Cody, Wyoming "Mustang Luv"

We had no idea where we would stay after Douglas as we needed to be somewhere 3 nights to adjust to our reservations at Yellowstone.  Luckily, Passport America had two participating campgrounds near Cody. 

One of the campgrounds could not be reached and the other one would only permit two nights at the discounted rate.  I politely declined their "all or nothing" policy and we refused to stay there.   It is off-season here and no reason that an owner in their right mind should not deviate from a restrictive policy.  

So, they lost ALL our business and we stayed at Buffalo Bill State Park, a gorgeous park sandwiched between two mountain ranges fronting on a large reservoir. 

Even though we had no services, we got water and decided to boondock there.  

Were we glad!  This is probably the most gorgeous place we have ever been in!  And--we caught a free wifi signal from a homeowner somewhere up the mountain, which I am now using to send this email.

We took our wine down to the water and Cassie helped herself.

 
We stayed 2 nights and, while here, I saw an ad for tours to go the McCullough Peak Wild Horse Range to view mustangs.  We decided to go without paying the ridiculous tour fee.  

After getting some local info on where to go, we found the unmarked barbed wire enclosure.  I got out to swing it back to get inside; the wire was there to keep the mustangs IN.  Once inside, I closed it back up and we headed down the dirt road.  Entering this way felt mildly criminal-like.

We happened to spot a large herd right away and slowly and cautiously stopped and watched and photographed wild horses for over an hour.  

It was on BLM land and very inaccessible except to 4-wheel drive vehicles or one like ours--one that has been everywhere and survived a million booboos!   I guess that's the benefit of paying for a tour--not tearing up your own vehicle!  The rental companies forbid you to come here.

The mustangs were feeling frisky; this one was poaching some territory and got chased by the boss horse, literally hanging his head down in defeat!

These guys were feeling their oats and engaging in some x-rated action.

Later that day, we had a special Mother's Day Buffet at Irma's Hotel, a Cody landmark and Home of the Best Prime Beef in the area, as claimed by billboards along the route.  We tied on the feedbag and had our fill of excellent prime beef and all the fixin's.

We left at dawn for an early start.  

Today, we head for Yellowstone and will use the full-service RV park to clean up from our sloppy boondocking ways.  

Hopefully, we will still be able to conduct business with our homeowners insurance agency, whom we have been warning for weeks that we are entering remote and not-easily accessed communications.  They have dawdled and missed promised deadlines and our insurance is cancelled on June 1st.  It is very difficult to conduct business while "on the road" especially in the mountains where cell phone service is spotty.

On Tuesday, we'll boondock in Yellowstone for 6 days.  I am hoping for some more spring-like weather.  It was 39 degrees this morning!