July 8 Yellowstone Canyon Village to Cody

We packed up from Canyon Village and drove out to the looking for a grizzly bear (from the car). We visited the Mud Volcano and saw the "Dragon's Mouth" and the paint pots. Driving towards Hayden Valley we saw all kinds of animals - even a buffalo carcass that a pack of wolves had taken 2 nights before. Through binoculars, we could see the various animals taking their share of the kill. We finally saw a grizzly and her 2 cubs, but we had to use binoculars to see them. We picniced by Yellowstone Lake and the oldest hotel in the park. The drive out of Yellowstone through the mountains was beautiful. Now an evening of Cody. We ate at Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel -- named after his daughter -- and ate buffalo burgers! Outside of the hotel there was a gunfight complete with good guys and bad guys - our favorite line "I'll shoot anyone who uses a cell phone." Then we toured the Old Trail Town of cabins brought to this area from the surrounding region - great history - including pictures of Robert Redford helping move Jeremiah "liver eating" Johnson's bones to rest in this place. Then on to the Stampede Rodeo! Wow - football looks easy after this. There was bull riding, calf catching, barrel riding, and wild bronco riding. It was great!