Checked out of the Dude/Roundup Motel establishment and drove through Yellowstone to get to Cody (surprisingly, no big animal sightings to mention, but we did see a pelican). The east entrance to Yellowstone was vastly different to the west entrance as it was much more mountainous and less congested; exiting YNP from the east we took the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway all the way to Cody. Cody is named after Buffalo William "Bill" Cody who is famous for taking his travelling wild west show around the World in the late 1800s. He'd be proud of how Cody has continued this fervor for providing entertainment after the experience we had...
We tuned into the Cody tourist radio station and got a couple of tips for the night. Firstly, we went to the Shootout "exhibition" out the front of the Irma Hotel - this was a "show" where dudes (and one dudette) dressed-up in "authentic" Old West garb and did a Goodies vs Baddies gun shootout using blanks. The "show" only lasted about 10mins, but the prelude was about 30mins of selling Wanted posters, selling photo-opps, singing the national anthem, acknowledging the sponsors (although its questionable if these "sponsors" actually put forward any money given the show quality), and rewarding a soldier from the armed forces with a free Wanted poster (to which the audience delivered a standing ovation). It was memorable and hilarious in it's crapiness (but hey, it was free! On the other hand, they do the performance EVERY night, so we're surprised it's not a little bit more polished.... Loud dance music even erupted over the terrible audio system halfway through the actual "show"). For those keeping score at home, the goodies won.
Following this experience, we headed to the rodeo (we love a rodeo, and as Cody is the self-proclaimed Capital of Rodeo, this is the entire reason we detoured this way, and we weren't disappointed!) The girls who sold us the tickets at the visitor centre recommended sitting in the front row of the stadium where the cowboys gear-up and mount the bulls/mustangs, so we followed their advice and were generously rewarded for it, having a close-up view of the action! We were entertained by all the regular rodeo goings-on.... The cowboys, the clowns, the calf roping, bull riding (and they start young in Cody - there were entrants in a 12 and under category... With appropriately sized bulls of course). One of the cowboys was Australian (from some town we've never heard of), so the clown asked if there were any Aussies in the crowd, to which we excitedly screamed out! And we were the only 2 in the audience, so we took that as a personal shout out.
Cody, WY to Pocatello, ID - Wed 21/7 (Day 41)
Drove back to Pocatello (stayed there for one night again on our way to Oregon this time), and we visited an old "favorite" for dinner.... Sizzler! We were both shocked by how good it was. The salad bar was very fresh, the French toast was as tasty as when we were 10, and the endless dessert bar was moreish! We plan on going again, for sure.
Pocatello, ID to Ontario, OR - Thurs 22/7 (Day 42)
Driving day and stopover night. Recording it for consistency, really :)
We spent a bit of time at the pool (located almost in the middle of the car park) and tried to even out our hideous driving tans!
Ontario, OR to Bend, OR - Fri 23/7 (Day 43)
We arrived a little early to check-in, so went to the scenic viewpoint to check-out the city - gave a great vantage point, and the town is situated right in the middle of about 10 volcanoes (they're disguised as snow-covered mountains). After checking-in we did some poolside reading, had a couple of happy hour drinks and had a quiet night.
Bend, OR to Reedsport, OR - Sat 24/7 (Day 44)
To get out of Bend, we had to drive through about 20miles of volcanic debris, which was really awesome. There was all this black rock everywhere (and even a tower-like monument viewpoint that we climbed up to look out from), and it was so interesting to see the route that the lava carved for itself all those years ago (and the trees that were left standing were often in very unlikely places). That afternoon, we made it to the West Coast! And wouldn't you know it, it was foggy, overcast and only about 60F (15C). Boo. We drove around a bit, but mostly sulked in our room (with an $8 bottle of malbec we bought from the supermarket). There are some pretty incredible sand dunes in this area, which is what it's known for (unfortunately, the fog hindered the viewing and enjoyment of these).
Reedsport, OR to Crescent City, CA via Redwoods National Park - Sun 25/7 (Day 45)
We let ourselves sleep in a bit this morning (until 830, oh my!) and then headed for Crescent City, the entry point to Redwood National Park. Being on the coast, we were excited to have some fish for lunch (which we did) and then headed to the Park visitors centre, where the uber enthusiastic ranger gave us many options to entertain us for our 24hr stay. So with her advice and maps in hand, we headed off to the northern old growth area to witness some massive trees. We went for the Boy Scout Tree trail via a crazily narrow unpaved road, and saw some fantastically massive trees (apparently some of jurassic park was filmed in Redwood NP, to give you some context). And FYI keep an eye open for facebook photos... Stacey posed hugging a few different trees to give you the idea of how massive they are!! After the trail, we went to the popular Stout Grove, then did some scenic driving and stopped off at Myrtle Creek for a dip (more to say that we did vs being refreshed cos it was reallllly cold... Too cold for a swim, that's for sure!)
Crescent City, CA to Willits, CA (also via Redwood National Park) - Mon 26/7 (Day 46)
We awoke to another grizzly day with max temp expected to be 55F (ouch), then headed further south to explore the beautiful Fern Canyon. Did a fab loop hike through some old forest (though not as old as yesterday's apparently... Fewer massive trees), and Fern Canyon itself was amazing, so tranquil and a real "happy place", and one of our top 3 most beautiful places we've seen. Side note: It's amazing how the weather changes here - super foggy near the cost, and the moment you head inland it clears up; then as we headed south the sun started shining and the mercury inched up bit by bit.
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