Day 8 K Bar Z Ranch

Day 8, Billings Montana to Cody Wyoming.

Our travels today took us back a hundred miles south into Wyoming to the little town of Cody. No offence to the folks who call this region home, but Wyoming definitely meets the criterion for an off the beaten path destination.  Gloria drove our trusty four wheel drive over detours so rough as to not deserve to be called roads. After a nice lunch (bean soup and tuna melt) downtown at Granny’s Restaurant, we resisted the allure of the several tourist attractions in town and headed out on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway in search of the K Bar Z guest ranch. 

Those of you who have been following this blog will recall that our plan had been to travel to the ranch via the scenic route over Beartooth Pass which is still impassible due to deep snow. Plan B was to travel down the valleys to the east, turn right in Cody and drive up to the ranch. Much to my surprise when I entered the address of the ranch into the GPS, it told me that it was fifty miles out of town. 

Chief Joseph Scenic Highway was a great consolation prize.  The views were awe inspiring, the road twisting and steep.  Gloria kept the camera clicking most of the way.  The roadside was littered with rockfalls, switchbacks as sharp as a knife, miles of steep grades, both up and down, and yes, some leftover ice and snow.  If this was the gentler, easier drive, I am not too disappointed about missing Beartooth Pass.

Cody was off the beaten path,but K Bar Z has obscured the path beyond all recognition.  We suspected that Magellan had only a general idea where the place was, but fortunately the signs to the ranch were clear enough for a road weary easterner to find.  The dirt roads were rough and narrow, but in better shape than the road construction we encountered on the way to Cody.

The first indication that we had made it was a small collection of horses milling around in the road while two young women went about penning them up. Not quite sure what the etiquette of horses in the road vs a Subaru Outback might be, we just sat there for a while.  We looked at the horses; they ignored us, as did the wranglers.  After a bit we learned that the office was up the road.

It only took a few minutes to get us squared away and directed up a hillside to a rustic duplex cabin.

Home for the next three days.

Horses are on the agenda for tomorrow, weather permitting.  Stay tuned.