If It Weren’t for the Wind in Cody, WY

I may have stolen part of that title from a country song, but it’s too appropriate not to use.

We planned this trip in the months of August and September for a variety of reasons, but one of those reasons was weather.

Or I should say ideal weather.

And temperature-wise, we’ve had that.

Mid-70s. Mostly sunny days. Cooler mornings and evenings.

But the wind.

So. Much. Wind.

It’s not only affected our travel and the length of time it takes to get between stops, it’s kept us from enjoying much outside time.

In this moment, the wind is so strong it’s shaking the camper, my desk, and my monitors.

Not all that different from working in the truck.

We’re parked until Thursday at Yellowstone Valley Inn, a rustic Western resort along the Shoshone River a few miles west of Cody, WY.

A resort with just OK water pressure and no threaded sewer pipes.

Also, it looks like we’re in the desert.

And it feels like it.

Everything is so dry.

But if it weren’t for the wind, I’d be out there appreciating the scenery, because it really is another stunning location, with views of the Shoshone River and the Absaroka Mountain Range right outside our door.

Instead, we’re inside with the doors and windows closed.

At least for the morning.

The Road to Cody, WY

Getting here was not really fun.

Because we opted to go around the park instead of through it, we had about five and a half hours of driving on Monday to get to Cody.

And not just because we had to go around Yellowstone.

Because wind.

Wind makes towing more difficult and slower.

The Doom and Gloom Gauge was, like, bad or whatever.

And the vehicles that were unfortunate enough to get behind us were looking for every opportunity to pass.

Jason loved it.

It was a beautiful drive, but the thing with longer drives is that once you arrive where you’re going, you’re done being in the truck.

And so our last few arrival days have been a lot of:

“Let’s just relax and cook in.”

Sometimes we do laundry.

An unfortunate byproduct of wearing clothes.

And that’s what we did Monday.

Followed by a riveting game of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective.

I’m not gonna say how we did.

But we made a murder board.

Tough Decisions

We had two full days in Cody, one of which I had to work.

So we had a choice.

It was back to Yellowstone or explore Cody.

We weren’t doing both.

Yellowstone: hours of driving.

Cody: 20 minutes.

You’re probably starting to sense a theme here.

We’re kinda tired of driving.

That’s the story.

And this has to be about us.

It has to be about us more than all the things we think we have to see and do.

We're choosing our trip over checking boxes.

The bottom line is, we’ve already seen A LOT.

And we’re not even finished.

So, Yellowstone, we bid thee well.

We have seen your north end, and it was impressive.

Til next time.

Downtown Cody

Cody is a good-sized tourist town, where stores and restaurants have normal business hours. 

So many places to eat and drink. Museums. Art galleries. Hotels. Campgrounds. A gazillion Western clothing stores...

We shopped, had lunch, and visited Old Trail Town & Museum of the Old West, the cheaper alternative to the Buffalo Bill Museum.

It’s full of authentic Old West buildings that were moved from their original locations, preserved, and set up like a little Old West town.

Tiny houses.

Barber shops.

Post offices.

Schools.

And, of course, a brothel.

We learned some history about the region.

A lot of murders and train robberies and gangs hiding out, trying to escape the law.

It was cool, and I’m glad we went.

And that was Cody.

P.S. Still in search of a campfire.