made it difficult to see the mountain tops. As we neared the summit, the clouds gave way to a beautiful sunny sky.  There was plenty of snow at the higher elevations and the lakes were still covered with ice; however, the mountain streams were flowing full force and created quite a noise as they headed down the mountain sides.

 

As we came down the mountains, we ran across a little roadside cafe called "Dirty Annie's" where we stopped to take a break and had a very good lunch of cheeseburgers.  Once we got back on the road it was a very nice ride into Cody.  

 

Once we reached Cody, our first stop was the visitor center where we picked up information and decided what we wanted to see while here in the area.  The visitor center contained a nice collection of local art, so we spent some time there looking at all the many items on display.  While at the center, we also purchased tickets to The Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  This center consists of five different museums--The Plains Indians, Yellowstone, Buffalo Bill, Western Art, and Cody Firearms Museum along with a research center.  We were told it takes about two days to go through the whole facility, so we purchased tickets that will get us in for two days.  This afternoon we went through the Plains Indians and Art museums.  We saw many works of art by Remington and many other famous western artists, some of which are over 100 years old.  John and I also learned a lot about the Native American tribes and their culture.  If you are ever in Cody, this is a must see historical center.  We also saw a raptor presentation with several different birds who have been injured in one way or another and ended up at this facility for educational purposes as they can no longer live in the wild.

John and I plan to head back tomorrow to the museum and cover the rest of it and, if weather permits, drive out of town to see the Buffalo Dam.  We explored a couple of shops after supper at a little local cafe and hope to get back to a few shops that were closed for the evening.  Time to call it a day.