Our introduction to Wyoming was a little rocky, so to speak. My husband lost most of a tooth and had to find a dentist. The truck was making a strange noise, so we had to find a dealer that would work on it within a couple of days. Fortunately, we were led to a fabulous dentist who I would recommend for anyone – Granite Springs Dentistry, if you ever need a dentist in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Believe it or not, the dealership we worked with for the truck (Cowboy Dodge, to be specific) had a shuttle service to anywhere we wanted to go with pick-up whenever we called asking to be picked up(!). Talk about fabulous. We spent an entire day in downtown Cheyenne, and enjoyed every minute. From museums to restaurants, to trolley tours, to horse-drawn carriage rides, Cheyenne is chock full of historical trivia and Old West memorabilia. We called to be picked up and within a half hour after our return to the dealership, the truck was ready for us to pay the bill (ouch!) and get the heck out of Dodge.
That evening, we returned to the downtown area for BBQ on the square with live music to boot, no pun intended. Bottom line, we really enjoyed our stay in Cheyenne. I have to believe we were meant to be on that square that night because an elderly gentleman sat down beside us as we listened to the music and struck up a conversation about where we were from, etc. Turns out his wife is terminally ill and he had just left their apartment several blocks away for a much needed break. He had graduated from Ohio State University many years earlier – my husband is a die-hard Ohio State fan. They must have chatted for a good hour and the man had tears in his eyes as he thanked us for our time and prayers. No matter how much we love our loved ones, it’s so much a necessity to get a small break from the intensity now and then and I’m so glad we were able to do that for this man that night.
The rest of our Wyoming stay was based in Cody, Wyoming. We parked our RV in Cody and used it as our home base for about a week while we visited Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Teton National Park, and finally, we spent a day exploring the city of Cody itself which houses Wild Bill Cody’s museum and a number of other interesting historical Old West tourist spots. The Cody museum, please note, is huge. We spent a good half day just browsing the museum itself. For an avid Old West movie buff like my husband, it was a dream come true. And a final note about Cody — they have a rodeo every night of the week! Even if you’re not really into the whole cowboy thing, this is a lot of fun, just to see how the other half lives — from bull riding to barrel racing, they have the whole kit and caboodle. My husband even got to sit on a real, live bull. Yikes!
We toured Yellowstone and returned to Cody in the evening. What an amazing place. The mountains and the canyons and the mountain ledge roads and the lakes and the waterfalls and the buffalo, oh my! Our lunch was bologna and cheese sandwiches served on our tailgate beside the Yellowstone Lake while we watched our little Yorkie-Poo pup play on the beach with the chipmunks. The Old Faithful geyser was a must-see and with it being on a pretty solid schedule for its eruptions, we felt fortunate that we only had to wait about 45 minutes. An amazing thing to watch!
When we went to the Grand Tetons, it was a little further from Cody than we had anticipated and after a day of driving, we decided to check into the Jackson Lake Lodge for the night with a direct view of the Tetons from our balcony. This was one of the best decisions we’ve made since leaving on this epic road trip. We watched a herd of elk from our balcony until dusk as the sun set. We did also splurge here on dinner in the lodge café where we were seated next to floor-to-ceiling windows, again highlighting the Teton mountains. NOTE: I had the heirloom cauliflower and it was the best thing I think I’ve ever eaten. You have to try it if you ever find yourself in the Tetons. Really!
We left Wyoming feeling a bit as though we had been blessed by the God of all things, and humbled by the joy of it all.
