It is now called the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and
includes five separate museums now, and has expanded to several connected
buildings. There is no longer any
parking in the front, but there are large lots on the side and towards the
back, where there is even a special lot for RVs and large vehicles. (I like traveling out west because there are
so many RVs on the road, which makes me feel right at home!)
There are five museums in the Center, accessed through a
central hub:
- The Natural History Museum
- The Buffalo Bill Historical Museum
- The Plains Indian Museum
- The Firearms Museum
- The Western Art Museum
You buy a two-day pass because it is not possible to really
see everything in one day.
I entered through the Natural History Museum entrance, which
is focused on the terrain and wildlife of the Yellowstone region. (Cody is only 60 miles from the east entrance
to Yellowstone, and a lot of people staying there, drive to the national park
just for the day.) Kids would really
enjoy this park of the museum because of the many life-sized panoramas of
animals that live in the area. Here are
a few.
I thought the large tile mural in the middle of the lower
floor area was impressive:
The Plains Indian Museum was very impressive.
I took a lot of photos, but thought these painted buffalo
hides and the beaded blanket, shown below, were interesting.
The Buffalo Bill Museum traced the famous showman’s life and
career. Here is one of his outfits from
his Wild West Show.
And an outfit worn by Annie Oakley:
I liked these wagons, too.
Sorry, no photos from the Firearms Museum, but I can tell
you that there are 1,700 firearms from as early as the 1400s in Europe to
present. There was a sign by the
elevator that said if you had still not seen enough firearms, they had 1,500
more in their research center on the lower floor you could look at!
I spent five hours the first day and about two hours the
second. Very worthwhile place.
No comments:
Post a Comment