The Wind Doth Howl In Cody, Wyoming

Reaching Cody at 11 p.m. In the rain and being directed by Google to the south side of the lake (Buffalo Bill reservoir) when our campsite is on the northwest side made for a 20 mile detour and a fitting end to a long day. And lest I forget to mention, the wind was blowing which made setting up a new camper tent in the dark and rain even more of a fun exercise. The next day dawned sunny and dry but still windy. The old saying goes if the campers rockin' don't come a knockin' but today it was only because of the strong west wind coming down from the Yellowstone plateau forty miles way. Having driven through Cody many times and always telling ourselves we'd come back and explore what looks to be a fun town the wind gave us the perfect excuse to spend time wandering Main Street  which has an eclectic blend of run of the mill tourist shops intermixed with burger joints, western boutiques and very friendly people.

Several miles outside of town there is a former Japanese internment camp from World War II with a neat interpretive exhibit educating those like me who had never heard of this place (Heart Mountain) that for three years during the war was the equivalent of Wyoming's third largest city housing some 14,000 folks of Japanese descent who had been involuntarily relocated to the wilds of Wyoming from the west coast where it was feared they might support the Japanese empire's war efforts after the Pearl Harbor attack. It's worth a couple of hours of time if you're in the neighborhood and the message about racism towards a selected group has obvious resonance given the world we live in today. Driving back into town in stark contrast we saw a semi trailer painted with a message that .Donald Trump is going to save America. I guess the modern day version is more about building walls than internment sites but some of the underlying motivations are sadly similar.

Sunday in Cody was graduation day for the high school and downtown had its fair share of mortar board-clad kids. Having attended my niece Payton's graduation festivities before leaving Denver it was nice to see the same passion and exuberance in Cody's next generation that we saw back home.

Meanwhile the wind had kicked up a couple of notches on the hurricane scale and there was now a large dog wind warning in effect. Our two huskies, Yukon and Bentley could only stand into the wind noses skyward, paws splayed out as the wind strove to give them introductory flying lessons. Yukon, you are cleared for takeoff...

Returning to the campground we were pleasantly surprised to see the camper still upright on two wheels. This place we are calling home for the next several months is pretty important to us so seeing it still standing was a site for sore eyes. We just didn't anticipate that it's first major weather skirmishes would happen right out of the gate!