Saturday, July 19 Thermopolis to Cody and the Luthy's

 Saturday, July 19

We sleep in a bit today till 7:30 and have cereal with blueberries and bananas for breakfast.  We wind our way through Wind River Canyon which has signs identifying the geological ages of the rock walls.  Beautiful morning, though much of the canyon is in shade.

We are headed to Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis, which is only half an hour away. They have pools there to soak in the hot springs and showers for before and after! Sounds great.  We stop at a McDonalds in Thermopolis and Greg has a 75 cent cup of coffee - the cheapest of the trip I believe.  Then we head to the pool house, shower and have a soak in the hot springs. Smells a bit sulfur-y, but feels great! The shower is good too - and all for free amazingly.  

We opt for the indoor pool

Afterwards we walk a trail through the travertine formed by the flow of the springs and visit the teepee fountain.

TeePee Fountain

And then it is on towards Cody.  We have seen quite a few of these signs which see use in the Winter weather.

And more ranch land; several groups of pronghorns too.

We decide to have lunch at the Irma Hotel - Buffalo Bill's original hotel in Cody; filled with old photos, guns, many mounted animals and other western decor. 

That's Bill in the picture.

Quite a few people out and about, so we enjoy lunch and then head to Paul and Sandy's home.  Sandy is Beth's brother Chap's daughter and she and Paul both mostly grew up here, lived elsewhere for a while but came back.   Good to catch up with them before we head to the Yellowstone Beer Festival, an annual fundraising event at a local park.

There are bands playing and lots of different brewers, mostly from Montana and Wyoming, offering samples  Neither Sandy nor I like beer, but they do have a few stands that have seltzers, which are tasty!  We have chairs, so hang out for a couple of hours, with Paul and Sandy introducing us to some folks and their daughter Sky (Skylar) and her boyfriend Matthew arrive too.  It is a hot day and we move to some shade after a while.

Paul, Beth and Sandy

Skylar and Matthew

Friends of Paul & Sandy

T

There are a few painted buffalo around town.

Afterwards, we hit "The Big Chill" ice cream shop in town.  Yum! Peanut Butter Campfire for me - vanilla with peanut butter, chocolate and bits of something crunchy (like graham crackers).  Greg has an orange vanilla shake - like Orange Julius - remember them?

Interesting seating at a nearby cafe.

While the guys crash, Sandy and I stay up and catch up some more. They really like Cody and are quite active in the community.  Tomorrow Sandy is hosting a family barbecue so we'll get to see more family!  Fun day!