Our adventure in Yosemite complete, we made our way to Cody, Wyoming.

Now, Cody isn’t the most famous or exciting place – you’re not likely to find it in many or any travel guides. But, it offers a quaint sense of Western charm that I’m now starting to see as common across our growing list of visited towns and states.

Arriving in the late afternoon, we were quick to unload the kids and our swimsuits to enjoy the pool and get a break from the stifling heat. Only, it wasn’t a pool, but in fact an enormous hot tub – whose temperature at least matched the outside air’s.

Nora was undeterred, and Jonah and I quickly followed (truthfully, I quickly followed, then Jonah reluctantly decided to join in). Like having a bowl of hot pho filled with Sriracha on a scorching day, the “spa” (which is what they called it) provided surprising relief.

It was soon time to eat, and Carolyn and I had arranged a cowboy-themed “chuckwagon” all-you-can-eat buffet dinner and show for the four of us. Yee-haw! Turned-out that the venue was right next door to our m/hotel. We would also soon observe that buffets seem to be very popular in this part of the world.

The food was fine. Better was the entertainment. We got a heapin’ helpin’ of the Triple C Cowboys, who took us on a magical music journey – seamlessly bridging from Gene Autry to Vanilla Ice.

http://www.thecodycattlecompany.com/index.php/live-music/

Nora got the chance to join the band onstage, taking tambourine to new heights for two songs.

By show’s end, we were all pretty beat. The later-night rodeo came highly recommended, but we little doggies decided to hit the hay early instead, as Buffalo (Wyoming) lay ahead.