Tourists on a loop through Yellowstone and the Black Hills generally treat Cody, Wyoming as a stopover en route to the main course of their trip. Cody is no mere appetizer, however - it rewards the traveler willing to devote 2 nights and a jam-packed day to delve into its authentic Western charms. Cody has an ideal Western climate – located on the eastern foothills of the Absaroka Range in the Bighorn Basin, the town is sheltered from extremes of heat, cold and snow accumulation.

It’s easy to underestimate a place based on simple infrastructure – a town of 9,200 surrounded by vast open spaces for a hundred miles in every direction. It lies at the junction of two of America’s premier Scenic Byways – the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (north) and the Buffalo Bill (west). Its airport has exactly one gate, for cryin’ out loud! Cody is well set up for the tourist trade, hosting over 550,000 annual visitors mostly in June, July and August.

Arriving in town mid-afternoon allows you to have a long look around Cody’s downtown drag, Sheridan Street. Conveniently located on the road to Yellowstone (wily ol’ Buffalo Bill made a deal with the National Park Service back in the day), Sheridan Street is rife with shops providing all matter of knick-knacks and commemorative baubles. Don’t miss a late lunch stop at La Comida at 1385 Sheridan – their Aztec Enchilada (blue corn tortillas with a green tomatillo sauce) makes for a happy tum-tum.

Cody’s Western authenticity yields to a touch of kitsch most nights at 6 pm in front of the Irma Hotel (named for one of Buffalo Bill’s daughters). The town stages an old-fashioned gunfight complete with bad guys in black hats taking on the sheriff and his posse. It’s a fun excuse to put on a show for the out-of-towners and make a bunch of racket – there’s one resonant BOOM that is still rattling around my head a week later … fun!

Also based at the Irma is the home-spun creation of two Cody transplants, Cody Trolley Tours. Riders hear Margie Johnson spin serious yarns of Buffalo Bill, the creation of his town and the mysterious events following his death, while her husband Mike chirps in with some quick Minnesotan one-liners. The tour takes a couple laps around town and circles out west to the Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone River during a breezy 60-minute presentation.

After rustling up some dinner grub it’s off to the Cody Theatre for the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue. Dan, who covers the National Finals Rodeo for ESPN in his spare time (and once hosted a game show I liked on the Nashville Network – so random, I know), shares the stage with three talented musicians: fellow vocalist Wendy Corr, rockin’ Nashville guitarist Tim Bushnell, and his own 11-year old daughter, fiddler Hannah Miller. Completing its fifth season running May through September, the variety show combines elements of vaudeville, cowboy music and even a spot of poetry into an affable, family-friendly 90 minutes of fun.

The night scene consists of a few spots with live music – check out the Silver Dollar Bar to hear a rotation of serviceable patio crooners belting out CCR, Johnny Cash, and even some Billy Joel. AAA Approved accommodations run the gamut from One to Three Diamond properties – we stayed at the Holiday Inn at Buffalo Bill Village.

Day Two in Cody is jam-packed – start out early by driving to the west edge of town to the spot where Cody began at Old Trail Town. Composed of a collection of 26 buildings from remote sites across Montana and northern Wyoming, Old Trail Town portrays the West as it once was. I was lucky enough to be part of a private tour led by the site’s Board of Directors President Clay Gibbons. Clay is a pitch-perfect example of the Wyoming cowboy – slow, considered speech full of rich stories about a motley crew of 19th-century characters. (He is currently producing a documentary DVD of the site – he’s hoping he’ll produce some audio guides of his stories.) Trace the footsteps of Jeremiah Liver-Eatin’ Johnson and tour the actual cabin where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid themselves evolved into the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Step into the general store, the smithy, the one-room schoolhouse and the saloon. It’ll make you long for simpler times when a horse and carriage were primo transportation.

Just down the road a stretch is a quick stop for the kids at Tecumseh’s Trading Post. This spot features the life’s work of Jerry Fick, who began creating dioramas of cowboys, Indians and buffalo in miniature scale as a child. 50 years later, his incredible talent is a wonder to behold for kids of all ages. His Miniature Village features over 70 scenes spread over 800 square feet (hey – that’s larger than my apartment!) describing the history of Cody and the West. Visitors can operate three model trains and marvel at more than 4,000 individually-painted figurines, buildings, shrubs and landscaping. The village is surrounded by an extensive collection of Native American artifacts. Admission to the village is on a donation basis (give ‘em a buck already).

Now that you’re properly warmed up, it’s time to tackle the best sight Cody has to offer – the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. An affiliate of the Smithsonian, BBHC brings together five separate museums under one roof. The $15 admission is actually good for two days, so if you like to consume your museums in small bites, this is your spot.

A quick rundown:
• The Draper Museum of Natural History (my personal favorite of the five) leads visitors on a feast of discovery in a logical manner, from high-elevation habitat displays on the top floor down to exhibits on mining at the basement. Its multimedia presentation allows young and old alike to see, hear and touch the natural world.
• The Whitney Gallery of Western Art showcases styles from the mid-19th-century to the present. During my visit, a breathtaking piece by Thomas Moran of Yellowstone Falls was on loan from the Smithsonian (a view I’d get to see later in the trip – but that’s for another article)
• The eponymous Buffalo Bill Museum describes the life of Cody’s namesake. It features artifacts from Bill’s early days riding the Pony Express and fighting in the Civil War, and follows his transformation into the legendary icon of the West. This wing even features movie footage from one of his later shows in the 1910’s, as well as all things Annie Oakley.
• The Cody Firearms Museum has guns … many, many guns! Over 2,000 in all spanning from colonial-era muskets to Gulf War automatics are featured in this gallery. For those not into guns per se, there is a collection of stuffed animals … mounted on the wall – bison, bears, moose and even a walrus!
• Three hours was not quite enough time to get to the fifth wing, the Plains Indian Museum – there’s a lot going on at BBHC. 

Ready for a little adventure? Cody boasts four river rafting companies, but only Wyoming River Trips includes the prettiest section of the Shoshone River, one that features a long stretch of red-rock canyon. During spring runoff the water can rage up to ten feet higher than at the end of the summer. For this, my first-ever river float, the water was certainly not docile. I was the first to volunteer to be a lead paddler at the front of the 11-man inflatable boat. My friend Beth manned the other side at the front and got twice as wet as I did! There was only one time where I thought I was gonna fly out of the boat and that quickly passed. Seriously, this is an ideal trip for a first-timer. Our guide Joe, a 20-year veteran, was fabulous, instructive and informative – he even had his grandson onboard our trip! At the end we received a survivor’s certificate and had an ear-to-ear grin on our faces.

Had enough activity for one day yet? Better refuel at the Wyoming’s Rib and Chop House (Two Diamond AAA Rating) in the center of town at 1367 Sheridan. They serve the city’s best selection of beef, buffalo and fish – their jumbo shrimp are HUGE!

With that task out of the way, it was time for Cody’s calling card, the Cody Nite Rodeo, held each and every night from June 1 to August 31, rain or shine. The arena seats 5,500 and is most popular during Cowboy Christmas – the Cody Stampede held July 1-5. The Nite Rodeo features seven events plus a couple of junior divisions – nothing makes a crowd go awwww quite like a 5-year-old riding a pony around the barrels. The most curious events were when all of the kids in the audience were invited down to the ring to chase calves for fabulous prizes, and the guy who performed all five parts of the Village People’s YMCA at the same time using a jerry-rigged contraption.

The one theme that runs throughout all of Cody’s sights is the genuine hospitality of its people and sticking to an authentic motif to persuade travelers to stay awhile. I found down-home friendliness is at its best in Cody, Wyoming.