Interesting Stops Coming Home From Cody

Then we made it to Meeteesee, Wyoming.  Meeteetse is an old western town located just 32 miles south of Cody.  Founded in the 1890's, the word Meeteetse is an old Shoshone Indian word for "meeting place." The town retains much of its original character with wooden boardwalks, wooden watering troughs, hitching rails and many old buildings from the turn of the century.

Forget Buffalo Bill, Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid, and countless men and women of notoriety who helped define the mythology of the American West. Meeteetse had its own brand of mythmaker: Poker Nell, Bronco Nell, Laughing Smith, Swede Pete, Airplane Jerry, Greasy Bill, Checkbook Charlie, and Shorty the Crock to name a few.

By 1906, the town had seven saloons, one store, two banks, and two hotels. There were several other bars scattered over the area. At the forks of the Greybull and Wood Rivers was a popular bar called the "Bucket of Blood." The town had a reputation as a "wild and woolly" town until fairly recently. For the first time churches now outnumber saloons.

The Meeteetse area is rich in history with the expansive Pitchfork Ranch, famous as one the west's true cattle empires. It was the first cattle ranching operation of the Big Horn Basin, established in 1879 by Otto Franc. By 1900, thousands of cattle grazed along the Greybull River and Wood River Valleys. Although first discovered on the John Hogg Ranch, the Pitchfork is also well known for the fact the last known colony of an endangered species thought to be extinct, the Black Footed Ferret, was found on its grasslands.Noted outlaw Butch Cassidy lived in Meeteetse. In 1886, he signed a petition for the new bridge, and in 1894, he was arrested in front of the Cowboy Bar.

One section of the wooden boardwalk is covered with various brands from area ranches.

Heading From Cody, Wyoming Into Montana

Heading north out of Cody to Montana

<><><>

Heading west on the Chief Joseph Scenie Byway.   Summer 1877 brought tragedy to the Nez Perce (or, in their language, Ni-Mii-puu).  Many of their tribe had been removed from homelands to a reservation. Now the U.S. Army was ordered to put the remaining Nez Perce there. These bands objected because they had not sold their land to the U.S. government nor signed a treaty. Nez Perce leaders decided to lead their people in search of a new home. The trek of more than 800 people and 2,000 horses was to be peaceful. But warriors killed Idaho settlers as revenge for earlier murders, which caused the Army to chase the Nez Perce.  Their trek became a flight marked by skirmishes and battles, the last of which stopped them more than 1,000 miles away from their homeland and less than 40 miles from safety in Canada. 

Led by Chief Joseph more than 800 men, women and children composing five Indian bands refused to be placed on a reservation. In a running battle that covered 1,300 miles, the Nez Perce successfully, but fatefully, outfought and outran U.S. troops commanded by General Oliver D. Howard. 

The Nez Perce plan was to seek help from their Crow allies in eastern Montana. Unfortunately the Crow refused to aid the Nez Perce forcing them to continue their flight north toward Canada. Only about 40 miles from the safety of the Canadian border and just north of the Bear Paw Mountains, the Nez Perce paused to rest and regroup before making their final trek to safety.

Unbeknownst to the Nez Perce, Colonel Nelson A. Miles, with 400 men from the Tongue River Cantonment near what is today Miles City, Montana, had been dispatched to intercept them. Coming from the east, the Indian scouts, who were deployed to the south to scout for General Howard, did not learn of the threat until it was too late. Thus began the five day Battle of the Bear Paws – the last battle the Nez Perce were to fight and the end of their dream of remaining free.

The view just went on and on and on forever.

Looking down from Dead Indian Summit.

At an elevation of 8,060 feet, Dead Indian Summit Overlook, a paved turnout at the high point of the Byway, provides a spectacular panorama of the Absaroka and Beartooth mountains. The 220-degree view from this point is among the most dramatic in the West.  Various legends claim the origin of this famous Wyoming placename. Most versions of the legends agree that a skirmish between early prospectors or the U.S. Army and a party of Bannock Indians occurred here in 1878. One of the Bannocks died and was left at the summit.   A totally different version says one of the mountain peaks off in the distance looks like the profile of a Native American.

Panoramic views of the Absaroka Mountains and the mouth of Sunlight Basin.

Looking back up at Dead Indian's Summit.

Cody, Wyoming

Someone's travel bus covered in wood.
Hmmm.

The main objective of this daycation was to do some exploring in Cody.  It was the first time I'd been to that part of the state and I was excited to see the museum and the cemetery and the old town.  However, by the time we finally arrived in Cody it was almost 5:00 and too late to visit the museum or anything else on a Saturday afternoon.  Incorporated in 1901, Cody is located 52 miles from Yellowstone National Park's east entrance. Cody was founded by Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody who passed through the region in the 1870s. He was so impressed by the development possibilities from irrigation, rich soil, grand scenery, hunting and proximity to Yellowstone Park that he returned in the mid-1890s to start a town. He brought with him men whose names are still on street signs in Cody's downtown area: Beck, Alger, Rumsey, Bleistein and Salsbury.

Our home away from home.

Could you tell it was the week of bike week in
Sturgis and that Cody was a main route to
travel there?

Motorcycles lined up in downtown Cody.