Hiking In Town And Out Of Town

There were a lot of things that I enjoyed about living in the middle of nowhere in Idaho.

But in truth, there were also many times when I had to actively look for interesting things to take pictures of for this blog.

There are only so many sage bush and hill pictures that one can stand, and even though the world there was beautiful in real life it didn't always translate well into pictures.

I don't have that problem in Cody.

There are things worthy of a picture, everywhere I turn.

I am completely enamored with this place.

It's the small things and it's the big things.

The walkable streets and the smiling faces.

The wild life and the mountains and the rivers.

The drivers who stop so Kory and I can cross, even when there is no cross walk, and the well designed storm drains that accommodate massive amounts of snow melt to prevent street flooding.

The ladies at the bank who came outside to meet my dog because they had noticed her while we walked, and loved her happy and joyful ways.

The trails in town, the trails on the outskirts of town, the trails outside of town, and the endless public lands beginning just at the edge of town in all directions.

The North Fork and the South Fork and the Shoshone National Forest.

The wild horses and the buffalo and the big horn sheep.

The metal sculptures all over town, the bear and bison statues all over town, the nice grocery stores, the buffet at the Irma Hotel and...............

And so much more.

I am so back logged with pictures that I am not sure I will ever catch up..........

Some pictures I took before fall turned into winter.

Walking with Kory.

We have walked and explored endlessly together since we arrived.

I watched my dog this morning as we took a long walk in and around town.

She is such a free spirit and her needs are so simple.

Whether we are wandering the desert in SE Idaho or wandering on BLM land in Wyoming, or simply walking in the touristy town of Cody WY, all she wants to do is search for bunnies to chase.

Looking for hapless rabbits under sage bushes or pine trees, joyfully chasing when she is off leash, watching helplessly as they stand safely and smugly on the lawns of overpriced Cody homes when she is on leash.

Sniffing every sign, every fence post, every garbage can, every gate, every rock, gathering intell that only dogs can gather.

Everyone she passes smiles at my dog, rubs her head, talks to her, and Kory loves every minute of it.

Everyone is her friend and she's just happy to be here..................

There are some places that Kory doesn't like in town.

Two of these places include the noise of air compressors.

The noise terrifies her, she is inconsolable when she hears it, and her instinct is to get as far away from the sound as she can.

The other is on a corner at the top of the hill on Sheridan Avenue.

A hugely busy commercial intersection filled with stores and gas stations, traffic lights and traffic.

A place where so much is going on all at the same time, that my country dog is overwhelmed by the noise and continual activity.

We have learned those places together over the past five or six weeks and I know where my dog likes to be and where we should avoid............

This place is very close to downtown and yet it was the first time I had ever been here.

I had driven by it many times in the past, noticed numerous tourists casually wandering on the boardwalk, and then immediately driven by it and forgotten about it as I continued on with my day.

It was a place with a few stores that open during tourist season and then close as soon as the first chill of fall fills the air.

On this day I had hurried Kory away from the sound of an air compressor and we both found our way to this place.

Summer was over, the tourists were gone, what few stores existed had closed for the season, and the boardwalk was empty.................

A few days later Barbara called me and asked me if I would like to walk with her on a trail.  

LC already had plans for the morning, and so I loaded my eager pup into the Tahoe and met Barb in the parking lot of the sheriffs department.

Following behind her I was surprised when we slowly drove through a new subdivision - with the type of houses that had 10 feet of space between them, that had small windows and small front doors and small pieces of grass that were referred to as lawns, and that had a small area park centrally located to accommodate the small children of young families that tended to purchase such places.

At the end of this new subdivision Barb pulled into a small gravel parking area and I pulled in beside her.

I had expected to follow her out of town a short ways.

I hadn't expected to access an isolated trail by driving through a newbie subdivision, and yet here we were.

As soon as I climbed out of the Tahoe I noticed this sign.............

Not knowing what to expect, I kept Kory on leash as we began our walk.

It was a beautiful fall day.  

Sunny.  Warm.  

At this point in fall we were living on borrowed time.  There would not be too many more days like this left, before winter took hold.....................

For a few minutes I had a difficult time wrapping my head around this place.

We had been driving through a subdivision just a few minutes earlier - driving past houses that were too close together, past kids bicycles dropped haphazardly by front doors, past the little play park - and now here we were on a trail in what felt like the middle of nowhere.

There had been no transition time.

One minute we were around the people.  The next minute there was no-one.

Just an empty trail, the mountains, the river, and a warning that bears passed this way.

Regardless, it was beautiful.

Even in the beige world of late fall in Cody...................

A week before Kory and I walked with Barb on this trail, LC and I had walked with Kory alongside the Shoshone River.

We had driven down to a boat ramp located in town and then followed the winding gravel pathway as it followed the river.

The walk was pretty and quiet, and because we regularly ran into other walkers along the way, it was obvious that this trail was used a good deal by locals.

The walk Kory and I were now on was a continuation of that same trail but in the opposite direction.

It also paralleled the river but this leg of the trail was a little wilder, a lot quieter and a lot more isolated, and as I continued the walk I relished in this new discovery...............

My puppy happily sniffed and marked as she went.

She seemed content to stay on leash but within minutes of venturing onto this trail I began to mentally wonder if I should set her free so she could run.

There was the "bear thing".

There was the "she can be disappear in a full-on run" thing.

There was the "she doesn't know where she is" thing.

I continued to enjoy the walk, enjoy Barb's company, and internally debate whether or not to set my dog free...................

For so late in the fall it was very warm, and Kory eagerly swam in and drank from the river whenever she had the opportunity.

Right after I snapped this picture Kory climbed back onto dry land and I unhooked her from her leash.

She immediately took off in a full on run, and within seconds had disappeared in the tall grass up ahead of us.

Like a worried mother I called to my dog.

Called once.

Called twice.

On the third call I saw a brown head pop up from that same tall grass, and my ecstatic pup came running full speed back to me.

OK puppy.  Now stay close!!..................

Barb is someone I met the last time we lived in Cody back in 2012 and 13.

She worked for the Forestry Service many years ago until she had to retire due to poor health.

She is deeply religious and I am not, so we don't talk about religion.

She is deeply optimistic about people and the world around her and (although I consider some of her perpetual optimism a little naive) I respect her very much.

Just a good and decent person who tries to live her life as she believes God wants her to and who sees only the very best in people.

She also loves the outdoors and loves hiking, and in that we have a lot in common.

We are not close but we enjoy each others' company.....................

Kory wandering and running, but overall staying close.

Being her happy joyful self..................

We only walked a couple of miles.

Kory likely walked and ran twice that distance.
A very good walk with someone whose company I enjoyed very much.................

Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again.  The best view comes after the hardest climb...............Author Unknown