07-31-09

I spent the night at Wal Mart in Cody Wyoming, about an hour east of Yellowstone. I plan to day trip in my Jeep to Yellowstone and look for closer campsites on the way. The Cody Wal Mart is very RV friendly. The guy parked behind me was here for a week. The manager let him fill his water tanks, there is a water dump station at a campground across the street. Wal Mart even has a helpful information sign in the lot telling Rvrs where dump stations are around town. Topping the welcoming atmosphere is a pretty impressive view, especially for a Wal Mart. I’m parked sideways next to the curb on the edge of the lot facing the mountains. My step drops down onto a grass area landscaped with small pine trees. There’s nothing between me and the mountains miles away.
My friend Corey called me from Port Orford, Oregon. He is the manager at an RV park and can get me a free space if I help out a bit. The coast of Oregon is my destination and my biggest concern is finding inexpensive places to park, so this is ideal. Not only a free place to park, but full hook-ups too. I’m hoping to get there in a couple of weeks.
We checked out Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum. It’s huge with four sections; The Cody Firearms Museum has an overwhelming amount of guns from all different parts of history. The Whitney Gallery of Western Art had an interesting display of traditional western art mixed in with contemporary takes on western themes. There is also an interactive area for kids to make their own art. The plains Indian Museum has an impressive collection of authentic Native American artifacts that are not only historically significant, but beautifully hand crafted as well. The Buffalo Bill Museum…well that’s all about Buffalo Bill. He lived in Cody and had a world famous traveling western show. He was a big shot and much of his memorabilia and personal belongings are on display.
The highlight of the day for me was eating Rocky Mountain Oysters at a BBQ joint. I like to consider myself an adventurous eater. I’ll try anything and quite often find I like the unique. I didn’t plan on eating bull testicals when I woke up, but didn’t know the opportunity would present itself. I asked the waitress, “Are they actually good, have you had them?” She crinkled her nose and said, “I’ve never had them, I won’t eat them, but a lot of people like them”. “Good enough, I’ll take ‘em”, I said “and a brisket sandwich“.
The oysters were deep fried and served in a basket with cocktail sauce and ranch dressing on the side. I was surprised that they weren’t ball shaped, but rather flat strips. It actually made them less scary to eat. They reminded my of calamari; kind of tough and chewy. They really didn’t have any taste, just deep fried goodness. I was glad to check them off of my mental, “Things to Eat” list and would like to try a different version again someday.