I got up early the last two mornings, on Tuesday I walked the labyrinth before sunrise, then sat on my hidden bench and journaled while the sun rose. The next morning I went to the Rawhide Coffeehouse, a very busy local coffee place. There was a large bible study meeting going on in the meeting room, and several other small groups of people sitting at the tables scattered throughout the coffee shop. While I was journaling on the couch, I looked up and saw an older gentleman ordering his coffee. He looked so much like my dad it took my breath away.
Later each morning I put in a few hours of work, one day weeding and another day getting one of the retreat houses ready for an upcoming group. Then in the afternoons, I headed to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a fantastic complex with five museums and a research library. It’s the kind of place that would fit in well in a large city, but which is a real surprise to find in a town of only 10,000. There’s the Buffalo Bill Museum where you learn about the life of Buffalo Bill and his adventures as a showman. The Draper Natural History Museum, which is about the Yellowstone region and spirals up through two stories, showing the different flora, fauna and other natural items at the different elevations in the Yellowstone area. The Cody Firearms Museum apparently has the most comprehensive collection of firearms in America. The Whitney Western Art Museum, a small, but very impressive museum of western art. The Plains Indian Museum, that contains lots of information about the art, culture and history of the Plains Indian Peoples. In addition there is the McCracken Research library, which has hundreds of photos, books and historical documents related to the area. There are also twice daily raptor shows and a resident bald eagle!
When I first arrived at the Center, I thought I’d probably end up spending the afternoon there, but that would be about it. Admission is good for two days, but I wasn’t sure I would find enough to interest me to want to come back for a second day, boy was I wrong!
There are lots of interesting and informative exhibits in each museum, all of them incorporate in short videos on both small and large screens, the cinematography is just beautiful. There were scavenger hunts for kids to do in every museum, which I actually found really helpful for looking more closely at some of the exhibits. Several courtyards with trees, sitting areas and sculptures were interspersed between the museums. They all pack a lot in relatively small spaces.
The art museum had a free audio tour, which I really enjoyed especially since I haven’t had much experience with western style art. It also had a comfortable seating areas right in front of huge plate glass windows that looked out on a bronze sculpture of Buffalo Bill Cody, created by the woman the art museum is named after.
I probably spent the least amount of time in the firearms museum, since that wasn’t something I was into, but even there, I found things that interested me, especially the section on firearms 101. I learned a lot about guns, and marveled over the hundreds of different types and sizes of guns and rifles on display, there is even a gun library downstairs.
I went outside and met June, the bald eagle. I’ve never been able to be so close to a bald eagle before, it was fascinating. She has an injured wing and can’t fly so that is why she’s a resident at the center, apparently the other raptors all have physical issues and would not be able to survive in the wild, so they have a rehab program similar to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek.
I really liked the 3-D experience in many of the museums where you would sit to watch a video that was incorporated into a life size diorama. For example, in the Plains Indian Museum you enter an earthen house, similar to the ones they would have constructed, and there are a series of video screens on the walls, showing current day Plains Indian peoples talking about their lives and traditions. I couldn’t get over the gorgeous beading on the clothing and other household items on display in that museum.
When I arrived the second day, I saw a group assembled in front of the chuckwagon out front. It was starting to pour, so I just took a couple of pictures, then went back later to find out more about what was going on. There was an older cowboy cooking over a fire him, and had made Dutch oven biscuits along with pork and beans and cowboy coffee. He offered me a sample and they were all delicious! I found out that he had grown up in Southern California but then had spent many years working with horses in Arizona, Kansas, and New Mexico before moving to Wyoming about 20 years ago. He is still working with horses, as well as having a business with his own chuckwagon that he uses for weddings, and other kind of events, very cool.
On my way home I decided to stop at a local inn that had live music. I got myself a cocktail and sat outside in their lovely space listening to the music along with a handful of other folks. It was a very nice way to relax, especially when a baby bunny rabbit came hopping across the lawn! Later that night, I hiked up the ridge to watch the sunset and the moon rise. It was a beautiful perch in a wonderful place and a great way to end the day.
