Yellowstone 8/14/18 (Yellowstone to Sheridan, WY)
We were waiting for breakfast when the restaurant opened, as all aboard was scheduled for 7:30am. This meant that we could catch the sunrise over Yellowstone Lake. And it did not disappoint. In fact, it was so spectacular that the resturant staff, including the chef, came out to take a few pictures. One mentioned that they have only seen one other sunrise with any color this summer.
Today is long bus day as we need a cover a lot of miles, hence the early start. We headed out the east entrance and through the Sylvan Pass taking in our last few views of geothermal activity and beautiful stands of lodgepole pines. Late morning and lunch will be spent at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY.
Just after coming out of the Sylvan Pass, we stopped at the Pahaska TeePee. Now a resort, it was the home of Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge and hotel built in 1904. Today you can stay in a small cabin and take trail rides. We only made a pit stop here, but we did note that they still have a working phone booth.
The Buffalo Bill Museum is almost like five museums in one. We opted for the Western Art and Natural History wings with the later being our favorite. We learned about the local wildlife and ecosystems. Venturing outside, a “cowboy” was demonstrating how pioneers cooked on an open fire. He made chili, sourdough biscuits, baked beans and coffee - offering anyone a taste. The chili was available in the small cafe if you wanted a full-size bowl for lunch.
The ride after we left the museum included another climb to new heights. Tristan navigated winding roads with a series of switchbacks. As we crossed the apex, we were above 9,440 feet. During the ride, we stopped for pie and coffee at the Bear Lodge and Resort. I opted for the banana cream, while Mary enjoyed the carmel apple.
The ride back down was long and more than a little harrowing. We noticed the sky was looking a little dark to the north as we left our pie stop. Not too much latter, the sky darkened where we were and next thing we knew, it was hailing. The roadway was soon covered with small ice balls, but we moved on down the mountain. So the hail stopped, the sky lightened and we were treated to our tradional vacation rainbow (we have seen a rainbow on every vacation we have been on for at least the last 10 years). The afternoon on board movie was about Mt. Rushmore, one of our stops in a few days.
Arriving at the Best Western in Sheridan, we checked in and headed to our group dinner. Served buffet style, we enjoyed pulled pork and all the fixings. We also learned that Sheridan is the horse polo capital of the United States. Teams travel from all over the world to play here and often spend over a month in Sheridan. We also learned a little bit about the game and that it takes 50 polo ponies for each game. Breeding and training polo ponies is an important industry for the town.
Today was all about Tristan and his skill as a driver and keeping us safe. Thanks so much!
Pictures 8/14/18
Today is long bus day as we need a cover a lot of miles, hence the early start. We headed out the east entrance and through the Sylvan Pass taking in our last few views of geothermal activity and beautiful stands of lodgepole pines. Late morning and lunch will be spent at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY.
Just after coming out of the Sylvan Pass, we stopped at the Pahaska TeePee. Now a resort, it was the home of Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge and hotel built in 1904. Today you can stay in a small cabin and take trail rides. We only made a pit stop here, but we did note that they still have a working phone booth.
The Buffalo Bill Museum is almost like five museums in one. We opted for the Western Art and Natural History wings with the later being our favorite. We learned about the local wildlife and ecosystems. Venturing outside, a “cowboy” was demonstrating how pioneers cooked on an open fire. He made chili, sourdough biscuits, baked beans and coffee - offering anyone a taste. The chili was available in the small cafe if you wanted a full-size bowl for lunch.
The ride after we left the museum included another climb to new heights. Tristan navigated winding roads with a series of switchbacks. As we crossed the apex, we were above 9,440 feet. During the ride, we stopped for pie and coffee at the Bear Lodge and Resort. I opted for the banana cream, while Mary enjoyed the carmel apple.
The ride back down was long and more than a little harrowing. We noticed the sky was looking a little dark to the north as we left our pie stop. Not too much latter, the sky darkened where we were and next thing we knew, it was hailing. The roadway was soon covered with small ice balls, but we moved on down the mountain. So the hail stopped, the sky lightened and we were treated to our tradional vacation rainbow (we have seen a rainbow on every vacation we have been on for at least the last 10 years). The afternoon on board movie was about Mt. Rushmore, one of our stops in a few days.
Arriving at the Best Western in Sheridan, we checked in and headed to our group dinner. Served buffet style, we enjoyed pulled pork and all the fixings. We also learned that Sheridan is the horse polo capital of the United States. Teams travel from all over the world to play here and often spend over a month in Sheridan. We also learned a little bit about the game and that it takes 50 polo ponies for each game. Breeding and training polo ponies is an important industry for the town.
Today was all about Tristan and his skill as a driver and keeping us safe. Thanks so much!
Pictures 8/14/18
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