Water Sommelier in training. Fishing, Hiking & Bear Poop…

Days 16–24 September 18th-25th

We camped for nine nights at the beautiful Buffalo Bill Cody reservoir, with day trips around the area exploring. We hiked, fished, and took in the beautiful scenery. With limited cell reception–when I remembered or bothered to charge our devices. So, I decided I would do just one post of the time spent here, and it will be mostly pictures.

We met some really lovely fellow campers. The first couple we met were Bill and Ellen, traveling from Wisconsin. They gave us some great tips on where the best Wisconsin cheese can be found, so we know exactly where to go if we ever venture back to Wisconsin. They are also traveling with their grandkid’s pet monkey, Dodger. Dodger is having grand adventures and teaching the grandkids about our beautiful country and its rich history. They shared some of their day trips and harrowing trails where they took their truck down. I hope we are still having fun adventures when we are their age.

Bill and Ellen

We then met Ed and Ned, two retired navy buddies traveling the country with their significant others, I believe Ed said, from June 2023 to February 2024. Ed said that the West is so breathtaking it makes the hair on his arms stand up. He had heard and seen pictures but said it is really something to stand here, feel it, smell it, and let your whole body absorb her splendor. Ed was born in Trinidad but now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and Ned lives in Virginia. Ed was grilling Mexican street chicken and corn. He spatchcocked the chicken, seasoned it, wrapped it in foil, and placed it on the grill; then, he put the largest rock he could find and still lift to place on top, and then let the grill do the rest.

As many of you know, Justin should have been born in the 1800s and likes to cook in that style. I think he would turn our RV into a chuck wagon if he could, and well, it’s a modern-day chuck wagon. So, Justin attracted the attention of a few campers who watched him with his tripod and Dutch oven baking sweet potatoes and grilling healthy lemon herb-crusted free range, organic heritage pork tenderloin (using some of my flavor bombs–I’ll post a separate post about flavor bombs–their convenient for RV’ing but great to have on hand for a quick meal). I didn’t think Dutch oven open-fire cooking was so unique, but to some, it was. If you are a beginner, you can get a Lodge cookbook, which gives you recipes. I have only ever used it for ideas because the recipes often call for unhealthy processed ingredients in cans or boxes. Still, you can substitute any junk ingredient for fresh, unprocessed ingredients. The lodge book also tells you how many charcoal briquettes to put on top and under the Dutch oven, but we don’t like using the chemical charcoal briquettes, and Justin prefers to use wood like they did in the old days. He regulates temperature by feel; so many seconds of his hand between the fire and the pot, and it’s x temperature, and so many seconds of his hand above the pot when he puts coals on top and it’s x temperature. Justin also uses a tripod that he had a blacksmith make special hooks for so he can adjust the temperature by raising and lowering the hooks rather than a chain. We made a few delicious meals over the campfire. I make and flavor the food, and he cooks or bakes it perfectly.

We ate a few meals in Cody; it’s not a foodie town. The wait staff is also limited, and the staff they have make it widely known that they are unhappy. They were all kind to us as we were patient with them. The town was very busy as the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum had its annual art show and auction. Most locals stay away, and the town is overrun with wealthy tourists, many from Jackson and many who were pretty rude, probably contributing to the unhappy wait staff. Most of the restaurants are diner-quality. They do the job, but it’s nothing to write home about, and certainly not the quality of food you get in, say, Santa Fe, New Mexico. We are hoping for better quality food in Sheridan.

So we spent our days hiking, fishing, relaxing, and exploring the town of Cody and surrounding areas. We had several days of rain and wind, which limited our adventures.

Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir (first day we arrived)

Another view from the Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir (where we were camping)

Quigley has become quite the connoisseur of fine waters. His palate has really developed on this trip as he tastes every lake, river, or stream we come across. He found the Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir to be clean and crisp with a slight hint of driftwood with finishing notes of fresh pine.
He also decided that he wanted to swim in the reservoir, but Mom and Dad said no, the water is a bit too cold this time of year, and he’s a Florida dog used to a 90+ degree swimming pool. Like any child, he was determined and went into the reservoir up to his chest and put his entire face underwater in his attempt at snorkeling for trout.

A few more photographs from Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir

These mountains are much higher than it looks in the photograph. The weather was cool in the evenings (as low as 40 degrees and a high of about 70 degrees or so during the days, with one day closer to 75 degrees). We had a few days of solid rain and wind. Those days left the mountain tops covered in snow. We had lots of wind with the strongest gusts in the 50’s, maybe a little higher. When the pressures change, the mountains put off strong gusts and can be hurricane-force with little to no warning. The people out here are used to it and have adapted.

I’m fishing the Shoshone River in Cody. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. We hiked in, and it got more and more gorgeous. We always seem to head in slightly different directions when we go fishing, so Justin and I wore walkie-talkies, and Justin kept checking on me; he was concerned as we were in grizzly country and at a time when the bears were preparing to hibernate. We have bear guns and bear spray, but bears can come out of nowhere. Justin didn’t want me to be a bear’s pre-hibernation meal. While we were fishing, a few deer came out across the river from where Justin was fishing; it was picturesque. I wish I had the camera out. I hoped to make a trout dinner, but it was too windy for fishing; we fished for a couple of hours, then had a picnic lunch and headed out. We noticed a good amount of fresh bear scat on our hike out. So, Justin’s concerns were warranted. It was windy; there wasn’t a day without some wind, and fishing was pretty difficult during the windy days.

Our hike into the Shoshone River.

Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir

Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir (those mountains are way taller then they appear in the photograph.

We took a ride to Clark, Wyoming where Quigley ran free and drank from the Clark’s fork of the Yellowstone river. He said, this water was cool and crisp with notes of trout and a finish of sage grass.

The mountains in the background are the Beartooth Mountain Range and one of the prettiest mountain ranges in Wyoming and Montana.

Quigley was putting a deposit on this beautiful piece of land on the Clark’s Fork.

More Clark’s Fork Photos.

While we saw many fields full of antelope, and a few other deer, this one just would not stop looking at us and it never scared off. This is a farm field in the small town of Clark, Wyoming.

Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River.

We hiked the Sheep Mountain trail. We planned to do part of it as it is steep, 2,000 feet in elevation in 2 miles. We start at just under 5500 feet and hike to just over 7500 feet. But if anyone knows us, they know we are competitive, and we just kept saying, I can make it to that next peak, and the next thing you know, we hiked the whole trail, and up was not the difficult part. Some steep gravel inclines were more difficult on the way down. The pictures don’t make it look very steep, but it’s a steady climb with a couple of small switchbacks for hikers only (one person wide). Thank God for my hiking sticks. We decided to head back out, and I heard what sounded like a Bear in the pine forest to the left of us as we descended. We just picked up the pace and made a little more noise. We made it out alive, and no bear attacks.

Looking down from not even a 1/4 of the way up the trail.

We weren’t far from the water when we started this is maybe halfway up.

We keep Quigley on a leash in Grizzly Country.

A bit blurry but this is on the way up the mountain.

This one is a little blurry but it shows the scale a bit more than the other photos. Everything is so much bigger in person.

To say we were not pleased when we got back to the truck would be an understatement. We found the above sticker on the truck’s tailgate. We are convinced that a miserable lady who passed us on the trail put it on the truck (she was the only person we saw all day). We removed it before departing. So surprised to have this happen in Wyoming.

Only in Wyoming can you find a sign like this.

We departed the Buffalo Bill Cody Reservoir and headed to Little Paw Rd., our friends Craig and Beth’s beautiful home and land in Clark, Wyoming, where we will be for a few days before heading over the Big Horn Mountains.