Trip to Hendersonville for a special Nephew's wedding celebration

Since we're such home-bodies......we decided we needed ANOTHER trip!

When we got home from Yellowstone, we sorted thru a pile of mail....and there was an invitation to "Little" Eddie and Brittany's wedding celebration just two days away. Hey, what the heck - bags are still packed. We can toss them back in the airplane and head to Hendersonville!

First, I just have to add two photos that I got from my Mom's computer - these are from Mother's day - and I thought they were nice:

Mom and I at Eddie and Trudi's luncheon.



And Eddie and Brittany looking at a couple of "Italy" books I brought them. Aren't they so young and sweet? (Leaving for an Army deployment to Italy on Friday!)



On to the wedding celebration:

Brother Eddie offering the toast to his son and new daughter-in-law (Trudi a bit emotional in the background!!)




The newlywed's listening to their toast - sorry for the glare but it was a sunny day!



The cute cake topper



The assembled cake (made by Eddie, of course...) and yummy raspberry filling...oh my....





The newlyweds were soooo nice to each other as they took their bites of cake!




The lovely couple - we wish them all the best!!!



We also went over to Granny and Cordy's house for a nice, relaxing visit. All is well there - the garden is beautiful and I came home with bags of veggies, as usual.

The spoiled kitty, Obie, is doing great keeping Granny and Cordy in line!!

Home now!

Ah, well....gotta go home some time, don't we?

Leaving Cody on a dreary morning. This is looking out over Yellowstone park.




On to Omaha for a stop. They are having bad flooding there also - this area is on approach to the airport - and there is an interstate highway down there completely submerged!


The flight from Omaha to home was looonnngg.....the flight time reads 05:03:56 in case you can't read it.....5 hours is a long time to sit in one spot!




Arriving home, everything is safe and sound (although the yard/runway is crispy from lack of rain). Miranda took care of the fish and the flowers - happy to say both are doing beautifully!!

The Rodeo!!

While you are visiting the west, you really must see a rodeo!! Very nicely done.


Nice looking livestock - clean and fresh.







They always have a pretty girl carry the flag around the arena for the National Anthem....



Lots of tries at the team roping....not too many successes!



There was a mare and new foal in a corral also.....not sure why as neither could be used in the rodeo! It was nice to see the wobbly wee one.


Lots of photos like this - my camera just can't do long range action shots.



Cowboys getting ready for a ride.....



Lots of photos like this one too! I think there was only one successful ride - looks painful to me!!!



But, by far, this was the best event of the night. All the kids 12 and under were asked to come down out of the stands - the idea was to get the "flag" off one of 4 small steers to be let loose in the arena. Prizes were ice cream cones and milkshakes....ready, set.....



Chase!!!



It was hilarious!! The kids were having a ball - and the steers darted here and there. All flags were eventually grabbed. Two girls and two boys won the treats. Good, semi-clean fun!!

Cody, WY

Back to Cody, where we parked the airplane a week ago.

A friend had told me that the Buffalo Bill Museum was a "Must See". And he was absolutely correct!!

You probably know that I'm not a big history buff - didn't really know much at all about "Buffalo" Bill Cody - but the museum was fascinating. I learned a lot about the famous "showman/star" of the day.



Lots of neat Native American items, clothing, etc. A wall of Stetsons were available for modeling!



Outside I spied this plant - a border plant that my mom has at her house. Never heard it called this, though.





Wow...so many guns you can't imagine how many!! I tired of this quickly - after the really old guns, the displays went on and on and on with every manufacturer's lineup. Gun buffs would love this! I think I saw that there were over 3000 guns on display.


After the museum we had to see the street play - done every night outside the Irma Hotel, built by Bill Cody and named for his daughter (Irma, of course!)


A rather contrived story line about robbing a bank and a wedding ring....




Cute, though - and the price (free) was right!!!







I think we all know the ending, don't we?



Yup....somebody's gotta die!!

Thermopolis, Wyoming

Really, I didn't make up the name!!! We decided to stop in Thermopolis - it looked like a cool town. The first hotel we stopped at was full! We had been driving for hours - and this town seemed small, so we were surprised to be told that the hotel was full....but they told us the number to a Days Inn about a mile away. This was lucky - because it was a really interesting place. The owners apparently are avid hunters - the hotel is populated with 100's of mounted animals. I think it's a popular hobby out west.




The town itself is named for the hot springs that run thru the area. The Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians have a treaty with the US Govm't that says that the government will provide perpetual free access to the hot springs.....lucky for the public!

The "public bath house"


You can soak in the indoor mineral tub-



The water comes from the spring at 127 degrees .....they let it cool to 104....



There is a large outdoor pool also - notice the milky water - - that's the minerals...


We needed to move on - back to Cody....again, the terrain changed as we drove.



Pretty, though!

On to Jackson, Wy then Wind River

Next stop Jackson!


I guess I was expecting a really "Ritzy" town.....Jackson Hole.....jet setters going skiing. And I'm sure that's available if you want it.....but the town itself is just a really neat, western town. The "arches" are made of antlers collected by the local Boy Scouts. There are 3 1/2 of them on the 4 corners of the "Square". The last one is still "under construction".



A big change from all the trees in Yellowstone and Teton.




Stage coach rides available.....probably more comfy on a city street than the real thing!


We went to the "Million Dollar Cowboy Bar" - just because it looked too cool to miss! Been a long time since I've sat in a saddle - actually since we went with the boys on a trail ride on our Grand Canyon trip about 10 yrs ago! It was actually a pretty cool and comfortable bar stool.



From this point on, we didn't have any reservations - so we stayed at a local motel - one with the art-deco bathroom that was just a beautiful, original specimen - very clean and comfy & right downtown. We walked to dinner and then to the local theater to watch the latest Pirates movie. Enjoyed that - gotta love Johnny Depp - I don't care what the critics say....


On eastbound thru the Wind River Indian Reservation - this is the area south of Yellowstone that is inhabited by the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians.

Traveling out of Jackson - the terrain changed several times - snowy and cold -


Then dry and rocky





And you just never know when you happen across some wildlife. Beautiful area.