Day Twelve- WY

Last night, we were at a restaurant in Buffalo, Wyoming. It was like we just stepped into the scene of a movie! Every man's attire consisted of a cowboy hat, belt buckle, and boots. It was amazing. Since we got there kind of late, the middle of the restaurant had been turned into a dance floor. There was a wonderful country band, and a lot of western partner dancing was going on! One guy came up and asked us to dance. We were not familiar with this type of dancing, but Jessica eventually agreed and Orit, too.

We met some people who were in Buffalo to do some fly-fishing. This was a wonderful opportunity and ideal location -- in the heart of the Big Horn Mountains -- for Jessica to learn how to fly-fish! The following morning, we made our way up to their cabin, which was surrounded by evergreens and had a beautiful creek running rapidly right behind it. Jessica stood on the bank for awhile trying to master her cast. Fly-fishing is harder than it looks! Orit didn't want to take part in the fishing, so she did some bird-watching around the area. The hummingbirds weren't timid and in fact there were somewhat aggressive. Often buzzing right by us and singing up a storm. They really wanted the sugar-water that was on the cabin porch. Also of interest were the friendly squirrels who ran alongside the creek and were able to cross very easily on the small metal foot bridge. Jessica finally got restless on the bank, so she decided to get in the water! Due to a pretty hard snow/rain the night before, the creek was cold and extremely swift! Jessica borrowed some 'waders' and felt-bottom boots and got out in the creek. Each step she made took 2 minutes of careful planning so not to fall or be swept away by the rushing water. In the end, Jessica spent more time fixing her pole and line, then actual fishing! People make it look so easy on television.

Jessica fly-fishing in the creek.

Jessica fixing her line.

After we left the cabin, we climbed through the Big Horn Mountains on our trek to Yellowstone National Park. The scenic highway (US-16) did not disappoint us. We saw snow-capped peaks, plenty of dear, lots of trees and cattle.

The Big Horn Mountains

Once we cleared the mountains, we were surprised to see the varying landscapes. It went from snow-capped mountains, to rolling hills, on to clay mounds.

A view from the car of the landscape.

Finally we made it to Cody, the supposed "Rodeo capital of the world." We walked around the downtown area, which had a lot of western-themed shops. On an even higher note, we found a Chinese restaurant! We had been craving it for the past week, so we were extremely happy! We decided to stay in Cody because Yellowstone was asking $200 for a hotel room, and $100 for a cabin. We slept well in our $50 cabin!

Buffalo Bill Cody Hotel

Tomorrow, we make our way to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, Little Grand Canyon and hopefully a lot of wildlife!