After our little slide yesterday we were certainly ready just to have a day off the bike.

Today we only really had one activity pre-planned and that was a rafting trip down the Shoshone river on the edge of Cody in the morning. We nearly pulled out of it as Deb was sore from our bitumen surfing. But in the end we went and Deb sat in the middle and didn’t paddle. So glad we did it was a lot of fun and got soaked. It’s always fun to go as a group as the water fights are always on.

Here are a few photos

It doesn’t take much wandering of the streets of Cody to realise that this is a real cowboy town. Everything just smacks of the Wild West and everything is very proudly American.

In the afternoon we visited the Buffalo Bill museum which had a number of galleries and I probably got a bit lost in the guns collection that had a huge collection of firearms from the 1500’s to recent weapons. A very impressive collection.

Deb was sitting bored somewhere so I moved on. Eventually.

As we got there mid afternoon we underestimated how much time we needed as there were excellent exhibitions on the American Indians and the history behind William Cody and how he became Buffalo Bill. He was a remarkable man that certainly had a go at everything. He was also one of the founders and designers of the town of Cody.

The museum is a must see if you are going through Cody.

We finished our day off by going to a cowboy music review show at the museum – yes it was very country, and yes it was very cowboy style. Not really my style but hey while in Rome…

It’s interesting at some points you are rolling through the countryside thinking that some of it reminds you of home and at other times the stark differences smack you in the face. At the Buffalo Bill Museum there was a sign to ensure guests check in their visible firearms! And then as we were leaving a guy picked up his large handgun with scope and ammunition belt. That’s just not something we see at home!

Tomorrow we are off to have a quick look at Yellowstone. There was an option to go today as well but it was good for us to have a day off the bike.