Buffalo, Wyoming

Today was another "driving" day.  We drove a distance of about 170 miles from Deadwood, South Dakota to Buffalo, Wyoming.  Here is the view we saw through the front windshield for most of the day, please excuse the bug guts! Lots of wide open space, grassland, a few cattle ranches with one or two small towns sprinkled in.  At least we are away from the fires and seeing some clear blue sky for a change.

Our home for the next couple of days, Deer Park, is a beautiful campground with lots of grass and mature trees.  When we pulled in and I went for my first walk, I saw a flock of giant turkey birds. I protected every one in the park with my loud bark and chased them out of the campground. They were gone so fast Kathe couldn't take their picture.

Buffalo is a small town of about 5,000 people that was founded in 1879.  It was mostly a ranching town and has a history as a cattle rustler's capital.  Also, many Native American battles took place in this area which is near the Bozeman Trail.

Jim and Kathe learned a little about this history when they visited the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.  This small museum once was the county library, but today it houses a collection of over 8,500 artifacts collected and donated by the Gatchell family.  There were many interesting historical photographs of native Americans and a large collection of firearms.

We are staying in tonight and I have my Thunder shirt ready in case of any fireworks.  Tomorrow we are going into town to see the Occidental Hotel which is the only fully restored frontier hotel in Wyoming.