Info on Old Trail Town:
We visited Old Trail Town once the last time we lived here in Cody.
It is a place filled with remnants of "The Old West" - cabins from throughout the region that have lovingly been relocated to the site, wagons of all descriptions (ranging from hay wagons to hearse wagons), tools, clothing, housewares, weapons, everything else you could possibly think of that was used during the process of traveling to, settling into, and living on the western side of the country.
There are homestead cabins, school houses, bars and more.
It is an extraordinary place.
Self guided, you can wander in and out of each of these cabins at your own pace and that makes it a hugely interesting and fun "town" to explore.
We had bumped into Barb earlier in the day while taking in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and later we would meet up with her (and spend 2 hours or so together) as we enjoyed Old Trail Town.
It was evening by this time and we were bundled up against the cold.
Old Trail Town is now closed for the winter but a few weeks before Christmas each year it opens for one day.
Local volunteers decorate each cabin for the holidays, entrance is free, Christmas cookies and hot chocolate are served, and the locals (which I guess sorta-kinda includes us) can enjoy this gift to the community.
It is something unique for local residents - something available only to them a few months after the last of the tourists have left for the season - and that makes it very special.
Wandering through the front entrance............
One side of the gift shop, located close to the entrance.........
So...........we ate cookies and hot chocolate for lunch at the BBCW earlier in the day and then ate cookies and hot chocolate again for dinner at Old Trail Town.
Not exactly a well balanced diet, but thankfully we don't do that everyday.
In fact the snack barn was our first stop before heading through the town in earnest.
Volunteers served food and drink and a singer decked out in cowboy clothing sang old western songs while locals visited with each other................
For those who have never been to Old Trail Town, the best time to see this outdoor museum is during the day when the weather is warm.
There are old time artifacts everywhere you turn - on the grounds and packed into every cabin, and if you have enough time and interest you could easily spend 6 hours in this place.
A few weeks before Christmas, in the cold and in the dark, many of those artifacts were hidden from view and lost in the shadows.
You could still see much, but the focus of the evening were the decorations that were blended with the old.
The beautiful and the rustic sitting together in wonderful and unexpected combinations.
Some of the pictures are a little blurry because of the lack of light, but most turned out fine...................
I don't remember this dogs' name but he was holding court with other volunteers from the local Animal Shelter who had decorated this particular cabin.
He was very sweet, and I spent a few minutes getting to know this beautiful boy.
He was sweet, gentle and accepting of the humans that visited with him.
He is 8 years old.
He has lived at the shelter for 7 years.
Nobody knows why he has been overlooked for a permanent home for all these years, but he is loved by the shelter volunteers none-the-less and that fact was obvious in how accepting of strangers he really was.
A very sweet boy.
They want him to find a "forever home" but love him and unconditionally accept him until that occurs.
If we had our own "forever home"....................
Locals contentedly wandering from one exhibit to another, one cabin to another...............
An old hearse stands beside this Christmas tree.
I was disappointed to see that the full-on picture that I had snapped of it turned out blurry, so this one will have to do.....................
This volunteer decorated four cabins for the event, after two volunteers pulled out at the last minute.
And then he showed up in costume for the open house, and wandered the grounds greeting visitors.................
Go west young man, and grow up with the country...............John Babsone Lane Soule
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