Day 9
Sheridan to Cody
Big Horn National Park
Today offered several very pleasant surprises. The first one was the road through the Big Horn National Park. It winds smoothly around the Black Mountain ascending several thousand feet in a short distance. The Granite Pass is wonderful. I will definitely return to this spot some day. It was early morning and once again for the most part I was alone on the road.
On the other side is the Shell Canyon with the spectacular Shell Canyon Falls. There were a few tourist buses at the falls so I didn't stay much longer than it took to snap the picturw.
Near the top is this sparkling lake. An excellent place for a picnic lunch. Next time I will bring one.
Once past the park it was a straight shot to Cody and i was the only one on the road so I decided to see how fast the bike could go. I got up to 120 mph (don't try this at home kids). The bike could have kept going, but that was enough for me.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Upon arriving in Cody I went immediately to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center situated in the center of town. There is a lot of space devoted to Bill Cody, but there is also much space devoted to Native Americans and their lifestyle. It was hard to look at some of the contrasts between the life of freedom they had and the life they were ultimately forced into. Not too many Americans are proud of this part of our history.

The museum also has a great collection of western-oriented art, including a number of paintings by George Catlin and Albert Bierstadt. Finally, it claims to have the largest gun collection west of the Mississippi.

Spent the night at the historic Irma Hootel in downtown Cody. The staff really makes an effort to give their guests a "western" experience while they are there.
Unfortunately for the Indians warshirts like this weren't much protection against the weaponry of the US Army.
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