Buffalo Bill, Firearms, Natural History and Gourmet delicacies

On the way north to Cody, WY we spent one night on the Wind River.  It was quiet, beautiful and... the trains traveled just across the river so we could hear them..  This is train country.

One of the big attractions of Cody was the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  This is truly an amazing museum, consisting of five different sections-Buffalo Bill, Firearms, Native Americans, Wildlife Art and Natural History.

The Natural History section featured the stunning animals of the area.  The first I encountered was the wolf, reintroduced to the area in 1995.  I was completely taken by this animal and had to resist the urge to stroke him.

The eyes were so real and the coloring was like Max.

 I remember my friend Marcia Mayeda, the Director of the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control, telling me the name of this coloring, but I cannot remember.

Other displays include bison, which went from approximately 60 million to about 300 wild bison by 1893.  William Cody earned the name Buffalo Bill while hunting bison to feed the workers building the Intercontinental Railroad, but he was also active in helping preserve the bison.

Another display was the mountain lion attacking an elk.  The head of the elk was carved from one piece of wood,

The section on Native Americans has much to offer but a couple of highlights, since I am a dog person.

Sadly the movement of the Europeans West resulted in banning of the Indian sacred ceremonies and the elimination of their traditional hunting and farming methods.  We know how well government reliance serves to enhance self reliance and dignity.

The section on Buffalo Bill depicted a man who with an adventurous spirit, a modern sensibility as to women as well as other races and ethnicities.  He was an accomplished scout, inspiring entertainer, and absent husband.  He was mentored by Will Bill Hickok.

An excerpt from the Internet on "Bill":

Buffalo Bill 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 for the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout to the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.

One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded his Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours throughout the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and Europe.

 After performing for Queen Victoria she gave him the cherry back bar for the hotel he constructed in Cody.

Queen Victoria gave Buffalo Bill this Cherry Back Bar for his Irma Hotel

The Irma Hotel named after Buffalo Bill's much adored youngest child, Irma

A major attraction in the Wild West Shows was Annie Oakley who was not the female stereotype of the era.

While "Bill" paid women the same as men in his performances and also included people from all over the world, he apparently had little tolerance for "bums."

We of course needed to visit the Irma Hotel.  We were not  hungry so a drink and appetizer was perfect.  I couldn't resist the mixed plate which included the Rocky Mountain Oysters I had heard about.

For my foodie friends, here is how you too can prepare Rocky Mountain Oysters

http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/rocky-mountain-oysters-28386

A special program featured the raptors who are cared for by the museum because they have been injured so that they cannot return to the wild.  The really interesting one was the Golden Eagle.

The museum raptor expert explained that the bird are incredibly  smart.  While the golden eagle can only carry off about 1/2 of their weight-about 5-6 pounds, they are able to outfox mammals such as mountain goats by clever maneuvers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz7FFlFy8eM

I skipped the Firearms Museum but it is apparently the best in the world, consisting of 7,000 firearms and 30,000 artifacts.  The BD sent two days in that section of the museum and concluded that if he lived in Cody he could visit frequently and barely see it all.