Red Lodge, Montana to Cody, Wyoming. Wednesday, June 19, 2024
I wanted today to be my first rodeo, but I got in too late. Cody, Wyoming is famous for its Fourth of July rodeo, but it has one every night. It’s about 4 miles out of town, so I didn’t make the detour. I’ve gone to a couple of small-time events in Vermont, but never to a real rodeo. When I saw I wouldn’t make it, cognitive dissonance kicked in, and I decided I didn’t want to anyway, since rodeos abuse animals. Or so I’ve heard, I have no idea if it’s true.
After another night in the sumptuous home of the George’s, Mary made me a double breakfast of eggs, bacon, and delicious gluten-free granola with oat milk. I got out before nine, but not before snapping a photo of Mary and her two dogs, Callie and Two Dots.
I was sorry I didn’t get a photo of Bill himself, who was off on his fishing trip. Also sorry I never snapped a picture of their lovely home; fortunately, Nile did yesterday when he came to pick me up.
Back in the town of Red Lodge, I had to make a decision. The most direct route had me going up over the Beartooth Highway, an “All-American Road,” called “the most beautiful drive in America,” by late CBS News correspondent Charles Kuralt. I had driven it a couple of times and was awestruck. However, it was very twisty, topped out at 10,947 feet, had no shoulders at all, and there was lots of RV traffic, concerning because those drivers are often much less experienced with handling big rigs than truck drivers. The alternative was to go into Wyoming and enter Yellowstone through Cody, quite a bit longer, but less steep hills and better shoulders.
As it turned out, the decision was made for me. The rain we had yesterday was snow up in the mountains, and the pass was closed. As I climbed out of Red Lodge, I could look back across the Beartooth mountains and confirm that for myself.
Crazy, in Vermont, quite a bit further north than here, they reached a record high of 95°.
It was a beautiful sunny day here, highs in the 70s. 10–15 mph headwind, but with my shrinking gut, I’m finding it easier to get into a deep tuck and use my aero bars. This disconcerting sign
was not as ominous as I feared, it was just a couple of miles of firm gravel. I worried I was passing through another services desert when I passed a dusty roadside stop that turned out to be a paradise, the Edelweiss Riverhouse. Wendy served me up a delicious grilled chicken salad, and many ice cold glasses of Pepsi and root beer.
I got an email from Eric correcting my recollection of our ill-fated Granite Peak climb in 2004. I have since edited my blog from yesterday. It seems my slowness on the hike in was the principal reason for our lack of success.
Anyway, the sunshine, though beautiful, was so unrelenting that it was a challenge reading anything on my phone. There was no shade anywhere. Entering Wyoming was fun, but it was also useful to provide that shade, and allow me to read that email.
Wyoming was fun also because it had consistent smooth wide shoulders, which can make all the difference. What a relief not to have to look in my rearview mirror constantly, I got to listen to more of the Chief Joseph story. One more steep hill, I was happy to see that even with the headwind I could tackle a 7.9% grade without walking. Could it be that the dropper post is making me pedal differently, and start to recruit my long-dormant gastrocnemius muscles?
Finally a downhill swoop into Cody, and even though I was too late for the rodeo, I did score a steak dinner at Irma’s, founded by Buffalo Bill himself, and named for his daughter. Touristy, I guess, but reasonable and not half bad.
William F. Cody was a larger than life figure, and dominates the lore of this town. He has a huge museum which I seen before, I was unimpressed with its treatment of Native Americans. Indeed, Sitting Bull had appeared in some of Cody’s Wild West shows, but Bull was unable to adopt to American culture, and wound up giving most his earnings to street beggars.
He went back to his home in North Dakota and shortly was murdered while the Army was attempting to bring him in.
As I was leaving my motel, I chatted with Joe from Lafayette, Indiana, long distance motorcyclist. At one point, he cycled all 48 states in 10 days. His mascot is Goofy, on the back of his bike.
Cody is also the eastern Gateway town to Yellowstone Park, my next destination. The Internet coverage for the next two days will be spotty. I will post when I can.
Distance 69 miles, 2,081 total. Time 10 hours with stops. Elevation gain 3,547 feet
©️ 2024 Scott Luria
The Ends of the Earth 