Cody Museums

The day opened sunny at Pahaska Tepee but cool, 35 degrees. A Red-napped Sapsucker, woodpecker to non-birders, was gleaning small insects from the pine trees outside our door. The wranglers were at the corral with their string of horses. The wranglers were from Colorado and Kentucky, got to Pahaska in May to work with the horses, which winter in Powell near Cody. They found plenty of snow and cold weather in May, but June has been nice. We can still see snow in the mountains around Pahaska.


Seems like most of the help are from the somewhere else—wanting to find out something of the history of the place, we asked the waitress if she had been here long and the answer was “since April”. Not much use asking the staff about the history of the lodge. By the end of summer they will be experts, but not yet.

The front door of the gift shop opens and a guy comes out with a life-size wooden carved Indian in his arms. He sets it beside the door and Pahaska is open for breakfast. Breakfast was the Western: eggs, hash browns and toast plus juice, good. Ready for the trip to Cody.

Telephone still out? I asked the cashier about the phone as she manually filled out a credit card form: “as long as the box is under water things don’t look to good.” The worst flooding is closer to Cody, but the river behind our cabin is running to its banks and the water is brown from the run off-- no fishing here.


Cody is preparing for the Cody Stampede Rodeo, which is held the same days as the Red Lodge Rodeo. This is a little competition between Cody and Red Lodge that has been going on for some time. Some of the cowboys fly between cities and compete in both rodeos the same weekend. On this Wednesday, however, there were more bikers than cowboys, but both breeds were visible. The Irma Hotel founded by Wild Bill Cody was taken over by bikers. The other side of Main Street was a little more typical of what I remember.


The Cody museum is worth a trip in itself—five museums connected to a center court. We saw first the Buffalo Bill museum which has momentos and pictures from his life, the West and the Wild West Show. The photo at the right is a stage coach blanket made of skins. Our visit was interrupted by a power outage—the building literally went dark after a pause that seemed long two backup lights came on but they were far apart. Later a guard came and let us to the lobby where there was light from the street.

We ate lunch on left-over sandwiches from yesterday that happened to be in our cooler. Since the blackout was city-wide it didn’t make much since to look for anything better. When the light came on we went back and saw 1500 rifles and pistols on display in the Winchester museum. There were many exhibits and old photographs so it wasn’t as boring as it may sound. There were an additional 1200 weapons in the study area, which we encouraged to visit—we skipped that part. Opting instead to quickly visit the gift shop. Where you could buy this Indian loom project. Maybe a photo will do for now.

Finally we visit downtown Cody, where we found used cowboy ropes for $15 and strawberry sherbet and oatmeal cookies for $6.00.

The trip back to Pahaska was scenic but uneventful. It’s time for dinner.

Tomorrow we return to Yellowstone Park.

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The First Day of Summer

Driving to Yellowstone park on the first day of summer was a joy. We found spring flowers just beginning to bloom, frozen lakes with just a trace of thaw and we drove through sun, rain, snow, hail and more sun; the temperatures ranged from 85 to near freezing. The mountain views were astounding—who could fail to be impressed by the by the ride over the Beartooth Highway to Yellowstone Park.

We left Red Lodge in warm sun and headed up the Beartooth Highway, past the Greenough Ranch to the famous switchbacks overlooking Rock Creek . At Lookout Point, which is at the last switchback, we walked to the overlook and there was Rock Creek valley many thousand feet below. Chrome Mountain and the winding mining road to the summit mesa were across from us; we were higher than the summit of Chrome Mountain. The weather was windy, but warm and sunny. We saw a Clark’s Nutcracker and a fledgling—a sure sign of summer.

Continuing up the road we crossed the Montana summit and found some tall snow banks. Then we continued to the Wyoming or West Summit and found enormous piles of snow along the road. Then a squall struck and we had first rain then hail and finally snow flurries. The squall passed quickly so we stopped at West Summit in Wyoming to take pictures. We met a motorcyclist on his way to Idaho who was optimistic about a turn for better weather, but sounded doubtful. Sure enough as we descended the weather returned to stormy so we pulled over to stop for lunch. By the time we finished eating the weather was fine and it continued that way.

The first wild flowers appeared before we entered the park—the bright yellow flowers turned out to be dandelions or a look alike. There were also some small blue and red blooms as well as some larger yellow blooms. Not knowing anything about flowers is a disadvantage in describing what we saw. Animals were also out enjoying the sun, I hope, and near the road—many buffalo and elk, a deer and a coyote.

We drove along Yellowstone Lake and exited towards Cody, WY. Our destination Pahaska Tepee was close to the park exit: Gas Station, Gift Shop and combination register checkout and hotel registration desk. The attendant registered us and took our credit card manually because a flood had knocked out the telephone earlier that day. There is also a dinning room and a bar; everything shuts down from 9:30PM to 7:00AM. Pahaska Tepee manages to be pretty minimal stopover even if Buffalo Bill Cody did stay here once.

Dinner in the Dinning Room: steak, BBQ, farm raised Rainbow Trout from Idaho and the Western specialty Liver and Onions. We stuck to beef. An ice cream bar from the gas station was available for desert.

It was an incredible ride from Red Lodge to Pahaska Tepee the first day of Summer 2008.

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Home of Champions

Red Lodge in mid July has the Beartooth Rally and Iron Horse Rodeo which includes a day-long motorcycle tour to Cooke City over the Beartooth highway. The tour then winds its way back to Red Lodge over the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. Our route today will be that of the tour up to Cooke City, then we continue into the park and traverse to the East/Cody Exit and go down Wyoming route 14/16 to Pahaska Tepee.

For some the motorcycle tour is a big deal, but for others the 3 day Home of Champions Rodeo is the most looked for event of the year. This traditional rodeo features real cowboys, horses and riding bulls and has been held regularly as long as I can remember. We drove by the rodeo grounds yesterday. There are new boxes for the officials, judges and celebrities but not much else has changed in 50 some years. Yee Haw!

The photo at the left is my great aunt Dora, all duded up, on horse-- ready for the Rodeo Parade which goes up Main from Carnegie library through town to the Rodeo grounds on the West bench. The kids, me included, followed the parade to the grounds where we could sneak in on the contestants side and watch the doings from around the stock pens. When I was more grown I would sit in the stands like normal folk. It was an enjoyable way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Dode and my mother were friendly with Alice Greenough one of the champions that the rodeo is named for. Alice grew up on her dad's ranch outside Red Lodge and became a rodeo queen and worldwide celebrity-- she even did trick riding and roping in cowboy movies. Alice's sister Marge was a champion also. I've been to the Greenough ranch, and as a 1st grader went there for an Easter Egg hunt. Think it was my first.

There were other rodeo champions from Red Lodge, 7 in all when I stopped counting-- the most famous was Bill Linderman, 7 time world champ. I spent the summer with his son Chuck Linderman working at the Kenevan ranch outside Red Lodge. Chuck and I were more nuisance than help, but we tried a little of everything. Haying was the worst and hardest work--we hated it. Chuck's mother, Lorine, sang at the Swinging Doors, a brawling cowboy bar on Main Street that eventually burned under suspicious circumstances. The city was probably relieved to see the bar go. The vacant lot is now a park on Main street and looks real nice.

The American breakfast at the Pollard is eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast plus coffee, of course. This breakfast has been served in cafes in the West since I remember eating out. The Pollard version is great; skip the bacon, add a mixed fruit dish.

Time to leave Red Lodge and head on toward Yellowstone park. It being Monday, most of the motorcycles are gone so the driving should be easy.

Happy Trails to you, Red Lodge.

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Red Lodge Sunday

Pollard Hotel

Red Lodge, on this Sunday morning, is quiet. The tourists in the Pollard started to rouse up about 7:30 and trickle into the dinning room for complimentary breakfast. I was up by 6:30 and walked up and down Main Street. The Red Lodge Cafe was open, nothing else. There was only one motor cycle on the street; probably left over from last night. The bikers and other Saturday revelers quit early. The street was quiet last night even before we went to sleep about 11PM. This is not how I remember Red Lodge.

Breakfast was blueberry pancakes, good.

The History Room at the Pollard has several vintage pictures of the Pollard and the adjacent Distillery building. I got interested in the history of the abandoned distillery. Turns out that the building began life after WW I as a theater. The story goes like this: After World War I, Red Lodge was really hopping. The new Carnegie library had just opened, the coal mines were in full swing, and the town was bursting with optimism. A team of investors created this grand three-story structure in 1920 at a cost of $140,000 (roughly the cost of the Moss Mansion we saw yesterday in Billings). The building had a seating capacity of 1,000 people for traveling shows, vaudeville and local productions. There was also a dance hall in the basement. The inside was fantastical, with marble statues imported from Italy, as well as decorative columns, arches and cornices in the style of Louis XVI.

After the Westside Mine closed in 1924, the distillery building was used only occasionally. In the 1930s it was converted to a distillery. The garage bays in the front of the existing building date from its post-World War II use as an automobile body shop. Though the interior has been gutted, the whimsical façade ornamentation including the the theater muses, gargoyle-like figures and theatrical cartouches are unmatched by any theater in the state.

The garage was in operation when I lived in Red Lodge just after WW II, but it was closed when I returned to Red Lodge for High School. The side windows were boarded up but one was broken-- we used to sneak into the building at night. Why? Mostly because it was a scary place and we were kids.

Hogan School, 1-room and bell.

After breakfast we drove onto the West Bench and out towards Luther to see a one-room school I remember. Hogan School served the kids in the area well until 1969--closed now but still in good condition. The yard is well kept and the school bell is there. Steffen climbed the fence to ring the bell; nice sound. These kids used to come to Red Lodge High School after their education in the one-room school; we always thought they were a little wild, like they weren't used to being cooped up all day. They probably thought we were strange too. We turned the car around at the school and came back to the airport and bench. Later we drove up West Fork to have lunch at Wild Bill Lake-- lots of people there fishing and enjoying the Sunday.

Dodie's Cadillac Garage

Back to town and onto the East Bench, past the Smith Mine and into Bearcreek. There is no new housing here in contrast to the extensive development on the West Bench. Makes a difference being closer to the mountains, ski run and other rich folk. Bearcreek looks to be disappearing, but it looked that way 50 years ago. It's a slow process. Back in town we drove by Dora Cutrone's house and took this photo of her garage. I remember her pristine black '39 Cadillac that was always housed there--the car was almost the same size as the garage.

We're back at the hotel and ready for siesta. The sun is out and it's getting warm.

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Mixed Images of Montana

The day started with a typical Montana breakfast--coffee, juice and French toast--followed by packing and check-out from the Dude Rancher. We then set off to find the two Catholic schools I attended while living in Billings. We found our way blocked by a Gay Pride parade complete with road blocks and police escort. The were practically no observers and the parade went along with no incidents that we could see.

We found the Fratt School, now converted to an middle school and renamed St. Francis. However, the founder Kate Fratt's name is still carved over the front entrance. The building looks good, but my memories of this school could be better.

Moss Mansion, Billings.

Leaving Fratt we went to the nearby Moss Mansion. Not knowing any better I drove right into the driveway we found ourselves in the midst of a garden party. I quickly exited to park on the street. The women giving tours of the restored house were very amiable and agreed to let us start the tour late. One of them gave us a quick catch-up tour of the spaces we missed and we were soon with the group. This house is the best preserved early 20th century mansion that I know of. The Moss family lived there until the last heir died in 1986 and then the estate sold the house to Billings.

The final living member of the family lived in a few rooms on the main floor and the city trustees found the mansion well preserved. Many of the facilities and furnishing were original, and the original wall coverings were preserved. The non-profit that maintains the building restored the upper floor for water damage, but little else was changed. They discovered personal photos of the family and found the actual clothes they were worn; both are on display. Amazing.

We left Billings for our next stop, Red Lodge. We stopped briefly at Joliet (to check out the Joliet Bar where I did a short bartender stint for mom--it is now J-Bar) and at Roberts to look at the High School where I graduated. The original school is being replaced by a new school and gym. Entering Red Lodge we stopped at the Carnegie Library--still a library and checked in to our room at the Pollard Hotel. There were two beds only so they installed a gigantic air mattress. Ethan is sleeping there.

View from Pollard Hotel.

We have a great view of the mountains and overlook main street. The photo was taken from our window and shows a building built in 1900, the year after the hotel. For dinner we went to the Red Lodge cafe. The now historic cafe features Montana cuisine--mostly beef. Desert was strawberry shortcake, the beef was prime rib.

Red Lodge is filling with Harley Davidison bikers coming early for their festivities in July. They expect 3500 bikers for the celebration--they will fill the whole street. Willie Nelson comes in August; they're expecting another huge crowd. What a day. What fun, lots of mixed images to process.

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Billings, The Magic City

Billings from the Rimrocks

Flying into Billings on a clear day like today was a revelation. I saw snow as we passed over the mountains south of the city, and then came the early Summer green of the agriculture land, pretty.

Billings sits in a valley between the rims and the Yellowstone River. It looked just like this photo when I landed. The modern airport is on the rims above the city; a short 2 mile drive down 27th Street gets an arriving tourist to the center of the city.

There is another road from the city to the airport-- the Zimmerman Trail is a fast two-lane road that goes right up the old trail built by a rancher named Zimmerman to access his sandstone mansion on top of the rims South of the airport.

The trail was closed to all but foot traffic when I was living here. Later it was paved and opened to cars and by then the mansion was converted to a night club and roadhouse. My mother Hazel worked there for a spell so I remember it pretty well. The mansion no longer exists; it was replaced by a so-called gated community of California style sprawling ranch homes.

Carpet Decorated With Cattle Brands

Downtown Billings was pretty quiet on a Friday afternoon. Seemed almost abandoned. The once elegant Northern Hotel has turned seedy--the outside brick facade retains it's crisp look however. The old Grand Hotel is still there also, but overshadowing them all is a new Crown Plaza.

Much of the downtown has been kept up and things look very tidy, but I wonder where all the people are? Checking into the Dude Rancher Motel is like going back to 1949.  The motel was built with bricks salvaged from the Old St. Vincent Hospital, and today the motel is little changed. Even the carpet looks original. St. Vincent, however has moved on; it is now a multi-building research and care complex that covers a large campus just North of the motel.

Although the downtown was nearly deserted on this Friday afternoon, we found the Montana Brewery full to capacity. It was clearly the place to be. Cowboys in their white shirts and white summer straw hats and locals in everyday clothes. You would not mistake this for a brew pub in California. I had vegetarian pasta, very good, Steffen had the same, Ethan tried the chicken strips and a dark ale--all were satisfied. Good service too.

Parmly Billings Library

After a leisurely dinner we walked the downtown streets past Parmly Billings Library where I checked out my first novel. I was in the 6th or 7th grade at the time. The library is now a museum, but the building looks well preserved as do many of the downtown buildings.

Across from the Parmly is a shop that sells Whizzer Motorbikes and down the street is an enormous Pawn Shop-- a whole wall of guitars and rows on rows of tools. We're going back tomorrow to check it out.

Further touring, by car now, took us toward the river. We went past the Montana Woman's Prison which is located, razor wire and all, right in town. Imagine if they tried to locate a prison in Palo Alto.

We never found the Yellowstone River, we got close but Josephine Park on the river is now closed, Bummer.

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Boarding Passes

My boarding pass is printed. That is a sure sign that the trip is getting closer. I'm flying Delta to Salt Lake and then to Billings, one stop. Delta is in the midst of trying to buy Northwest which is an airline that has served Billings for many years.

Frontier Airlines was the first airline to serve Billings on a regular schedule. Frontier was formed from Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines and Monarch Airlines in 1950. Billings was quickly added to their consolidated route structure.

Frontier served Billings for 40 years before going bankrupt. Seems like airlines have been merging and going bankrupt since commercial flying began in earnest in 1946 after World War II.

Connie, Waiting for Rich (in airplane)

The first time I flew into Billings was in 1958. I was on leave from the U.S. Navy while I was in transit from boot camp in San Diego to electronics school on Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco bay. I arrived on a Frontier DC3 propeller driven aircraft after several stops, including Miles City, Montana. It seemed to me that the plane never got more than a few thousand feet airborne and the rough air over the Montana hills tossed the plane around quite a bit. This was pretty unsettling for me on my first flight. Many other passengers showed some uneasiness-- maybe they were new at this flying business also.

I was pretty happy to get off the plane in Billings. My mother Hazel and sister Connie met the flight.

This picture shows the Frontier DC3 I arrived in. Connie is about 9 or 10 years old in this picture (she is the girl on the left). I flew into Billings two more times on Frontier-- I recall that all the trips were bumpy. I don't miss the passing of the old DC3.

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