Page 182 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2024 SPAIN

As a city dweller, limited to only four
late-spring nights in Cody, I opted to focus
my days on the outdoors: exploring the
Bighorn Basin in a Utility Task Vehicle
(UTV), hiking the Shoshone National Forest
and sampling Yellowstone on a daylong
bus tour.
I devoted my evenings to meeting lo-
cals at a dude ranch cookout, at a rip-
roaring all-you-can eat dinner show – and
at a few choice Cody watering holes. My
surprise nighttime fav: attending opening
night of the summer-long Cody Nite Rodeo.
Sadly, I had no time to explore Cody’s
treasure trove of arts, culture and historic
sites such as Heart Mountain, where Japa-
nese Americans were confined during
World War II. I want a full day to roam the
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a seven-
acre complex that includes five museums
with more than 55,000 Old West artifacts.
I’ll be back – with lots to look forward to.
(To learn more now, see Maribeth Mellin’s
story on page 164.}

RODEO CAPITAL

Cody calls itself the Rodeo Capital of
the World. It’s indisputable. Rodeo in Cody
is as old as the town itself. Today the
world’s top professional rodeo stars com-
pete for the country’s richest purses at the
annual Cody Stampede (July 1-4). But for
many, the real heartfelt action happens at
the Cody Nite Rodeo.

The Cody Nite Rodeo is rooted in family
tradition and has produced generations of
rodeo cowboys. Kasen Asay, 12, (far right)
learned the ropes from his father, Kanin, a
national rodeo star who got his start years
ago at Cody Nite.