Thursday August 20, Buffalo Bill Cody State Park, Cody WY

All in all it has been a very leisurely day, with brilliant weather to go with it, probably the hottest since we left Utah.

Took Ruakiwi into Ford and we relaxed in their guest lounge while she was serviced. Real comfort, coffee available and big leather lounge chairs a huge TV and a computer connected to the internet. Very relaxing. She had a clean bill of health and fresh oil, so ready to clock more miles up.

Really enjoyed wandering around the town of Cody, huge wide streets, lots of galleries and not too many “touristy” rubbish. Kept imaging a gun fight going in the street, as I guess it did 100+ years ago. The Custom Cowboy Shop was our favourite, everything a real cowboy would need including saddles and tack made on site by their saddler. His workmanship was superb, and a really pleasant guy to chat with. The atmosphere of the place was just right.

We sat on the verandah of the historic Hotel Irma, named by Buffalo Bill for his daughter, and enjoyed a lunch, watching the world pass by. Walking inside it felt like we had stepped back in time, the dark wood panelling and old furniture was reminiscent of a past age.

By mid afternoon it was really warming up, so stocked up on supplies and as we want to have a good look around the world famous Western Museum tomorrow, only went out of town about 10 miles to the state park on the shores of the Shoshone River. Great spot, with views up to the mountains on both sides of us.