Probably last post (and at home)

I can't pull up anything on the net,so I'm not sure where I ended.  I think we were settling in to Yellowstone.  I am so glad we came.  I  was concerned about crowds at this time of year and between that and the heat we were dealing with, I want sure.  Anyway, after we were settled in we took a drive into the Crater area of the park and delighted in walking along the path with crowds..and I mean both.  Parking was not as bad as I thought.  We lucked into a spot not far from the Crater remains.  I was amused as we passed by the unisex toilets at the visitors from Asia who were puzzled by this concept.  Nattering away, you could see the puzzlement in their faces as they held up the lines forming.  Walking to the first area, the heat was formidable but the breeze balanced that out as we meandered around the people taking selfies, oblivious to holding up the people behind.  There was little sense of driving on the right.  Warnings of holding into ones hat and glasses were unheeded by those who did not read English and varietal hats were seen deserted in the hot waters.  I believe 5,000'gals per minute poured out of the first Crater, forming a waterfall into a river nearby.  The other Craters had various names and distinguishing features including a rainbow coloring.  The smell of sulfur off and on, the small spurts in and along the way.  Fascinating.  We had enough time to find Old Faithful so we set out again, with the crowds.  Once at that area of the park we were amazed at the beauty, once again.   Following the crowds like lemmings, we found a seat facing the ole gal/guy waiting for an eruption.  The Rangers come by and do an oral presentation which is where we heard the expression "sometimes she blows twice a day, sometimes once a day and sometimes not at all."  She had not blown that day, so we had a good chance.  The Ranger 'splained that she was no longer the greatest geyser, and while he was talking he pointed to the BeeHive which was a walk away from where we were sitting but visible.  That one is the biggest, or so he told us (later to be disputed in the literature we read).  Thinking this was not our day or time, I convinced the R to walk through the Lodge.  It was phenomenal.  Any photos I took did not do it justice (nor of the Craters) .  Julie C will take care of that when she comes this way (ha ha). A violinist played in the background on the second level.  The first level crowded with people checking in and waiting for the restaurant seating. It was an old style grand log Lodge of three levels. Open to all levels and with stairs that were easy to navigate.  A romantic place to be sure. The second level offered seating and a clear view of Old Faithful, should she decide it was her time to explode.  We gathered beers from local micro breweries and found great seating overlooking the park.  She sputtered.  She died.  She sputtered again and the group ahead of us exclaimed "Seriously, we drove this far for that!"  Just as we were about to leave,she sighed once more and gathered steam, over and over again until she finally erupted.  An anti climax hat was steeped in eruption dysfunction!
The walks were what we needed and after a couple of hours we meandered back to the campsite for dinner.  The next morning, we left but chose to take the middle drive through the park exiting on the east side.  Along the way, both the day before, we encountered some traffic jams.  The first few were of people stopping to photograph the wild life, but my favorite was the day we left when a huge buffalo decided to cross the road, much a bit, walk in the road, munch a bit more along the side of the road, walk in the road for a while then cross over to the other side to the river.  Much to our amusement.  The drive through the park is exquisite and a wonder.  The trees, the waterfalls, the deep gorges, the snow, the winding curves and the height of 10,000 ' of Avalanche Pass which of course drained our mileage as we slowly drove to that altitude.  We had fleeting thoughts of a vacation with grandchildren......fleeting.  How would they survive without wifi or active things to do?  OK scratch that idea. We enjoyed just entertaining ourselves.  Of note we were in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as we approached Yellowstone,
Our next stop: Cody Wyoming.  And I fell in love! Again struggling with wifi we had trouble reaching places to accommodate us.  Full. Full. Full when able.  Finally I found a place with no reviews on Cody's outskirts but not off the path.  Described as a fishing haven and a Dude a Ranch, this fit the bill and my bucket list (not for the fishing).  The few reviews I found were very high so we tried and after much de,as I getting a call back, we feigned that we had poor phone connectivity and called back to find they did indeed have a spot with a full hookup.  Not knowing.....we drove to the classic ranch sign "over the bluff, you will see us" and passed an Osprey nest at the entrance, then a lake and then the office.  There were a number of cabins nearby and an area that housed horses.  The ad boasted rides and a ranch dinner and breakfast.  An apologetic Brit who was holding down the fort checked us in, had us sign a liability disclaimer and pointed to our area.  Back down the drive to an area that had 4 RV hookups next to a residence that I assumed was the owners.  It took the R about six attempts to get settled in our spot - hard to explain why, but we settled in and after a nap, went in to Cody for a walk about, dinner and the Rodeo.
 Cody has a new and old section.  We chose to walk the old town which housed a number of shops, primarily western where I found a beautiful pair of red sequined cowboy boots.  The R was having none of that, so dispirited, we walked to the Irma hotel that Buffalo Bill Cody built.  They had a free "shoot out" at 5:00.  Seating on the porch was spare to say the least, but we luckily grabbed a picnic bench that overlooked the show, ordered dinner and shared our bench with a delightful Danish family.  The show as honky and amateurish but fun and we enjoyed the company of our new found friends who were also going to the rodeo. The food, not so memorable.
And off to the Rodeo!  We arrived early and stood in line for tickets, then walked up,to the near grandstands, only to decide to move to the other side where we could see the dudes getting ready to be released on the steers and horses and their buck a room tricks.  I wondered why there were so many horses, calves, steer, bulls and brahma bulls in the corrals we passed on our way to the seats. But it was obvious by the end of the day.  A lot of fun!  it started with a drill team of women on horses, all dressed in glittering red white and blue, then there was the unbroken horse riding, followed by calf roping (male and female) barrel racing(male and female) - and boy were they fast!  The peak was a little 35# girl on a huge horse that walked and occasionally trotted around the course without any errors in 6".  Her first and from a family of competitors.  Too precious.  Other times were under 20 seconds unless they fouled and got a 5 second penalty. Now.... back to the crazy bulls and brahma bulls!  They are led into a narrow paddock that barely accommodates their size.  The cowboys somehow arrange a strap around them which is ultimately what they hold onto.  Some wear helmets and neck supports (the cowboys) and they are shuttled through a series of gates where they take a long time, with the help of others to get everything just right (whatever that means).  They each have their own stuff.  All had chaps of various colors and designs, vests to match, often with crosses, boots and spurs.  Many prayed and crossed themselves before getting into the gate.  A range of ages, competing each night for some sort of prize.  The oldest was a man of 50 who did not get out of the gate before being thrown and knocked unconscious.  EMS is on site but I didn't see much concern (like taking him off on a stretcher).  There was a very young looking kid who also got thrown early on, not knocked out, but limping a lot.  Brush it off!  Be a man!  I have to say the young kid had the meanest looking brahma of the bunch and I had odds against him surviving the 6 seconds.  So after all, it seemed that the entire groups of animals were in fact used.  At the end they were fed and were frisky enough to be seen with ah hem, large erections (the bulls).  Not sure is any got lucky, but they looked content as we walked out.  This BTW is consistent with what I read earlier about when animals are fed - as in working animals are not fed until the work is done.
I also have to say that the clowns are amusing and the riders that divert the bulls from the riders are pretty amazing and good looking!
So that was Cody.  And I have fallen in love with Wyoming.