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Article=20 Last Updated: 02/18/2006 12:33 PM=20 MST

Quiet season gets = howling
Winter is a great time to = visit Cody and=20 Yellowstone National=20 Park

By Tom = Wharton
The=20 Salt Lake=20 = Tribune

CODY, = Wyo.- Winter=20 marks the quiet season in Yellowstone Country.=20
   Bighorn sheep wander off the = Buffalo=20 Bill Scenic Highway near the east entrance to = Yellowstone, all=20 but oblivious to the rare vehicle making the 53-mile = drive=20 from Cody to the place on the road where snow prevents = travelers from continuing into the park.=20
   Antelope dwarfed by the giant = Absorka=20 Mountains stare at a photographer not far from shaded = canyon=20 walls where ice climbers work their way up frozen = waterfalls.=20
   Cross country ski trails that = surround=20 Buffalo Bill's Pahaska Tepee Hunting Lodge near = Yellowstone's=20 east entrance are carefully groomed, ready for a = weekend=20 crowd, but empty on a Thursday morning.=20
   There are other wonders for = those making=20 the spectacular 3 1/2 -hour drive from Cody to = Yellowstone=20 Park's headquarters at Mammoth and the only year-round = road=20 open to automobile traffic between there and Cooke = City, Mont.=20
   The historic Mammoth Hotel = remains open=20 until March 5, offering television-free rooms at much = lower=20 rates than during the summer. A big fire roars in the = lobby=20 where a piano player entertains each evening. At = night, the=20 quiet can almost be disconcerting to those used to the = city.=20 People who live here say it can be pierced by the = sounds of=20 howling wolves and coyotes.
   When = the sun=20 rises, it is possible to have the huge Mammoth Hot = Springs=20 boardwalk and hiking trails inside Yellowstone Park to = yourself. A groomed ski trail skirts the top. Pools = bubble and=20 steam, offering myriad colors and icicles. The = occasional elk=20 searches for food.
   Wolf watchers = gather=20 in the Lamar Valley on the 56-mile road inside = Yellowstone=20 connecting Gardiner and Cooke City, Mont. Many use = spotting=20 scopes in search of the predators. They often spot = elk, bison,=20 ravens and the occasional eagle and coyote.=20
   Ardythe Wendt, marketing = coordinator for=20 the Yellowstone operation of Xanterra Parks and = Resorts at=20 Mammoth, said she once watched a wolf run in front of = her car.=20 Four more followed. Then she observed what she = described as a=20 "dance party thing" when the animals appeared to be=20 celebrating successfully crossing the highway.=20
   George Bumann is a naturalist = and artist=20 who leads winter and summer tours for the Yellowstone=20 Association, a nonprofit educational organization. Few = things=20 escape him.
   As he prepared for a = wildlife watching expedition on a late January = afternoon, for=20 example, Bumann exulted when he saw a Uinta squirrel = scamper=20 near the Mammoth Hotel. Critters such as owls, dippers = and=20 ravens excite him nearly as much as the wolves, bison, = bighorns and elk.
   Bumann is a = walking=20 Yellowstone encyclopedia, offering information about = geology,=20 fires, grizzly bears, butterflies, hot springs, animal = tracks,=20 pines and firs and recreational skiing.=20
   Bumann also offers as many facts = as he=20 can muster about the many controversies that surround=20 Yellowstone's wildlife, including debate over grizzly = bears,=20 wolves and bison hunting. Ultimately, he declines an = opinion,=20 preferring his students use information to come up = with their=20 own.
   The Yellowstone = Association's=20 winter season ends soon, but the group is gearing up = for=20 educational programs during the summer that include = one-day=20 natural-history tours, group programs, field seminars = and=20 backcountry courses - all at surprisingly reasonable = prices,=20 including some under $200. Even Wasatch Front = residents who=20 consider themselves Yellowstone experts can learn from = these=20 instructors.
   Summer classes, = which begin=20 in May, include wildlife explorations, photography and = wildflower workshops, first aid and map reading = courses,=20 sketching and journaling classes, roadside history = tours and=20 instruction on mammal tracking. =
   Claudia=20 Wade, marketing director for the Cody-based Park = County Travel=20 Council, likes to help visitors drive backroads around = the=20 town. There are hot springs, dude ranches and wildlife = viewing=20 areas.
   Back in Cody, a top = attraction is=20 the 300,000-square-foot Buffalo Bill Historical Center = on=20 Sheridan Avenue.
   Buffalo = Bill Cody=20 founded the town in 1896. At the time, Cody was among = the most=20 famous men in the world, most notably for his work as = a=20 Western showman who traveled the world.=20
   The historical center named = after Cody=20 includes five museums: the Whitney Gallery of Western = Art, the=20 Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the = Buffalo=20 Bill Museum and the Draper Museum of Natural History. = It ranks=20 among the finest museum complexes of its kind in the = United=20 States. Visitors can easily spend a day in the huge = complex,=20 which is considerably less crowded during the winter = months=20 when=20

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hotel and motel=20 rates also drop.
   Still, unlike = many=20 tourist towns, many of the unique art galleries, = Western=20 shops, bars and restaurants in Cody stay open in the = winter.=20
   For example, the Hotel Irma, = which=20 Buffalo Bill Cody named for his daughter, offers a = great=20 weekend prime rib buffet in a dining room where = visitors can=20 stare at the carved tin ceiling and a priceless cherry = wood=20 bar England's Queen Victoria had made in France and = shipped to=20 Cody.
   Wade has plenty more to = show=20 visitors, including the Cody Rodeo Grounds and = Trailtown, a=20 Western-themed living-history street filled with many = original=20 buildings from town - both closed during winter - as = well as=20 the nearby South and North forks of the Shoshone = River.=20
   She is proud of the "firsts" in = the=20 area, including Yellowstone, the world's first = national park;=20 Shoshone National Forest, the first organized by the = U.S.=20 Forest Service; and the Buffalo Bill Dam, built in = 1910 as the=20 first Bureau of Reclamation project.=20
   Wade, whose husband, Tim, is a=20 well-known fly-fishing guide, helped coin "the quiet = season"=20 to describe Cody, which hosts some 1 million tourists = a year,=20 at this cold and snowy time of the year.=20
   It more than fits the = off-season, from=20 mid-October to May 1, when the east entrance to = Yellowstone=20 reopens to automobile traffic. =
   ---=20
   Contact Tom Wharton at=20 wharton@sltrib.com. His phone number is = 801-257-8909.=20 Send comments to livingeditor@ sltrib.com.=20

   =20
   Cody, Wyo. =
   =20
    WHY GO? Cody is in the heart of = some of=20 the most beautiful mountain country in North America = and is 53=20 miles from Yellowstone National Park's east entrance. = It can=20 serve as the base for wildlife watching, skiing, = snowmobiling,=20 ice climbing and summer hiking, rodeos and horseback = riding.=20 Its historic downtown has several art galleries, = family=20 restaurants and Western stores.
    =
    HOW TO GET THERE: Wasatch Front = residents can fly via Sky West Airlines to Cody, with=20 twice-daily service from Salt Lake City International = Airport.=20 Rental cars are usually plentiful. Cody, in = northwestern=20 Wyoming, is about a day's drive from Salt Lake City. = When=20 Yellowstone Park is open to automobile traffic May 1 = to Oct.=20 1, Utahns can reach Cody by driving to West = Yellowstone and=20 then through the park and its east entrance. In the = winter,=20 drive north through Riverton, Wyo. =
   =20
    WHAT IT WILL COST: Off-season = motel and=20 hotel rates in Cody run from $50 to $80 a night. = Expect to pay=20 between $65 and $120 for the same room in the summer. = Food=20 prices vary from franchises and family restaurants to = more=20 pricey places specializing in prime rib.=20

    NOT TO = MISS: The=20 300,000-square-foot Buffalo Bill Historical Center = offers one=20 of the best museum experiences in the West. It = contains five=20 museums: the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian = Museum,=20 Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Cody Firearms Museum = and=20 Draper Museum of Natural History. =
   =20
    WHERE TO EAT: Experience the = dining=20 room at the Hotel Irma, founded by Buffalo Bill and = named=20 after his daughter. The prime rib is good. But the = atmosphere,=20 which includes numerous historic photographs as well = as a=20 priceless cherry wood bar sent to Buffalo Bill as a = thank you=20 from England's Queen Victoria, is a wonderful Western=20 experience.
    =
   =20 WEATHER: Cody can be cold in the winter, with the = average=20 January temperature of 24 degrees. Expect sunshine = about 300=20 days a year. The average July temperature is 72 and = highs can=20 sometimes reach the 90s.
   =20
    FOR INFO: For information on = Cody, call=20 800-393-2639 or log onto http://www.pctc.org. For = information=20 on lodging in Yellowstone Park, contact Xanterra Parks = and=20 Resorts at http://www.TravelYellowstone.com. For = information=20 on summer and winter educational programs offered by = the=20 Yellowstone Association, call 307-344-2293 or visit=20 http://www.yellowstone =
   association.org.=20

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