joelmyer said:
Just an update: We're in Sheridan, WY for a couple of nights then Cody for a few, arriving Yellowstone on July 2nd.
Joel,
Cody is great. Take one day to drive over the Chief Joseph Hwy and then up the Beartooth to Beartooth Pass and back to Cody, or if you have time, in the park thru the northeast gate and into the Lamar Valley for a while and then back to Cody. Stop in the Cooke City General Store in Cooke City if you have time. Don't forget, the East gate is closed from 8:00pm-8:00am. All the other gates are open 24 hrs. In Cody, if you like a neat hike, head towards Buffalo Bill Dam. On the right, you will see a turnoff and a bridge over the river. If you park there you can walk almost all the way along the Shoshone River to the bottom of the dam and back. There will be gates over the road but they're only for cars. The trolley tour of Cody is neat too. You can catch the free gunfight at the Hotel Irma at 6:00pm and then get on the trolley there at 6:30pm. Of course there's the museum. You can do it in a day and a half. Across the street from the museum parking lot towards the Ponderosa CG, is a wild sheep display...free. The rodeo is nightly at 8:30pm. Another neat ride is to turn out of the Ponderosa towards Yellowstone. Down the road towards Wally World, there will be a turnoff to the left for the south fork road which goes on the south side of Buffalo Bill Res. It's 40 miles to the end but a good place to see wildlife at dusk or early in the am. And, if that's not enough, thay have a really nice golf course. See why we stayed a week there?
If you are heading to W. Yellowstone, the going will be slow. Besides the delay for the construction inside the East Gate, the park is loaded with people. Get an early start out of Cody to beat most of it. But it will still be slow...people just stop in the middle of the road to gawk at animals and stuff instead of pulling off or using the turnouts. Speed limit iside the park is 45 mph most places but you will probably average about 30 mph.
Lessee, food. In Cody, plenty of places but we liked Maxwells. Ate at the Mayor's Inn one night, but they're only open for dinner Fri & Sat. Hotel Irma has good food and a great saloon. In W. Yellowstone, we had an elk medallion dinner at Bullwinkles. Was $27 but a huge meal. Enough for two so you can split it. Buckaroo Bill's has buffalo and elk burgers plus they have barbecued buffalo ribs for dinner. Another place for dinner is Rustlers Roost...not too many tourists there, mostly locals. Best diesel price in W. Yellowstone is at the Sinclair at the corner of Madison and Electric..$2.449 today. Best price food store in town is the Food Roundup on Dunraven between Firehole and Madison.
Have fun
