The drive from Cody to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is a beautiful one. The first stop for
anyone should be the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir. The dam was one of the first water projects by the US Reclamation Service in the early 1900's. The dam was completed in 1910 after 8 grueling years of labor and 3 different contractors. Most of the work was done in the winter months due to spring and summer flooding as the snow melts off the Absaroka Mountains and flows down the Shoshone
River. At the time of its
completion, it was the tallest dam in the world (325 feet) and w
as named for Buffalo Bill Cody due to his efforts to provide water for irrigation to the area. The dam and reservoir provide power, irrigation, recreation to the Bighorn Basin. The Visitor Center ( www.bbdvc.org) has several interesting movies to view, a gift shop, viewing area of the dam and reservoir, excellent parking with golf cart transportation from the parking lot to the center, and rest rooms.
As you drive by the reservoir, you have mountains on either side with the Shoshone River running through it. It is an area filled with natural beauty in the red stone cliffs and tall trees. There are state parks, campgrounds and lodges available for you to stay in as well as plenty of pull off areas to take a moment to view the beauty around you.
It is only about 80 miles from Cody to the entrance to YNP (www.YellowstonePark.com) and after you enter, you climb. The entry point is around 6500 feet and to reach our destination--Fishing Bridge, you have to go through Sylvan Pass which is over 9000 feet. The road is excellent and filled on this trip with rushing streams full of snow melt. There was the most snow still on the ground of all of our trips to YNP--6 to date. Even a couple of small lakes were still frozen over as we made our descent to Lake Yellowstone.
The campground at Fishing Bridge is conveniently located to drive all of the park. It is the only full hook up camping facility in the park and is often booked way ahead so if you are going, make reservations. There is a visitor center, a large store and plenty of trails in the area. Nearby is a marina and the Lake Hotel for lovely meals if you don't want to cook.
Our touring was interspersed with fishing by Rick and his Dad. Here are a couple of photos showing proof of our success! All fishing for cutthroat trout is catch and release using barbless hooks, making it a real challenge to catch the only native trout in Yellowstone.
Y. Along the way, we stopped at the shore of Lake Yellowstone so the guys could fish one last time. A lovely place to park and sit while they fished. Bunny and I sat outside drinking coffee and taking in the magnificiant snow capped mountains in front of us while they fished. No luck for the fishermen but a great way to end our trip to YNP!
-We went to the Lake Hotel for a 
very nice breakfast and then the guys d
ecided to try their luck fishing in the morning. In the afternoon, we drove to the Grand Canyon of YNP to view the Upper and Lower Falls area. The water of the Yellowstone River was the highest in years and provided a magnificent view of both falls.
Old Faithful geyser blow as well. We also got to see the occasional eruption of the Bee Hive 
geyser.
t blacktop and wood ramp walkway around this area. We had lunch at the Old Faithful Lodge which was very nice and drove back to Fishing Bridge in time for the guys to fish.
evidence of the 1988 fire but also the remarkable new growth that has taken place in the last 20 years. We stopped at the mud volcanoes and the petrified tree on our way and saw lots of wildlife--bison, elk and many different birds, ground squirrels, etc. We even got into a "BearJam as this beautiful 
black bear strolled by!
anyone should be the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir. The dam was one of the first water projects by the US Reclamation Service in the early 1900's. The dam was completed in 1910 after 8 grueling years of labor and 3 different contractors. Most of the work was done in the winter months due to spring and summer flooding as the snow melts off the Absaroka Mountains and flows down the Shoshone 
River. At the time of its 
completion, it was the tallest dam in the world (325 feet) and w
as named for Buffalo Bill Cody due to his efforts to provide water for irrigation to the area. The dam and reservoir provide power, irrigation, recreation to the Bighorn Basin. The Visitor Center ( www.bbdvc.org) has several interesting movies to view, a gift shop, viewing area of the dam and reservoir, excellent parking with golf cart transportation from the parking lot to the center, and rest rooms.
Established by none other than Buffalo Bill Cody, this town has much to see and do. While we passed on the Cody Nightly Rodeo this time (we have been several times before), the rodeo is a wonderful event to see!
My parents accompanied us on a tour of the amazing Buffalo Bill Historical Center 
( www.bbhc.org ) which houses 5 wonderful museums. These include the Cody Firearms Museum with 3,000 
historic firearms; The Western Art Museum with many pieces by Charlie 
Russell, Remington, and more; The Plains Indians Museum, The Natural History Museum; and perhaps my favorite, the Buffalo Bill Museum. There are many great artifacts such as this original Buffalo Bill publicity poster (110 years old) as well as the original Deadwood Stagecoach!
Today we left Sheridan to take HWY 14 from Sheridan to Cody, Wy. Although this is only about 150 miles, the Big Horn mountains lie in the way and we will climb to about 9,000 feet to get through. Naturally, there are LOTS of twists and turns on the road! We even ran into quite a bit of snow alongside the road as we crested the top! If you look carefully, you can see where the road was plowed to remove snow the day before!
