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Show H2 ‘TheSalpLake Tribune TRAVEL Sunday, November 20,1994_ cs COOL aan aa Buffalo Bill Was a Showmanto the End — And His Town, Cody, Keeps Up Tradition ByGary A. Warner ORANGE COUNTYREGISTER He fought for the Union in the Civil War, battled Indians and speculated on land andrailroads _IF YOU GO beforesettling on a career as one ORANGE COUNTYREGISTER Where to Stay: Old West fans won't want to miss the Irma Hotel, built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill Cody. It’s decked out in gaudy gaslight-era de- of the biggest circus showmen of all time. Near the end of his life he moved to a tiny hamlet in the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyo- ming. Humble man that he was, henamed the place after himself. Cody. Col. William Frederick Cody, better known as the long-haired, tassel-coated Buffalo Bill of Western legend, went to the big saloon in the sky 77 years ago. But the mountainside townthat bears his name, just down Highway 20 from Yellowstone Nation- al Park, still radiates a kind of faux Wild West persona that Buffalo Bill would love. On recentfall afternoon, the town’s mainstreet, Sheridan Avenue, was lined with 500 weathered, leather-clad men and women saddling up fora longride. The Harley Owners Group was gathering in Codyto start a 500mile motorcycle touring rally through Wyoming and Montana. “Cody’s a friendly place with a lot of history and scenery — and it’s a town that knowshow to have a good time,” said Linda Peavy, events coordinator for the 230,000-member group known by the acronym HOG. Serious Drinking: Down at the Irma Hotel, built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill and named after his daughter, the afternoon drinking was getting raucous. Men and wo:men in cowboyhats laughed, ha- rangued and sometimes shoved one anotherover shots of whiskey and tequila. Squint your eyes and the bar would seem to be sceneright out of some John Waynehorseopera Only by eavesdropping do you realize that these aren’t cowboys and cowgirls, but mostly hired hands working at the dozens of outfitting companies that for a price will take city slickers out to bag deeror hooktrout. Today, Cody is a bustling tourist town whosestreets are lined with shops selling everything from $5 T-shirts to $1,500 handwoven Navajo rugs. But don’t shed anytearsfor yet another famed Western townlost to yogurt shops, taco stands and those cheesy photo parlors where you can dress up in a Stetson and six-gun for a 19th-century-style photograph. Cody wasborn a tourist attraction, planned by turn-of-the-century developers to be a home to dude ranches for rich Easterners “andan overnightstop forthe travelers heading 80 miles west to Yellowstone National Park. Buffalo Bill was broughtin to give the townhis marketable name and his Old Westcachet. The long-dead showman remains the city’s top attraction, headlining the sleek Buffalo Bill Historical Center on the western edge of town. It’s actually several museumsin one. The Whitney Gallery of Western Art was established by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, oneof thecelebrity “dudes” who boughtland early in the century. It features art of the West, including some impressive paintings by Albert Bierstadt. Whitney was also the founder of New York's Whitney Museum, which workedto bring contempo- cor. A little worn and noisy, but lots of fun. Double room: $43. 1192 Sheridan Ave., (307) 587- 21, Where to Eat: The Irma Grill is a huge room with a ter- ra-cotta ceiling and the famed $100,000 cherrywood bar Buffalo Bill built with money from rated so 1540. Amongthe 4,000 firearms, gun buffs will want to seek out the .454 Casull revolver, believed to be the most powerful handgun ever made — never mind Clint Eastwood's claims for the .44 Magnum in “Dirty Harry.” Butthe centerpiece of the complex is the Buffalo Bill Museum, Britain’s Queen Victoria. The lush interior is a can't-miss, evenif the food andservice are subpar.Stick to the big steaks and hugeslabsof prime rib and you won't go away disappointed. Dinnerfor two, $35. In the Irma Hotel. What to See: The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, actually four museumscovering Buffalo Bill’s life, Western art, firearms and Indian artifacts. Usually open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., but hours change with weather and season. Closed December-February. Admission: $8 for adults, $6.50 for seniors, $4 for students and $2 for children ages 6-12. Under 6, free. 720 Sheridan Ave., (307) 587-4771 yet another Western circus venture paid his widow Louisa $10,000 to have him buried near the circus site at the foot of Denver’s Lookout Mountain. For many years, the gravesite was a populartourist attraction, coupled with a Wild West show. Buffalo Bill Cody was a showman to the end — and beyond. Give the Gift of th HOLY LAND this Christmas Help yourloved ones understand the true meaning of the season by giving them trip to the Holy Land. Our 10-day Israel tour features LDS guides and departs June 1, 1995 on the inauguralflight of El Al Israel’s newestjet. This tour also features extensions to Amman,Jordan. The memorieswill last a lifetime. which traces William Cody’s long career from Civil Warsoldier to Pony Express rider to Western scout, his friendships with Kit Carson, WildBill Hickok,Sitting Bull and President Theodore Roosevelt, andhis rise as the popularizer of the Wild West shows that helped build the myth of frontier life in the East and throughout the capitals of Eu- rope. At the height of his career at the turn ofthe century, Buffalo Bill was earning more than a million dollars a year when a 20- Holly & Betty’s me)Pe nses ey aco]e 33 o Serving Ogden,S.L.C., Provo, So. Utah etTeeEL ‘Come Join ROSE PARADE'S Sleep at Irma’s: Buffalo Bill’s cherrywood bar. Cody built it with $100,000 he received from $269 Vato unmDec. 1 © $229 Vauo Dec. 1-15 © $269 Vaup Jan. 15 - Mar. 18 EUROPE FARES| SHORT & SWEET Mesquite NeseWat Wild ’s, Disneyland ORUniversal asane Seats for ‘oessevege Lasa @ FLY PKG. eve Were ape Sicay nee YELLOWSTONEIN THE WINTER Feb 8-10, 1995 w/Professional Guide, ime Rib Dinner Mazatlan Los Cabos from?299?5nigns Puerto Vallarta’ 0n°399%*,nici Cancun from 5349"; nights Available for midweek departures Dec. 31 - Jan. 29, 1995, *Puerto Vallarta: Saturday departures. Call for other departure dates. Price includes round-trip air from SLC, hotel and transfers. Price is per HAWAII person, based on double occupancy. Restrictions apply. Call for details. March 14-21, 1995. Round-trip from Salt LakeCity. Winterseasonfares. Restrictions and holiday surcharges apply. Prices valid for Wednesday departures Jan.18 - Feb.8. EUROPE LDS TEMPLE TOUR Oct. 17-28, 1995 $2,598 pp Frankfurt Germany, Freiburg Germany, Beme Switzerland boreahd BEJING..... $1049 SHANGHAI . . $1029 TAIPEI. ...... . $649 MANILA... ... 5799 HONG KONG. . $699 TOKYO ...... $529 SINGAPORE. . . $799 BANGKOK. .. . 779 JAKARTA. » $959 for other departure dates. LAUGHLIN (New Year from? 1 AQ 3%, Air onlyV989" Prices available for 2 nights. Friday departure December 30. Calfr other packages. FORN ¢ SPREES Los Angeles frost229 San Diego fibte229 San Francisco ;.°229 the museum with her name — nor any other museum in town — con- tains any work or mention of Cody’s most famous native son, Jackson Pollock. Includes: Round-trip air on Delta Air Lines, 3 nights hotel and 3-day carrental. - Pictures of CowboyLife: Pollock, who revolutionized American painting in the 1950s, was born in Cody, but his family moved away when hewasa child. You'll find Western artist Charlie Round-trip from LA. Restrictions andholiday surcharges apply. CTS CAIRO....... $949 NAIROBI .. . $1619 JOHANNESBURGS1 539 Round-trip from SLC.Restrictions andholiday surchargesapply. Call for ce Based on double ee incy. Restrictionsaj "San Francisco Cy Spree includes Al carrental Call now for UofU& BYU bowl packages! Belden’s pictures of cowboy life in the Cody Museum,butnone of Pollock’s pioneering abstract expressionistart. = e = RBG cal your travel specialist o Call the Magi Number’ t Vv 800-937-7777 24-HoursToll-Free or Direct (702) 597-7700 Non-smoking rome avaiable. All maj ret card accepted WK ‘collections of antiquerifles, shot- ‘guns andpistols, some dating to LONDON ..... $529 BRUSSELS ..... 5609 FRANKFURT . . . . $629 BERLIN ....... $629 MILAN/ROME. . 8669 ZURICH, ees: $629 GENEVA...... $629 USBON....... 5649 BARCELONA. . . $649 PARIS. des a #539 MADRID ...... $649 WARSAW ..... $669 ATHENS ...... 5859 a rary American art to the public. So it’s doubly ironic that neither The Plains Indian Museum showsthe migrations, growth and near-extinction of American Indians in western North America.Its collection of artifacts — ranging from prehistoric arrowheads to modern textiles — is among the largestin the UnitedStates. ‘The Cody Firearms Museum ~helds one of the nation’s largest mayapply. Call fordetails. Dec. 30-Jan. Gas‘5 ti. Dano its cowboys, it’s actually a collec- tion of cabins and buildings truckedinto the site and set down along a make-believe main street. Checkout what city fathers say is the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang’s cabin, where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out from the law. Theonething you won’t find in Cody is Buffalo Bill himself. He had wantedto be buried on Cedar Mountain, just above Cody. But he died in 1917 during trip to Denver and his then-partner in VauJAN. 15 - MaR.18 2 To Choose From @ Britain’s Queen Victoria during a European tour of his “Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.” But these days the bar is in a quiet side of the main dining room, mostly used by single breakfast customerseating fried eggs and bacon. The owners long ago opted to move the sometimes rowdy drinking andfighting to a modern,ramshackle bar near the hotel's corner entrance. Cody's self-appointed role as popularizer of the Old West is also evident at Old Trail Town, just north of the city. Thoughit looks like a ghost town, bereft of Packagesincludeair from LAX, accommodations,transfers, flowerlei greeting & 1/2 day sightseeing tour! Restrictions from $2909 Vauo Dec, 1-15 Air from Los Angeles and 1-day car packagesalso available: Cody. opulent Irma Hotel. Once upon a time, you could belly up for a shot of whiskey at the hotel’s ornate carved from 5339 Vaup untit Dec. 1 from $399 ounceribeye steak cost 5 cents in legacy lives on downtown, where you cansleep and eat in the once- 5 NIGHT PACKAGES HOTEL / CASINO / LAS VEGAS A Circus Cieus Enterprise All fares in this ad are subject to change without notice © Restrictions may apply uw Salt Lake........521-7850 a Eagle Gate......359-5911 (Open "tt :00 weekdays - 6:00 Saturdays) 221-9700 399-5506 a Holladay......... a St. George......628-3633 BW LOQAN.....0.0000 753-2544 8 /daho Falls = Boise Mesa @ Blackfoot Murdock Travel is an employee-owned company- Buy your travel from an owner A 7 4 |
