Buffalo Bill's Blog

I’m not really much of an athlete.  I’ve never really LIKED to exercise at all…  But a few years ago I discovered (the hard way) that being active is essential to my health and well-being, so now, I exercise!

One of the things that I have discovered that I really like to do is to participate in 5k races.  I’m not fast, I usually finish in the last third of the pack, but I do finish!  And for me, the most fun is not the actual running of the race, but the social aspects of the event, and the sense of accomplishment I feel when the race is over.

Another neat by-product of running a 5k around here is the incredible scenery that you’re surrounded by as you run!  When I participated in the Runner’s Stampede on July 4, the route took us to Beck Lake, which is a pretty park on the east side of Cody that affords a great view of Cedar and Rattlesnake mountains to the west.  Even MORE incredible was the setting for the Meeteetse Wagon Box Social 5k/10k/13k in June – that race was in the Wood River valley near Meeteetse, and was absolutely breathtaking!  (The scenery AS WELL AS the running part…)

I have always thought that building a vacation around a race would be a neat experience, and I know there are folks out there who do just that!  So in case YOU’RE that kind of runner, I’ve compiled a list of upcoming races in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country (and nearby areas) that you might want to consider:

Just next weekend (August 6 & 7), in neighboring Red Lodge, Montana (just 60 miles away) is the Beartooth Run and Ride – a two day event set in the beautiful Beartooth Range.

August 20^th is the Sugar Beet Classic in Powell – this race features a 5k run/walk, a Duathlon and a Triathlon!  The event starts and ends at Homesteader Park, and the iconic Heart Mountain is visible throughout the race.

The Tails and Trails 5k is a relatively new event that takes participants from West Park Hospital in Cody down to the Paul Stock trails next to the Shoshone River (the “trails” part of the race).  The “tails” part of the race refers to the fact that dog owners are encouraged to take their pets along – plus, the race is hosted jointly by West Park Hospital and the Park County Animal Shelter.

Meeteetse’s Labor Day Celebration is a HUGE event in this area, and extreme sports and running enthusiasts look forward to the Meeteetse Mountain Run, which is part of that annual event.  This race is EXTREME – I’m quoting from the Meeteetse Rec District’s web page here:  “The 5k, 10k race will run up the Timber Creek jeep trail which will be set up so the whole family will be able to participate. The 15k mountain run is an extreme race and not for the faint of heart. It continues up and around the mountain with a 2000′ rise in altitude to around 9700′, then through some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in all the Rocky Mountains. It concludes with a descent down a 1000′ mountain face. According to local mountain running legend Fred Thomas and other participants from past races, it is one of the most RADICAL FINISHES around with the makings of a classic!”  In other words, with my level of ability, I’m probably NOT going to participate in this one!

So if you love the outdoors and you love being active, consider participating in one of these fabulous events – and maybe I’ll see you there!

Until next time, I’ll be huffin’ and puffin’ in Buffalo Bill’s Country…

Corrie N. Cody

You know, “wild” is an often-used term out here in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country!  After all, Buffalo Bill Cody became famous for his Wild West Shows; wildlife abounds at every turn; wildflowers are in bloom all summer long, depending on your elevation; and “wild” entertainment happens year-round!  So I thought that this week I’d highlight some of the “wild”-ness that happens here all year round!

“Wild” Action!

The Cody Nite Rodeo provides “wild” entertainment every night, June through August!  It’s the longest running nightly outdoor rodeo in the country, entertaining visitors for almost 70 years.  All the traditional rodeo events are represented each night – team roping, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, bull riding, bareback, the works!  There are even trick riders and rodeo clowns to keep the audience entertained between events.

 “Wild” life!

No matter which direction you go around Cody, you’ll find wildlife.  Heading east, you’ll see herds of wild mustangs and antelope; south, the Bighorn Sheep find themselves right at home; north, elk can be found in abundance in the Sunlight Basin area; and of course, west takes you to Yellowstone National Park, where you’ll find bison, moose, wolves, coyotes, and bears!

“Wild” flowers…

The high elevation here in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country means that flowers are in bloom all summer long.  The higher the elevation, the later the flowers bloom, so even in September you’ll find a huge variety of wildflowers in every color if you take highways such as the Beartooth All-American Road.

 “Wild” entertainment!

Cody has its own “Wild West Show” that runs in the winter – it’s a concert series that has brought entertainers such as Mel Tillis, Suzy Bogguss, the Kentucky Headhunters, Asleep at the Wheel, B.J. Thomas, Billy Dean, Gary Morris… the list goes on!  This October, “Whisperin’” Bill Anderson is scheduled to appear at the historic Cody Theatre!

“Wild” rides!

The rivers are running at their peak right now, which means that river rafting is a great activity to enjoy on a hot August afternoon!  Whether you’re looking for a whitewater experience or a lazy float trip, there are several rafting operators who would be glad to help you have a memorable (but safe) river adventure!

 Until next time, I’ll be goin’ wild here in Buffalo Bill’s Country!

Corrie N. Cody

Yellowstone is having its third biggest season on record!  Isn’t that great news?  You would think so… but I guess it all depends on how you view the world.

Personally, I don’t complain much.  I see the world as a pretty sunny place – I look for the light rather than the shadows.  That’s why it bugs me when I see news headlines or hear people talk about the negative side of an issue that can be so positive!

Take, for example, the latest visitor numbers coming out of Yellowstone National Park, which show a decrease in visitation by about 5% compared to 2010.  Sure, there aren’t as many people who entered the Park as there were last year, but it’s tough to compare this year to last!  2010 was a HUGE year for visitation in National Parks.  Much of the reasons for the increase were attributed to people staying closer to home, looking for less expensive locations to take their families, and a national park vacation costs quite a bit less than a trip to, say, Disneyworld!  So, in comparison, numbers coming down slightly in 2011 should NOT be cause for concern.  It has been an unusual year for tourism, that’s for sure, with attendance at attractions such as the Cody Nite Rodeo and the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue at or slightly above last year’s numbers, while others are down a bit.

One element that has worked against the region when it comes to tourism and travel this year has definitely been the weather.  With the huge amounts of snow and wet conditions in Yellowstone and the nearby mountain ranges, roads were closed and there were significant delays for travelers.  As a result, there was no way to even get into the Park through the East Entrance for quite a few days at the beginning of June… so a decrease in visitation through that entrance makes perfect sense, and does not indicate that fewer people CHOSE to come to Yellowstone – they just couldn’t get here!

In the grand scheme of things, Yellowstone National Park (and, along with that, Cody/Yellowstone Country) will always be a destination for families looking to re-connect with the natural wonders of this world we inhabit.  So for all of you worry-warts out there… quit frettin’!

Still smiling in Buffalo Bill’s Country,

Corrie N. Cody

You all know how much I like to talk about the fantastic attractions here in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country.  What’s even more fun is to give a few more details, let you in on a local’s point of view for a specific attraction – like the really neat place you’ll find just a few miles down the road from Cody, in the little town of Meeteetse, Wyoming… believe it or not, in this town of about 350 people, there’s a gourmet Chocolatier whose yummy creations are putting him on the international map!

Tim Kellogg was a young saddle bronc rider from Meeteetse who had grown up watching his grandmother make candy and other confections.  He himself had become pretty handy in the kitchen, coming up with chocolate creations of his own and sharing them with friends and family.  So in 2004, when he wanted to raise money for a new saddle, his mother suggested that he make and sell some of his chocolates.  His first response was, “no way!”, but he ended up selling them at a local event, and the Meeteetse Chocolatier was born!

I recently visited Tim at his shop in Meeteetse.  It’s in a quaint wooden building, on the same block as the Meeteetse Museum (there are really only a couple of city blocks in Meeteetse, so it’s not hard to find!).  Upon entering the shop, you’re immediately struck by how classy and cool the store is.  There is a display shelf to the right, with bags of candy coated pretzels and gourmet chocolate bark.  As you walk in further there is a glass case that holds tray after tray of truffles, chocolate-filled croissants, puff pastries, brownies, and other decadent chocolate delights!  (My mouth is watering just thinking about this…)  And in the kitchen, when he’s not working as a ranch hand, you’ll find cowboy Chocolatier Tim Kellogg creating chocolate confections that rival those found in gourmet shops in big cities!

One of the coolest things about this shop is that each and every item in his shop is hand-made by Tim himself – he has no kitchen employees, no apprentices, just one cowboy making amazing chocolates.  I asked Tim how long it took him to fill a display case, and he said that the truffle case takes him about three hours, the pastry case takes 5-6 hours, and then there’s the dessert case, which he says is the hardest to fill.  So, the natural question to ask next was, “how do you find time to do it all?”  He said his time management skills have definitely sharpened over the past few years… and he doesn’t sleep much, he added with a grin.

Let’s talk a minute about those famous truffles – they come in flavors from mocha to peanut butter to Amaretto to Coor’s beer!  They absolutely melt in your mouth.  And here’s another interesting point about Tim’s confections – they are not meant to be stored or saved, they are meant to be enjoyed immediately!  He doesn’t wholesale to anyone, because the ingredients he uses (organic, local, fresh, no preservatives at all) won’t stay fresh beyond a few days at the most.

So, if his customers all have to come to him in Meeteetse (or at a regional event), how have people come to know about him?  Tim says that he gets quite a few visitors who come in and out of Yellowstone National Park, and many of them have heard about the Meeteetse Chocolatier from friends who have visited before.  He’s also getting great word of mouth from the state of Wyoming tourism office and statewide visitor centers, and some fabulous feature articles that have been written about what he does.  In fact, Tim told me that he was interviewed last year by a French TV crew, who aired a piece about him back in France.  And so just last week, a group of visitors from France came into his shop – they had actually re-routed their vacation just so they could stop there!  And he’s been invited to work with a French Chocolatier when he goes overseas this fall.

“What makes it all worth it?” I asked him… and he said that in addition to all the great people he gets to meet, he also gets to really hone his creative skills, coming up with new ideas and new flavors (like the Sage Brownie… oh my goodness!) – and then he gets to eat what he makes!

The Meeteetse Chocolatier – a must-stop when you’re visiting Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country!  Don’t miss it!

Until next time, I’ll be taste-testing truffles in Buffalo Bill’s Country…

       Corrie N. Cody

Corrie N. Cody’s stepping aside to let the folks from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tell you all about the annual event that will be kicking off our annual 4th of July celebration next week!

The Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, returns to Cody on Thursday, June 30 to kick off the 92^nd annual Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo. The Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls tour stop is featured as part of the PRCA’s nationally-televised programming on Great American Country (GAC) – and it offers a “Fourth of July Fight” among the leading PRCA bull riders.

PRCA Cowboy Kanin Asay

Forty of the world’s top bull riders will converge on the Cody Stampede Park to take their shot at the prestigious Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls title. The showdown will include a head-to-head battle between the bull riders ranked 1-2 in the PRCA World Standings: Shane Proctor, of Grand Coulee, Wash., and J.W. Harris, of Mullin, Texas. Harris, a three-time and reigning world champion, is fresh off a win at the Reno Xtreme Bulls and is the defending champion of the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls event.

Also scheduled to compete are Wyoming bull riders Tyler Willis, Wheatland; Bobby Welsh, Gillette; Seth Glause, Cheyenne and Will Farrell, Thermopolis.

Clownin' around...

All 40 riders will compete in a long-go on June 30, beginning at 7 p.m. (MT), and the top 12 will be brought back for the finals, where the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls champion will be crowned based on the highest total score.

Preparing to ride

The payout for the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls event is $50,000. Monies won at Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour stops count towards the 2011 PRCA World Standings, which determine qualifiers for the Dec. 1-10 Wrangler NFR.

The Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour provides ProRodeo enthusiasts a national schedule that brings the excitement of PRCA bull riding to millions of fans. Great American Country (GAC) Network will produce 10 original telecasts from the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour events, including the Tour Finale in Ellensburg, Wash., Sept. 3.

Xtreme Bulls TV announcers Dan Miller and Donnie Gay

The shows have been expanded from 60 to 90 minutes this year, and will be broadcast on Sundays from 10-11:30 p.m. (ET).  Cody’s own Dan Miller and his longtime on-air partner, 8 time world champion bull rider Donnie Gay, will provide the commentary for the broadcast.

 The Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. are the title sponsors for the Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches. Local sponsors of the Xtreme Bulls Tour include Wyoming Travel & Tourism, Buffalo Bills/ Yellowstone Country and Yellowstone National Park Lodges.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.codystampederodeo.com or by calling 1.800.207.0744.  Ticket prices are as low as $20 adult/$10 children (12 and under) for general admission. The Cody Stampede Park is located on Yellowstone Ave., west of downtown Cody.