Day 7: Lovell to Cody

July 15, 2024

The beginning of this tour was all downstream along the Wind/Bighorn river. In theory I could continue downstream 3000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico, but that route is not in the High Desert region. To stay in High Desert, today I go upstream in the Shoshone river valley from 3832 feet elevation in Lovell to 4997 feet elevation in Cody.

All the rivers of this tour originate high in the Yellowstone supervolcano. When going downstream I'm pedaling away from Yellowstone. When going upstream I'm pedaling towards Yellowstone.

Today's route is long and has a lot of hill climbing now that I'm going upstream. I got up at 6:15 and on the road at 7:25. Today is forecast to be cooler than yesterday which is good because I will be on the road well into the afternoon. I won't need an early check-in.

West of Lovell I made a small detour to see the Shoshone river for the first time. The Shoshone river is a tributary of the Bighorn river which flows into the Yellowstone river, which flows into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Shoshone river west of Lovell. Looking downstream.

It was easy to stop and take pictures at this river crossing because the old bridge has no traffic. All the traffic is on a newer bridge 200 yards downstream.

This morning's route is mostly on county roads through farms. Quite hilly even though it's in the Shoshone river valley.

The left gate says something about 1996 Olympic ice pond.

Today it's difficult to know how much of the gray sky is due to clouds and how much is due to smoke. It seems to be a combination of both. The temperature is now much cooler. Today had a high of only 84F.

Looking down on the Shoshone river valley.

I took my first rest stop in a shady kiosk in Penrose pioneer Mormon cemetery. The kiosk has a touch screen device for visitors to look up names of Mormon pioneers and their descendents. A sign at the cemetery explains that this area was settled by an early LDS Apostle named Charles W. Penrose. The Apostle didn't settle here himself. He only stayed for a few years to establish the colony.

I rested in the shade at Penrose pioneer Mormon cemetery.

At about the halfway point of today's route, road construction forced me to detour off a wonderful back road onto busier main roads. The detour took me through the town of Powell which I didn't plan to see. And then I had to pedal more than twice as far as planned on busy US 14A. It has a paved shoulder but the nonstop truck traffic is annoyingly loud.

Shoshone river looking upstream from my detour route.

Shoshone river looking downstream from my detour route.

Approaching Cody on US 14A I had hazy distant views of the Absaroka mountains to the northwest. I will go close to those mountains when I leave Cody.

Hazy view of Absaroka mountains on the right.

I also passed the site of the Heart Mountain Japanese internment camp. I have seen a couple of old World War 2 internment camps that are run by the National Park Service. This one is a private memorial museum.

US 14A goes alongside a railroad but I did not see any trains.

The hill formations are very interesting east of Cody near where US 14A crosses the Shoshone river.

My third Eat Beef sign put up by cattlewomen.

The red horizontal bands are somewhat rare.

Shoshone river looking upstream east of Cody.

Shoshone river looking downstream east of Cody.

The westerly headwind was light all day, but for some reason I had a very strong headwind for the final 3 miles to Cody. I arrived at 3:50 PM. Much later than anticipated, partially due to the 6 mile detour. Temperature was 82F. It felt almost cool with the headwind.

Home for the next two nights is the Irma Hotel. It was built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill Cody, named in honor of his youngest daughter. It's the middle of the action in Cody. I've been looking forward to it.

Home for the next two nights is the 1902 Irma Hotel.

My room is in the original 1902 building. Most of their rooms are in a 1920's annex. My room is quite spacious and has a private bath. It has 3 windows looking down on the street where the gunfight takes place. Cost is $565 for two nights, but it's worth it to me for the immersive historic experience in the middle of downtown. My bike was allowed in the room but I had to carry it up 24 stairs. No elevator.

I read that the gunfight starts at 5 PM, so I got a seat in the patio bar and ordered a beer and dinner. Service was very slow, which was good because the show actually starts at 6 and the melodrama runs for an hour before the final gunfight. So I sat for more than 2 hours, enjoying the people watching and the festive atmosphere.

The introduction included some interesting facts about the state of Wyoming which is officially known as The Equality State. Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote. The first state to elect a female governor. The first state to allow women on juries. And the first state to hang a woman. Wyoming certainly has the gender equality part covered.

The plot is loosely based on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with Doc Holliday visiting from Tombstone, Arizona. The show had some issues. Wind was a big problem for the microphones. Some actors didn't seem very excited about their dialog after doing the show 6 days a week for a month and a half. I was also disappointed that there was almost no visible smoke during the gunfight because the wind promptly dispersed the smoke. I had a free seat in the patio bar. Most people pay $3 to rent a chair. I don't regret seeing it but I don't plan to watch the whole thing again tomorrow. I do recommend seeing it if you're in town. It's pretty good considering the price (free).

Gunfight melodrama from 6-7 PM daily outside the hotel.

Cody was founded in 1896 by an investor group from Sheridan, Wyoming that included Buffalo Bill Cody. It was founded when irrigation water became available, but it quickly developed into a tourist town thanks to the entrepreneurial skills of Buffalo Bill Cody. He more or less invented the "wild west show", with cowboys, Indians, fancy costumes, and target shooting.

In the evening I walked around downtown Cody, enjoying the first cool evening of the tour. It was kind of a shock to see groups of tourists walking around, but it wasn't crowded.

Today's ride was on quiet county roads in the morning, but on busy US highways in the afternoon. I liked the morning better. Hilliest day so far, but it was a good day overall despite the big detour. I'm tired and ready for a rest day, but not feeling miserably run down.

Distance: 55.5 miles
Average Speed: 8.6 mph
Ascent/Descent: +1788/-658 feet

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 318 miles (512 km)

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