Mustangs at Bighorn Canyon & Rodeo in Cody

05.06. / Sunday / Sheridan - Bighorn Canyon - Cody

We quickly get a sandwich at WalMart and start driving. The hotel didn't have breakfast or a hairdryer. We remember: Motel 6 no breakfast, no hairdryer, no internet / Super 8 Motel with breakfast, with hairdryer, without internet!

We are heading west, towards the Yellowstone National Park, but not as directly as planned because a highway is closed due to a mudslide. We were actually planning to take a slightly northern detour to the Medicine Wheel - a sacred site for many Native American tribes, whose true meaning is still unknown to this day. But unfortunately, the road there is closed. So no morning education.

First, we pass through small towns that are miles apart. We drive through the Bighorn Mountains at an elevation of about 2,700 meters. The visitor center up there is cleared enough for us to park between the snowfields, but we see some signs poking out of the snow that tell us there are more parking lots underneath.

The sun is shining, but the drive is not very spectacular. There is still a lot of snow, and its height on the surrounding pastures is such that fences and posts often almost completely disappear into it.

We drive to the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, which is home to a herd of 200 wild Mustangs. As soon as we enter the park, there are already very photogenic wild horses standing on a high cliff.

Mustangs / Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

The area is huge, and a part of the Bighorn Canyon Park is the Devil Canyon. We see it from the Devil's Canyon Overlook at an altitude of 300 meters and we are already in Montana.

This nature park is crossed by the state border. The canyon is home to the Bighorn River, which is dammed here to form a reservoir.

Shortly after we start driving again, we see another group of wild horses and two Bighorn Sheep, grazing next to the road.

We're roasting in the car at 30°C and are thankful for the air conditioning. We drive through the park until the end of the road, and then have to turn around because it ends in the mountains.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. we arrive in Cody, the gateway to Yellowstone National Park. We decide against the Best Western for $166 + taxes and drive 500 meters further to the Super 8 for $110 including taxes but with breakfast.

Buffalo Bill is the namesake of this town. Because he founded it. So why isn't it called Bill City? Because Buffalo Bill's real name was William Frederick Cody. He has a big museum dedicated to him here. But as self-professed non-museum fans (the same goes for waterfalls), we are not nearly as interested in it as we are in what we're here for: the rodeo.

Cody boldly calls itself 'The Rodeo Capital of the World'.

Cody - Museum Village

We walk a few meters along the usual short Main Street with the usual shops and usual souvenir stores and go to an Italian restaurant to eat. But after an hour, we have to leave because it's time for the rodeo!!

It's a great experience because we have seats right above the pens where the rodeo riders mount the bulls or horses. Some of the animals are so rebellious that they constantly ram their horns against the pen walls. At first, it's a bit uncomfortable to watch this spectacle without feeling sorry for the humans and animals, but the atmosphere is fantastic, the music is loud, and nothing dangerous happens.

The event lasts two hours and consists of several parts. There's bull riding, horse riding, and the roping of calves, which has to be mastered by two cowboys on their horses. It's about time and skill.

One of the two has to catch the calf by the horns with the lasso, the other has to catch it by the two hind legs with the lasso, causing it to fall. It may seem a bit mean, but it's a lot of action for everyone.

Then there are individual disciplines for cowboys who have to catch and tie up a calf alone - it's always about time. In between, there's a game for all children in the audience under 12 years old. They have to take off three calves, which have red ribbons tied to their tails, and bring them to the game leader as a trophy. There are small prizes, and it's a lot of fun.

Then there's bull riding again, and we have the pole position to see the preparations. But sometimes it's not easy even for the cowboys in the arena to catch the wild bulls or lead them to the exit without the help of a lasso. The two who have to deal with bulls and wild horses all evening do the hardest work here. Real cowboy feeling!

Near the end, there's a skillful horse race for the ladies, although the "ladies" here are mostly between 16 and 24 years old, riding incredibly fast around three barrels and then across the arena. There's a lot of dust.

The whole event is accompanied by a clown and a host who almost never stop talking, telling silly jokes and constantly mentioning all the sponsors. There's lively Western and Hard Rock music, and we are simply thrilled.

Unfortunately, there is no award ceremony, but at least we don't have to sing the national anthem again while standing at the end, which was done at the beginning, along with a prayer and "God bless America" - as a wish over the loudspeakers.

It's already dark when we come out, and since we want to leave early tomorrow, we quickly go to refuel and check our oil level, which doesn't look good. So we will check the very cold car again tomorrow morning and possibly invest in a liter of oil.

There is a truck parked in front of our hotel with the engine running. No one in the driver's cab. There's a PizzaHut next door, and I'm still thinking that the driver might be getting a slice of pizza. At 12:30 a.m., the engine is still running. I call the reception and tell the guy that it's annoying and that the truck is parked on the hotel parking lot, 10 meters away from our window (and that of many other hotel guests). The guy at the reception walks with me to the parking lot and realizes that there's no one in the driver's cab. Aha. Then he says that the driver is a hotel guest, but he doesn't know how to reach him and that it's actually not allowed because the hotel is full and the 10 parking spaces that the truck occupies are needed for cars. However, since the license plate number must always be noted on the registration form during check-in, it should be easy... But the guy apparently doesn't want to do it and says that many truck drivers do this in the cold season because otherwise they would have problems starting the engine in the morning! Hello? These are diesel engines? It is maybe 9 or 10°C PLUS outside, far from being so cold that the engine freezes! So sleeping with the window open is not possible tonight, and even with the window closed, the vibration of the engine resonates on the floor of the room and therefore also in the bed. It's really unbelievable. The truck rattles the whole - restless - night. In the morning at 7:00 a.m., it leaves the yard. Silence reigns before we get up at 7:30 a.m.