Dairy of a soldier at Promontory

May 11^th, 1869

 

Dear, Father & Mother

I hope this letter find you in good health and that everyone is doing well. I want to write you of my experience at Promontory Summit, Utah. My regiment arrived by train the day before the Great Event as the reporters called it. As most people know the transcontinental railroad is almost done. This is an amazing accomplishment for the United States no longer will people of this great nation have to travel by ship or by wagon to get to California. People are saying in less than four days you can cross the country.

I am seeing first hand how this is possible. Already since leaving Virginia we have made record time and now I find myself in dry aired landscape of Utah. Company K pitched tents and settled for the evening near the railroad track. Our camp is small consisting of a Sibley, two dog tents and couple of other tents for men and gear. We hoisted a flag in camp and even have a portable telegraph box. Tomorrow the president of the Union Pacific, Charles Durrant will arrive. His train has been delayed due to heavy rains. It is peaceful right now and the weather is calm. Tomorrow the rails will be joined by a golden railroad spike and the East and West will have a road made of iron.

The trip so far has been comfortable. The train travels at speeds of 35 miles per hour and it is hard to watch the country side go by as it passes so quickly. By the time one of my men tell me to look at something from the window it has already passed. This evolution in transportation will greatly speed up commerce all over the nation.  The locomotive stops every 25 miles or so to fill with water and more coal. Once we crossed the Mississippi River towns grew smaller and smaller and the wide openness of the prairie stretched on like an ocean.

The men right now are sitting around the fire enjoying themselves and looking forward to California and the new post we will have. People say that California is the land where a man can strike is rich and make something of himself. All I know is that I miss home and you. Another man in our regiment also missies someone close to him. His name is Neal he always says he misses Poly but never talks much about her. She must be very special to him. Well mom my men are calling me over to join them so I will write more later.

 

May 10^th

Hello mother and father,

What a day that my company and I had. I have witnessed history here today. We even helped with the festivities during the event by standing guard and help with the flag raising.   Our day started at dawn. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and cranberries. The Captains wife, Mrs. Clyne is with us on this trip as she is relocating with him so our food as been exceptional. Already at day break reporters were showing up and asking questions of who we are and what we were doing. Of course, our captain was not hesitant to stand up first and make sure the reporter had his name spelled correctly and all his information was indeed correct. He told us “Boys we are making history here today. As we are the first regiment to cross the country by the rail!”

When we marched over to the rails later that morning, already there were hundreds of people swarming the glistening locomotives. The Union Pacific had the 119 a beautiful burgundy painted engine with Johnny Appleseed painted on the sand dome along with lots of shining brass. The Central Pacific arrived with the Jupiter and it is equally magnificent with crimson blue paint and gold inlay on the tender. Both engines were parked nose to nose and before them lay a gap where the last rail would go.

Both the presidents of the railroad companies stood before the rail with Leland Stanford, the president of the Central Pacific holding the pure gold railroad spike and Mr. Durrant with a silver platted Maul. Alongside the track connected to the telegraph wire was a man typing out on his key everything that was taking place during the event. I hope you and all in town were able to crowed into the telegraph office and listen. If only you could have been here, I know you would have enjoyed it. There were a couple of photographers taking photos so maybe Ill be in one or so. They say the photos will go into the newspapers.

We stood for what seemed like hours next to the locomotives and were able to sneak some shots of us in front of the engines while the dignitaries talked. Finally, time had come to complete the railroad and the last rail was laid and spike driven into a special polished railroad tie form California. Everyone cheered and then another railroad tie was put in where the fancy one was and a regular iron spike was driven into that tie completing the railroad. The telegrapher typed out, done and everyone knew that it was over. After seven years of work we have a transcontinental railroad.

After the ceremony ended everyone clambered to get a piece of the railroad tie and chipped it away. Soon they will need to lay another. Our captain told us to gather all our stuff up and prepare to board the train again as the westbound is ready to leave. We are the first train to cross over and get to see Promontory fade into the distance as we head west into more desert. It is so dry out here I do hope California will be greener.

Take care, your loving son

 

~2019

150 years later I was able to take part in the re-enactment ceremony at Promontory Point. The story above is my recollection of the event with a little dreaming in-between.  It was a huge event with well over 10,000 people showing up. I camped with the Ft. Boise Garrison group from Boise who are also good friends of mine and they let me dress and be part of it all. It was fascinating to see how people lived and dress back then, before the age of plastic. The weekend was memorable and almost the same perfect 70 degree weather 150 years later. The event had the president of Union Pacific, Secretary of the Interior, Governor of Utah and leader for Mormon Church. I partaked in not only the ceremony of the 10^th but also on the 12^th. I want to thank the Ft. Boise Garrsion for loaning of the clothes and also for letting me be apart of history. The driving of the golden spike 150 years ago was the moon landing of the day and 100 years later we went to the moon. I plan to be back in 2069 for the 200^th anniversary. Who knows what we will have accomplished by then.

A Winter Getaway to McCall Idaho

A getaway was in need for me and Christina. We have talked about going north to McCall Idaho about 95 miles due North of Boise every winter we have been together to see the snow sculptures and just get away. This past weekend before Valentines day was it. We never went before due to the roads being slick and my old Ford pick up is not good in the snow but now that I owned a Subaru Outback I felt safe and sure enough that we could make it through just about anything.

We left friday evening around 5pm making the two hour trip up the hill as the sunset. The main road, highway 55 was clear and dry but as the weekend would progress a winter storm was on its way for the area. We did see snow on the weekend but it out before it got really bad on Monday evening. As we left town we stopped for dinner at Carls Jr for some quick fast food which is always good and Christina tried out their new beyond meat burger. We took the food to go to not wast time getting up to McCall as we had booked an Air BnB to stay at and wanted to check in before it got too late.

We have stayed at an Air BnB before when we went on a trip to Olympia Washington and found it a pleasurable stay. The Air BnB we found in McCall was priced just right and we were able to get a two nights stay for the price of a one night stay barely at a hotel in town. The place we stayed at was less than a mile from downtown and surrounded by forest. the drive way was plowed out and the snow was 4ft deep all around. The room we had was nice and had a great mattress. This Air BnB was the rental of their downstairs room and bathroom. We never really saw the owners but they were very nice when we did check in.

The Air BnB we stayed at.

On Saturday we slept in and made breakfast around 10am in town. The snow had began to fall lightly and no views of Payette Lake could be seen. After breakfast we walked around town and took in the shops. The car by the way handled great on snow packed roads and it was great to have traction and stopping power. Later on Saturday we checked out the McCall Activity Barn where they have a large tubing hill and for three hour tubing rental was $18 which was not bad. By the time we were done we were tired and hungry. Before going for dinner we went back to the room and cleaned up. We had plans to have dinner at the famous Shore Lodge Hotel in McCall which has been a staple of the area since 1946.

Shore Lodge

The snow had let up for the afternoon but by the time we left dinner at 9pm the snow had begun and I could tell this was the larger of the storms predicted for the weekend. The local mountains snow pack provide the valley farmers with irrigation water all summer and without a good snow pack the farmers run dry before the season is over. So far southwestern Idaho has seen a dryer winter but recent storms have added to the pack and this latest storm was adding anywhere from 3-10 inches when all said and done.

On Sunday morning we woke up to at least 4 new inches of snow! The car was buried and the owner of the place had to call for the snow plow to come out and clear the driveway before we could leave.

Plowing out the drive way

Everything looked so pretty covered in white and when the clouds parted and the sun came out everything glistened. I had planned a special surprise for Christina before we left on our trip which was a 1:30pm sleigh ride. So to kill time in the morning we walked around town in McCall and since the storm had passed the clouds lifted and you could see all the way across the lake which was totally frozen solid. Ice fishermen had set up on the lake to catch the hungry fish below. I walked out on the lake as I had never walked on a frozen lake and you know you really couldn’t tell that you were even on water. Christina watched from the shore..haha.

 

 

Standing on the frozen lake

 

By 1pm, we headed out to the Activity Barn which was were the sleigh ride was taking place and arrived in time to see the man bring over the large Belgium horses that were to pull the sleigh. Christina is an animal lover and horse lover and was very happy when she found out what we were doing. The ride was about an hour and pulled you along a trial through a field of snow. With the ride you get two drink tickets and could get hot coco or cider. The sleigh was equipped with blankets to keep your legs warm. It was sunny but cold with a light breeze. The temperature was hovered at 18 and with a breeze it made it feel much colder.

Our sleigh ride arriving

Christina petting the pretty horses

Wonderful way to end a lovely trip together.

After the sleigh ride it was time to head home and end our winter getaway. I enjoyed our time in the snow and away from the valley and hope to do it again. Now to wait for the snow to melt and go up in the summer.

~Eriks

The Mother Road & Texas BBQ!

Wow, What a day! Dad and I got to travel the “Mother Road”, Route 66, pick up a classic railroad signal and eat at the famous Big Texan Steak Ranch. Im so full now, haha.

Pull up a chair and get ready to cruise down old Route 66 through Texas.

The day started at 8am with breakfast at the Comfort Inn and then breakfast for the Outback at Chevron. We hit I-40 East bound for Shamrock, Texas about a hour and half drive from Amarillo. As we drove I was on the

Texaco Station in Alanreed

lookout for historic Route 66 that runs parallel to the interstate. About half way out of town I found a Route 66 brown sign on an exit sign telling me to get off here to run on the old road. From that point on we drove along 66 through small Texas towns such as Groom, Alanreed and McLean. In the town of Alanreed we found an old Texaco Station that was built in 1930. Continuing on we found lots of fields of cotton ready for cutting. I did not know that cotton was grown in Texas.

Field of cotton along Route 66

Continuing on eastward the last town before Shamrock was McLean which has the first Phillipps 66 Gas Station in Texas and boy was it small. Just take a look at the little station. The Station was built in 1929 and was the first restored station on Route 66.

Phillips Station in McLean

After McLean the next stop was Shamrock to see the famous Conoco gas station that is seen in the movie Cars as Ramon’s Body Shop this would also be the place where I would meet Jeff and pick up the Wig Wag Signal. Now Shamrock,Texas sits on the rolling plains of the eastern Texas Panhandle, along Historic U.S. Route 66 it is well known for its historic CONOCO Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café, an iconic Art-Deco building dating back to the Great Depression, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now how did Shamrock get its name? Well an Irish immigrant and sheep rancher, George Nickel used the name Shamrock when he applied to open a post office in 1890 some 6 miles from the current town’s location. It was accepted by the postal officials but never opened. However the name lived on. The Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway reached the region in 1902 and named their stop Shamrock. A post office and a school soon opened next to it. Business followed and the town was incorporated in 1911. Oil was discovered in the area in 1925 bringing wealth and growth to Shamrock. Route 66 was the town’s main street, filled with diners, garages, filling stations and motels. Unfortunately when I-40 skipped the city center, most of these businesses closed or moved out of town, to the bypass. Natural gas, oil and cattle, and increasingly Road Trip Tourism are the main pillars of the local economy.

As we pulled into town about 30 minutes before noon when we were to meet Jeff, there it was on the main intersection in town, the Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop Inn.

U-Drop Inn cafe part of the gas station used until 1997

This station was amazing and I wish I could have stayed until night fall to take photos of the neon. Here is a day shot and a night shot that was found on line.

Pixar’s “Cars” Movie

A great night shot of the station found on line.

 

At noon Jeff showed up and we went back to his truck and found the signal which I was surprised at how large it was, I guess when they are mounted up on a poll they seem smaller. It took all three of us to carry it from his truck to my car. It fit just fine with room to spare in the back of the Outback.

Magnetic Flagman or Wig Wag Signal in the car ready to head back to Idaho

Once parting ways with Jeff we talked with the kind lady that worked at the gas station gift shop and yes we did buy Route 66 souvenirs, she suggested lunch at Mesquite’s hometown restaurant just north of town. After a good lunch we hit the mother road back to Amarillo and took photos and video of me driving on the original pavement.

Route 66 original pavement

Once we made it back to Amarillo we continued to follow Route 66 through downtown Amarillo and found the old main offices for the Santa Fe Railroad now a city office building and also a large antique store right along 66 which we explored for about an hour finding a perfect 1960s KFC bucket, it never even had chicken in it since there were no grease stains on the cardboard. When all said and down it was 6pm and time for dinner so we headed to the world famous Big Texan Steak Ranch!

Big Texan Steak Ranch along I-40

The Big Texan Steak Ranch is a steakhouse restaurant and motel originally opened on the previous U.S. Route 66 in the 4500 block of East Amarillo Boulevard in 1960. It relocated to its present location along Interstate 40 in 1970. Fire gutted the west wing of the restaurant in 1976 and destroyed $100,000 in antiques. The restaurant reopened as a larger facility in 1977. The building is painted a bright yellow, with blue trim. A large bull statue advertises their “free” 72 oz. steak!

Outside of the restaurant

The Big Texan is best known for its 72 ounce (4.5 pounds ) steak, nicknamed “The Texas King.” The steak is free to anyone who, in one hour or less, can eat the entire meal, consisting of the steak itself, a bread roll with butter, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, and a salad; otherwise, the meal costs $72. Those who have successfully consumed the Texas King meal have their names recorded and posted at the restaurant. As of February 2018, over 9,500 people out of about 62,000 have accomplished this feat and tonight we got to witness two brothers from Alabama take the challenge and one of them succeed and eat it all in 45 minutes!

This is the Texas King meal

The current Champ is a woman that only weighs 120lb. and hold the fastest time. On May 26, 2014, Molly Sehuyler “Memorial Day Molly” consumed the entire meal in 4 minutes and 58 seconds and then eat another in 9 minutes 59 seconds! Check out their website: Big Texan Steak Ranch

Inside the Steak Ranch

After a filling meal of a combo of select BBQ meats dad and I retired to the hot tub at the hotel. Tomorrow we check out one more antique shop in town and then head westward down 66 past Cadillac Ranch and out to Vega, Texas the last town we will explore before turning north for Ft. Collins, Colorado where we will be staying all day on Friday before finally turning back to Idaho and home.

Today was great and thanks to Jeff for selling his signal to us and creating this great trip for dad and I…. Remember folks, Get your kicks on Route 66! oh and your bellies full! haha

One last time through the Arch of Yellowstone

Adventures in Yellowstone are coming to an end for me as my summer job comes to a close. I decided to return to the North Entrance to Yellowstone at Gardiner as I was only there once in May and early June. The weather was perfect and felt like fall, with sunny skies and puffy clouds. I wanted to see the Elk that have been hanging out in the Mammoth area and also explore the right of way that the Northern Pacific Railroad took coming into Gardiner.

Overlook from the old Stage Road from Mammoth to Gardiner

When I arrived into Mammoth Hot Springs area it was busy with tourists. The Park has not slowed down much even after Labor Day as the weather has been very calm and clear. I did not see any Elk when I arrived and since I had already seen the hotel and the Fort I decided to head down the hill for Gardiner and have lunch. I remembered that there is the old stage road running from Mammoth to Gardiner and that it is one way, down hill. The old road winds its way steeply down the hills toward the North Entrance.

Tally Ho’ Stagecoach up at the original Mammoth Hotel

It is amazing that the stage coaches used to take passengers from the depot up to the Mammoth Hotel. Not always did you make it as stagecoaches were known to flip over.

I would recommend the dirt road during the summer to anyone with a good clearance car or truck but no small cars. On the way down the road I found a nice looking Pronghorn Deer grazing in the grass and stopped to watch as it crossed right in front of me.

Pronghorn Deer

Once I got into town I parked the car and decided to walk around town and find a place that was not on “Main” street to have lunch. Gardiner Mt. is small town nestled between the Yellowstone River and the Park. Gardiner is famous for being the first entrance to the park and having the Roosevelt Arch, dedicated in 1916 by Teddy Roosevelt himself.

Theodor Roosevelt dedicating the Arch in 1916.

I found lunch down at the end of town against the Yellowstone River at a place called the Iron Horse Bar and Grill. The place had a great feel to it with all the cool vintage signs hanging on the outside and inside of the place. They had the simple tavern food and I decided to have an Elk Burger, not bad different than a bison burger.

Iron Horse Bar and Grill

Inside the Grill

After having a filling lunch I headed out down the old Gardiner road which is part old dirt road town before new highway and part old Northern Pacific Main line into Gardiner. The rail ran out to Gardiner area starting in 1883 and terminated at a place called Cinnabar which is only three miles north west from Gardiner. The reason for the line ending here was due to a miner not wanting to give up his rights to the land for the railroad which kept the line from going all the way into Gardiner for 19 years. Today nothing remains of the train or the town of Cinnabar Mt.

NP train at Cinnabar, MT.

The happening town of Cinnabar, MT.

About ten miles north of town the dirt road that had been following the old NP right of way merges with the with the right of way and you are driving where the tracks used to be. The valley comes together into a tight canyon where both sides of the mountains have been carved out by the Yellowstone River. The area is called Yankee Jim Canyon and the road ends here and no cars can proceed any further. I decided to walk the remainder of the way along the old right of way.

Driving the old rail bed of the Northern Pacific

Only remaining railroad ties on the right of way. Be careful or you will drive right over and miss it!

While exploring this area I noticed right above the railroad ROW was rock walls like from an old road. I discovered that the old road to Gardiner was just about the size of a stage road and found old cans and broken glass along the edge of the road, a unique find.

I headed back in town as the sun was beginning to set and since Mammoth Hotel was just up the hill from town I drove back and had dinner at the dinning hall. Since it was now evening the Elk had come down to graze in the grassy areas around the buildings. Dinner was nice in the dining room and even though it is in the fancy dining room every meal I had out this trip all cost the same it didnt matter if I was in town or in Yellowstone.

Male bull Elk resting in the shade at Mammoth

I spent the night down in Gardiner and the next morning I woke up early as it was down right freezing in the car. I was able to catch the sunrise at the Roosevelt Arch and have breakfast. I had a special tour of the garage building where all the historic stagecoaches and buses that once traveled through the park. The tour was given by an employee of the Yellowstone Park Archive building. The archives has the history from day one of the park. The garage has a great collection and will have to do a post about  the vehicles that I saw. That afternoon I headed back home and had lunch up at the Mammoth Cafe and got to see more Elk grazing the area. Overall the weekend was a nice get away with great September weather. Ill miss being able to go around the park on my days off.

Inside of the garage with the historic equipment.

The forbidding Beartooth Mountains and my trip to Billings, Mt.

My last weekend I headed through Yellowstone Park for the northeast entrance and the Beartooth Mountains where the road climbs up over the pass at 10,974ft. The trip which was round trip at 450 miles since I decided to go as far as Billings Mt. I saw so much and will try to get most of what I saw out. I have included lots of photos since there is no good way to describe the view from almost 11,000ft.

I left early from West Yellowstone my destination for the night was Red Lodge, Montana about a 4 hour drive. On the way through the park I was able to see two grizzly bears foraging in the meadow and also two buffalo going head to head in a fight. The Lamar valley this time of year has turned yellow from the trees to the grasses.  It sure felt like autumn as grey clouds and rain moved through the area of Cook City which is just outside of the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone.

The Lamar Valley looking East toward Cook City and the Beartooth Mountains.

Starting in Cook City is the famous Beartooth Highway which takes you over the Beartooth range. The drive was very scenic and quite cold at the top of the pass the day I visited was only 37 and windy. Make sure to pack jackets when traveling over the pass no matter what time you visit as snow can be found year round at the pass. Also if you are not use to high elevation take it easy as the air is quite thin up at 10,000ft. The photos below show what it is like up at the top. After cresting 9,000ft. all trees and shrubs fade away and you are left with a tundra like environment of small grasses only.

View from 10,974ft. up looking south west to Yellowstone

If you look toward the road in the bottom left you can see my car. I hiked up to a large pile of snow. Its not easy hiking at almost 11,000ft.

Once zig-zagging my way down the mountain I found myself in beautiful Red Lodge, Mt. and temperatures around 65! Once grabbing lunch I explored town and found lots of historic homes and the place where the Yellowstone Bus Preservation group is turning an old gas station garage into a museum and showroom for the historic Yellowstone Park Buses. Also in town is a small museum that talks about the town history and how Red Lodge was famous for its extensive coal mines. The Northern Pacific Railroad not only hauled out the coal but also was the main company to use the coal for their steam engines.

Northern Pacific Depot in Red Lodge

The area of Red lodge begins with the United States government signing a treaty with the Crow Nation, ceding the area which now contains Red Lodge, MT to the Crow Indians. Rich coal deposits were found soon after and another treaty in 1880 allowed the area to be settled starting April 11, 1882.

A rail line was constructed into town, and coal shipments began in June 1889. The boundaries of the Crow Reservation were redrawn in 1892, opening the whole area to settlement. From then until the 1930s, coal mining defined the town.

coal line in Red Lodge

By  the late 19th century, many new settlers came to Red Lodge, MT. from around the world. By the mid-1880s, migrants were still outnumbered by large numbers of Native Americans. By 1892 the population reached 1,180.

 

 

 

Billings Ave., Red Lodge Mt.

In 1896, Red Lodge had twenty saloons and, as the library records show, riotous and violent living was characteristic of the town. By 1906 the population had grown to 4,000 and by 1911 this had increased to 5,000.

By 1931, work began on the Beartooth Highway linking Red Lodge to Yellowstone National Park.

Workers taking a lunch break

The highway was constructed by Morrison Knudsen out of Boise, Idaho. The road took five years to build and it officially opened in 1936. From then on Red Lodge developed as a tourist industry town as open pit mining took hold in Montana closing all the underground mining.

 

 

Historic homes in Red Lodge

A friend of mine could not meet me in Red Lodge but he lives in Billings, Mt. which from where I was is only a 1 hour drive north. The drive to Billings takes you along farm land and couple more small towns. I arrived in time to have dinner with him and was surprised at how large Billings is. I was able to spend the night with him and would have some time in the morning to explore town before having to head back home.

Old downtown Billings

Billings is situated on the north side of the Yellowstone River and named after Frederick Billings, Billings was born in 1882 as a rail hub. It was first founded by the Northern Pacific Railroad on a site originally known as Clark’s Fork Bottom. Montana Avenue sprang to life along the railroad. The railroad was the heartbeat of Billings as it grew. The Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Chicago, and Burlington & Quincy railroad companies made regular stops on Montana Avenue.  I explored Montana Ave. and the old Northern Pacific Depot which is currently an event center and hosts many weddings in the baggage side of the building.

outside of NP Depot in Billings

The depot was built in 1909 for use by three railroad companies: Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. Designed in the Beaux Arts Eclectic style, the four original buildings included the main depot building, railroad lunch room, postal building and an office building.

Depot Waiting Room

The depot building was designed by the Northern Pacific Railroad’s chief engineer and featured a spacious waiting area for 200 passengers, a gentlemen’s smoking room, a ladies’ waiting room, a baggage area and service offices. These buildings are the center of Billings’ town site district, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

 

However, the train era eventually faded with the ease and speed of highway and airway travel. The last regular Amtrak passenger train left the Depot eastbound in the spring of 1979. The demise of rail travel left many of the early twentieth century buildings in the Depot area vacant and deteriorating. Starting in 1995 restoration began and by 2001 the depot was ready for its first event.

The trip back to West Yellowstone would take me back over the Pass and through Cook City. I stopped on the way and checked out Lake Creek that flows along the roadside before going back into the park which had many trees all turning yellow.

Lake Creek flowing east

Lake Creek looking up river to Pilot knob

The park was still quite busy so getting back took time with the traffic but was still able to get into town by 5pm after leaving Cook city at 2pm. Overall the trip was great and being able to meet up with my friend and stay over at his house instead of sleeping in the car made the extra 68 miles to Billings worth it along with seeing the town.

MOR to Discover at the Museum of the Rockies

From dinosaurs to homesteading and lots in between, the Museum of the Rockies offers a an inside look at Montana geologic past along with its pioneering roots.

I took my last trip to Bozeman, Montana yesterday as I am now one month from going home and my summer job ending here in West Yellowstone. After all the trips that I did make to Bozeman I had not yet visited the Museum of the Rockies. I can say that I had a nice time down in the valley and back into summer with temperatures reaching 81 compared to the fall like weather of 70 in West Yellowstone. Up here all the willows and aspen trees have turned yellow and Autumn has arrived for sure.

The hour and 20 minute drive down the hill was uneventful besides seeing the fire that has been slowly burning along the hill side since July 20th of this year. The smoke comes and goes form the Yellowstone valley making tourists complain. When I arrived at the museum I was just in time for the 11am showing of “The Mystery of Dark Matter” playing in the planetarium. The 30 min. show was nice and relaxing. The planetarium also shows “Whats up with the night sky” which talks about what is currently in the sky at night and what to look out for.

After taking in Dark Matter I headed into the museum and their current display on the history of the Guitar.  In the hall they had all kinds of guitars and even as they say the largest playable guitar in the world. I felt like I was at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Hondo H-1 Guitar

They even had a fun display about the history of the “air guitar”. It was just an empty display case but what I found out is that there is a contest in Europe that judges the best air guitarist.

The museum is known for its large displays of dinosaur fossils and the larges T-Rex skull in the world along with displays on geologic time and triceratops skull from birth to old age. Its amazing how large they get. 

T-Rex skulls, some of the largest in the world.

As you wander through time you end up coming into a small display on Native Americans and then in to Montana’s pioneering and early statehood displays.

Display of Montana’s history

The displays range from mining to military to a mail order airplane. Yep at one time you could order one in the mail and as you can imagine some assembly required. The plane came with a Ford Model T engine and the one in the photo above shows a mail order plane that did fly. Also just below the plane is a representation of an old Montana gas station that once sat along the early dirt highways of the state. A cute sign hangs on the front porch which reads……

Another interesting find was a small tin can that was used to store condoms in. I guess back in the day condoms were reusable. Back when the tin was used latex didnt exist so from what I can remember from past history I have stumbled upon is that condoms were made from somewhat of the same material as sausage casing.

Condom tin

Overall the museum took about half a day to walk through and im sure could take more than a day if you really look and watch everything. During the summer there is even a living history farm just next door to the museum that has an old farm hour dating to the 1890s and a blacksmith shop.

If you in the Bozeman area and have time make sure to stop and see a T-Rex dinosaur and a mail order airplane.

The Famous Irma Hotel and the Ghost of Bill Cody

Legend has it that if you are standing in the main dining room of the Irma Hotel near the famous bar sometimes you can get a glimpse of Buffalo Bill himself and he may even ask you to sit and stay awhile and admire his wonderful hotel…

Located in downtown Cody, Wyoming is the Irma Hotel. William F. Cody or Buffalo Bill helped found Cody, Wyoming, in 1895.  In 1902, he built an establishment which he called “just the sweetest hotel that ever was” and named it for his youngest daughter, Irma. It was built to appeal to visitors from around the world as a staging point for sightseers headed for the great Yellowstone National Park, big game hunters, summers tourists, and businessmen investigating the ranching, mining, and other business opportunities. Buffalo Bill maintained two suites and an office at the hotel for his personal use.

Irma Hotel in 1908

He financed its construction from the proceeds collected from his Wild West shows. The Irma Hotel was designed by a Lincoln Nebraska Church architect by the name of Alfred Wilderman Woods. Exterior walls were constructed from river rock and sandstone from quarries from Beck Lake that was just south of Cody. The Irma Inn’s large fireplace was made up of a creative mix of minerals, rock, ore and even fossils from the Big Horn Basin. Queen Victoria was so pleased by Buffalo Bill’s command performance of his Wild West Show done for her and the royal family, that she gave him a very handsome cherrywood bar, made in France.

The Irma opened with a party on November 18, 1902, to which Cody invited the press and dignitaries from as far away as Boston. The hotel quickly became the social center of Cody. In the meantime, Buffalo Bill was under pressure from creditors and was forced to sign over the hotel to his wife Louisa in 1913, who was at that time on bad terms with him. Mr. Cody spent $80,000 to build his hotel which in today’s monies comes to $2,344,241.86!  The hotel had forty rooms located upstairs in the front of the building. There is a large covered porch to rest under still to this day and is a great place to watch the shoot outs that happen each night during the summer.

One of the main focal points at the hotel is that large back bar made of cherry wood that was a gift given by Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill. I was able to talk to one of the employers at the hotel when I visited and found out that it is all original and was made by the Queens master craftsmen. The special buffalo head that is at the top was hand carved by an man who never saw a buffalo in real life and was said to carry it all the way from England to Cody with out it leaving his hands until it was ready to mount on the bar. If you look closely you can see that the artist used what he knew and the buffalo resembles much of a sheep.

Panoramic shot of the Bar

The buffalo head or more like sheep or goat with extra hair.

The bar is located in the main dining room today but originally the dining room was the saloon of the hotel. Where pool tables used to sit now hundreds of guests each summer enjoy Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I myself had the dinner buffet of a full course of Prime Rib, baked potatoes, pasta and coconut shrimp.

Main Dining room, former Saloon.

The hotel has gone through different owners but each one continues to preserve and add to the building. More rooms and some new additions here and there are keeping the building up to date. Each evening you can watch a gun fight for free in the street in front of the hotel were Buffalo Bill would have tryouts for new showmen in his wild west show.

Now people say the building is haunted…

After 116 years worth of visitors and different owners some have decided to stay including Buffalo Bill himself and his daughter Irma who loved the place dearly. Some of the main hot spots is the hallway that runs by the best room in the inn; (The Colonel Cody Room), Footsteps are heard going up and down the hallway when no one living is present in the middle of the night. Knockings on the hallway walls are also loud enough to wake guests up. There is an entity of Irma in Room 16, still the hospitable hostess, She likes to visit guests who stay in her old room, while sitting in her favorite spot; the rocking chair that is found there. And of course the Entity of Buffalo Bill himself!

Buffalo Bill still likes to keep an eye on the staff. When a server was setting up for an event in the old dining room, he was startled to see the face of Buffalo Bill in the long mirror on the wall of the dining room, watching him. The waiter dropped the large tray of food in fright.

Buffalo Bill also enjoys visiting his old suite that has the balcony verandah that overlooks the intersection of Sheridan Ave. and 12th Street. If you look like his ex-wife, don’t stay in his suite, or talk to him first. A couple who stayed soon found out that the wife did resemble someone who Buffalo Bill didn’t like. When she was inside, something hit her on the arm. When they went out on the verandah, an unseen presence knocked her drink out of her hand.

The husband called to the unseen presence for a talk inside. The husband told the spirit not to hurt his wife, and that they planned to stay one night in the suite. He asked for a peaceful stay. That did it. The unseen presence realized that the wife wasn’t the person he thought she was, and straightened up and let them have the room in peace for their stay.

So the next time you visit Cody, Wyoming make sure to stop by and see the Irma Hotel and sit and relax awhile and maybe just maybe you will see a ghost or two keeping the old hotel running smoothly.

 

The Center of the West, the Buffalo Bill Museum

A trip to Cody Wyoming would not be totally complete without a visit to not only the famous Irma Hotel but also the Buffalo Bill Center of the West! This large Smithsonian affiliated museum covers five different topics all under one roof. The museum features, the life of William F. Cody, history of the Plains Indians, Natural history of the Yellowstone Eco-system, western art and a large firearm exhibit. This museum will take you all day to see and possible two full days.

I unfortunately only had a full day to spend here so when Christina and I visited on August 22nd we split the museum up to what we wanted to see most .

Christian and I in front of the Museum.

I of course dove into the history of Bill Cody and Christina being a biologist and love of animals headed for the Draper Natural History side of the museum. We both took and hour and half to see those sides of the museum and planned to meet back at the center of the museum and have lunch. The museum is divided by wings and they all attache in the center by a main lobby. After lunch we would both look through the Plains Indian wing and also catch a 30 min show on Birds of Prey out in the back court yard.

 

 

 

Before diving into the history of Buffalo Bill and what I saw at that part of the museum me and Christina both looked at his childhood home which he lived in for only four years of his life. The house sat along side the banks of the Mississippi River in LeClaire, Iowa. the house was built in 1841 by his father and was eventually purchased as a tourist attraction by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and moved to Cody, Wyoming, Buffalo Bill’s adopted hometown, in 1933.

William Cody’s Childhood home

The museum has it roots dating back to 1927 in a log cabin in downtown Cody that was modeled after Bill Cody’s house at his “TE Ranch” located southwest of town, the museum remained in that location until 1969 when it was relocated to a newly-built wing of the then Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Original museum

The original log building is still in town and is used as the Cody Visitor Center. The Buffalo Bill Museum’s focus is on the life and times of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Cody lived from 1846 – 1917, witnessing the formation of Yellowstone National Park and settlement of the western frontier.  Mr. Cody was a noted guide, scout, frontiersman, showman, actor, entrepreneur, town founder, and American icon.

William F. Cody “Buffalo Bill”

I found the Cody museum well laid out and also engaging. Many artifacts are on display from Cody’s life. The displays are easy to read and are to the point. Many museum these day struggle with trying to get information across without loosing the reader. Too many displays can have to much text trying to get the history to the visitor and will loose the reader quickly. There were lots to see regarding Bill Cody and it all starts out with his childhood and loosing his father at an early age and then his mother. Cody would set out on the high plains of the west and little did he know that he would become synonymous with the West itself.

Some background….William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody became an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Iowa Territory, but he lived for several years in his father’s hometown in Toronto Township, Ontario, Canada, before the family returned to the Midwest and settled in the Kansas Territory.

Cody started working at the age of eleven, after his father’s death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 14. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872. Now Cody received the nickname “Buffalo Bill” after the American Civil War, when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody is reported to have killed 4,282 buffalo in eighteen months in 1867 and 1868. Cody and another hunter, Bill Comstock, competed in an eight-hour buffalo-shooting match over the exclusive right to use the name, “Buffalo Bill” which Cody won by killing 68 animals compared to Comstock’s 48.     (Boy those were the days!)

Cody’s guns, hat and jacket from when he was a scout

The legend Buffalo Bill began to spread when he was only twenty-three. Shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, to Great Britain and continental Europe. Mr. Cody and his troop of wild west performers got to meet Queen Victoria in 1887, the queen was so impressed by him that she spent her own money and her own craftsmen to make a bar for Cody’s Irma Hotel. (photos of the bar to follow in a special post on the Iram Hotel)

Buffalo Bill meets Queen Victoria and performed for over 20,000 people. Panoramic shot of a large advertising poster.

The Cody museum also has some other unique things on display within the Cody section of the museum, such as the gun that belonged to Wild Bill Hickcock and the gun that was used by the original Lone Ranger. There is also Annie Oakley’s saddle and riding dress.

James B. “Wild Bill” Hickcock’s gun

Lone Rangers gun used by John Hart

I found out that Buffalo Bill performed in every state in the continental U.S. except one and that being Nevada. He performed in many places in Idaho, towns such as Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Boise, Lewiston, and Sandpoint. I am from the Boise area and had to go down to the office at the museum and find out when the show came to town. I found out that he performed three times in Boise and the entire show was on a train that would arrive and then have two performance days. Shows would take place in the morning and evening. The museum staff not only found the dates on when he performed but also Idaho Statesmen newspaper clippings and were able to print them out! Found out that the show was set up in a square block in the north end neighborhood between 15th and 17th and Sherman. At the time the area had not been developed and was currently being developed by Walter E. Pierce who loaned his land for the show. Living in Idaho all this time and never once have I come across a photo or information that his show ever came to Idaho let alone Boise.

Buffalo Bills Showman gloves and hat

After having lunch in the parking lot we headed back into the museum for the Birds of Prey talk and then walked through the Plains Indian exhibit which was very well done and took you through this history of many different tribes that once lived on the western Plains from Canada to Mexico. The last stop on the tour that day was of course the gift shop to get that souvenir pin and magnet. The museum is open from 8:30-6pm everyday in the summer and we were there from 11-5:30. If you want to learn more about the museum check them out on line here: https://centerofthewest.org/explore/buffalo-bill/

I didn’t even cover all the neat things I saw so ill list some below,

• movie footage of 1910 buffalo Bill Show in New York
• Model of the show and layout performed in Chicago
• Buffalo Bills tent he lived in while on the road
• Bill Cody’s own Beer Stein
• roulette table from the Irma Hotel
• Stagecoach used in the Wild West Show
• Annie Oakley’s saddle and dress
• Pony Express items
• Indian Teepees
• Indian artifacts
• Western Art
• lots of guns

 

Forged in Ice & Snow the Buffalo Bill Dam

On the last adventure Christina and I explored the Buffalo Bill Dam, formally known as the Shoshone Dam. This was the tallest concrete arch dam in the U.S. when it was completed in 1910. It took six years to complete working every winter and multiple different contractors to finish the job. Here is the story of the Dam and how it has tamed a river and greened the Wyoming desert.

William F. Cody

The Dam is named after the famous Wild West figure William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who founded the nearby town of Cody and owned much of the land now covered by the reservoir that was formed by the dam. The dam is part of the Shoshone Project, successor to several visionary schemes promoted by Cody to irrigate the Bighorn Basin and turn it from arid sagebrush covered plain to productive agricultural land. When construction began it was known as the Shoshone Dam, it would be renamed in 1946 to honor Mr. Cody.

 

 

 

The Dam comes in at 325 feet in height and was designed by engineer Daniel Webster Cole who at the time only had a 12th grade education and this was his first time building such a structure. Construction started in 1905 and would be a slow going as workers could only work during the low water seasons.  The Buffalo Bill Dam became one of the earliest projects of the new Bureau of Reclamation.

Drilling down to bed rock in the river

Work began immediately, with drilling into the bed rock below the river in  July 1904, and continuing for ten months. The chosen contractor, Prendergast & Clarkson of Chicago, started work in September 1905, building a camp for workers and starting on a diversion dam, which was to divert the river into a wooden flume, through a tunnel and out through another flume to rejoin the river bed.

In June of 1906 flood waters roared down the Shoshone River and destroyed the flume. This delay caused the Bureau of Reclamation to suspend the contractor’s contract and to call upon the contractor’s bonding company, the U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company, to ensure the completion of the work. Little work was done until March 1907. Another flood in July damaged the diversion dam again. Working conditions were harsh, leading to the first strike in Wyoming’s history in November, in which workers demanded and received three dollars a day from USF&G.

Work was falling behind so the USF&G delegated responsibility for the work to two new contractors, Locher and Grant Smith and Company, in March 1908. Work progressed more quickly, with the first concrete pours in April. Spring floods set the project back once again, causing concrete work to be suspended. The Concrete work started again in March 1909, and despite more spring flooding that suspended work from July to September, work moved quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

Winter working conditions were harsh and made pouring of concrete difficult. The construction company had to invest in costly measures to insure accurate pouring of the concrete during frigid days, so a steam plant was built on site and the top of the dam was tented and warm steam piped in so that the air temp was warmer providing a better pour. The dam is unique that it has no steel ribbing to hold it all together but the use of rock instead.

No steel ribbing but use of large Granite stones worked into the concrete during pouring.

The dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam, 70 feet wide at the base and 200 feet wide at the crest, with an original height of 325 feet. (the dam was added onto to the top in the 1970s.) The concrete structure measures 108 feet deep at the base, tapering to 10 feet at the crest, with a volume of 82,900 cubic yards of concrete. The dam is anchored into granitic rock on either side.

On a frigid January day with temperatures far below zero the final concrete bucket was poured. With a final cost of $1.4 million. Seven construction workers were killed on the project.

When completed the dam was taller then the United States Capital Building. The photo below shows a comparison of the two structures.

The reservoir behind the dam provides the Cody area with 90,000 acres of irrigated farm land. When visiting today there is a nice visitor center that you can learn about the construction of the dam and walk across the top. There is also a power plant that has been added and enlarged through the years and provides about 6 MW each on a head of 266 feet.

Back side of the Dam.

Standing at the center of the arch looking east down river towards Cody. It was a cold grey day when we visited.

Looking strait down at the face of the dam, hard to get it all in.

To learn more visit their website: https://bbdvc.com/

Weekend Trip to Cody, Wyoming, Overview

My last adventure this past weekend took me and my girlfriend to Cody, Wyoming. From West Yellowstone Cody is about a 3 hour drive through Yellowstone and over Sylvan Pass. Cody is the East Entrance to the park and is famous for well, Buffalo Bill Cody! The city was incorporated in 1901. 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 of irrigation, rich soil, grand scenery, hunting, and proximity to Yellowstone National Park that he returned in the mid-1890s to start the town. Cody saw so much possibilities in the area that he gave his ranch land to the U.S. Government so that it could be flooded by a great day along the Shoshone River.

We left early from West Yellowstone and arrived by noon time at the Buffalo Bill Dam located just west of downtown Cody. Traveling through the Yellowstone we encountered not to bad traffic for August and saw large heard of buffalo up in the Hayden Valley. The Park is slowing down already and the grasses have turned to yellow and river and streams are slowing. Signs of fall are on their way as now Elk can be seen grazing in the tall late summer grass.

old highway, Corkscrew Bridge

At Sylvan Pass we found the old “Cody Road” below the modern road and saw the famous corkscrew bridge where cars used to go under and over to climb the grade up to the pass which is over 8,500Ft.

Our first stop was the Buffalo Bill Dam originally called the Shoshone Dam since it was located on the Shoshone River. It was a blustery cold day up by the dam and in town as well. Unfortunately my weekend fell right as a cold front blew across Wyoming and the highs were only 58 when in August Cody sees 87.

Looking down on the face of the dam

The dam took six years to build as it was only worked on during the winter months as each summer large flows from melting snow in Yellowstone would flood the river. The Dam is an impressive structure and when completed was the tallest concrete arch dam in the world. Another blog post just about this dam will need to be written, so much to talk about.

After looking over the dam we headed for town to see what Cody had to offer. The plan was to find a place to camp in or around town so we headed for the local BLM office and Albertsons for lunch and breakfast food. We try to have breakfast or lunch from the cooler instead of a restaurant as any place around Yellowstone is not cheap to eat. After shopping we found thanks to the helpful staff at the BLM offices that a dirt road just 8 miles east of town would provide an area to unload the car and make camp for the two nights we would have in Cody.

Where the road ended camp was made. The vista looking North into endless Wyoming desert.

That evening while exploring town we found a great German restaurant which we were quite surprised to find in a town such as Cody. Christina and I both have German families and we enjoyed the full meal and boots of beer for dinner and homemade dessert.

The place is all family run and makes alot of homemade items. We even got to meet the owner, Chuck. The place is quaint with Germain decor and a small bar that had rope swings instead of bar stools.

After dinner we strolled through town and over to the famous Irma Hotel built in 1904 by William Cody himself and named it after his daughter. At the hotel each summer evening there is a 40min. shootout in the street. The evening we were there it was well attended and its free.

The Irma Hotel

Standing on the porch of the Irma watching the gun fight.

After the show we strolled around town and looked through the western shops on Main street.  As the sun started to set we headed for our campsite we had found earlier and turned in. The next day we planned to spend the day at the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West. Which ill go into more detail in another post but suffice to say we did spend all day at the museum and learned alot about the legend of Buffalo Bill.  The museum is quite large and has five different wings that each highlight different things such as the Plains Indians, Bill Cody, Firearms and natural history.  We were there from 11 to closing at 6pm.

After the museum we headed back to the Irma Hotel to dine in the dining room which originally was the saloon. The large bar is still located in the room and was a gift from Queen Victoria. Dinner was great and they offer a nice buffet with prim rib, baked potatoes and even pasta. After a filling dinner we strolled through town and found ourselves back at the German place for dessert which was a pretzel and more beer. We sat at the bar in the swings and talked with the family who runs the place and closed the place down, 9pm. Check out the place on line here: Gasthaus Cardi   After a long day of looking around the museum and exploring more of Cody we headed back to our camp site and turned in.

On Thursday morning we headed back home since I had to be at work by 5:30 that evening which made our trip to Cody two and half days. We were able to make it to the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone for lunch by noon time only taking us about 2 hours to go from Cody to Yellowstone. The Lake hotel is a great place to have lunch or dinner but be aware that it will take at least and hour or more to eat lunch so make sure you plan for that and enjoy your time at the oldest hotel in the park.

We made it home by 4pm and had great traffic coming back through the park. The trip to Cody was a great break away from Yellowstone and the forested hillsides. The trip also provided many new things to share with all of you from the Buffalo Bill Dam, Irma Hotel and Bill Cody Museum. Each of these will be a new blog post within the coming days. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions about the town of Cody please ask and also check out my Instagram for more photos. Instagram