Weekend in Cody, WY

We spent the past weekend in Cody, Wyoming where they celebrated their 30th
annual "Pow Wow". Cody is a small western town and the home of the Buffalo Bill Cody Western Museum, one of the country's Smithsonian group of museums.
The 2-1/2 hour drive to Cody took us Southeast and out of the Park along the Shoshone River and high into the Absoroka Mountains.  We encountered several buffalo along the way and brief traffic jams as they use the roads to go from one high mountain meadow to another.  Many are still shedding their heavy winter coats and are pretty scraggly looking.  Both bulls and cows have horns and their huge shoulder muscles or "humps" help them as they sway their heads left and right plowing through heavy winter snows to find grass.








During the PowWow Indian tribes participate in different traditional competitions and we took in some of the competitive dancing. The age groups ranged from small children to adult.  The pictured small tents were set up for each tribes' singers/chanters and drummers.  It was interesting to hear the different dialects and of course we understood zero of  what they were singing.

All were dressed in traditional clothing and the Crow Indian with the mountain lion headress was simply amazing. Several indians' costumes contained Bald Eagle feathers, talons, etc. which we were told Indians could possess as long as they
are used for religious or other ceremonial purposes.  Selling of Bald Eagle feathers or other parts
is strictly prohibited by the government and carries a $10,000 fine and prison term.

Too, if you look closely, almost all costumes have elk incisors which traditionally are a sign of wealth and good health for the owner.

After the dance competition we toured just a small part of the Cody Museum and spent
most of 4-5 hours in the Plains Indians section. The many full scale dioramas were
fantastic.  We ran out of time before we could explore the art galleries, the Cody gun collection containing over 2,500 pieces, and so much more.  We both agreed we'll have to do a Cody trip once more before we head home.











 Near the end of each day an old time western "shootout" is held in Cody outside the Irma Hotel (Wild Bill built it for his daughter Irma to manage back in the 1880s) and it is more of a promotion for local bars and saloons than a gunfight. Maybe 2-300 tourists and local townsfolk attend each shootout and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After the shootout we had dinner and a few margaritas outdoors and crashed for the night.