Cody, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park Trip Journal

I flew out of my home base, Portland, OR, in the late afternoon and enjoyed an unusually clear view from the plane of Mt. Hood's southern flanks - you can even see historic Timberline Lodge if you look closely at the lower right-hand side of this photo. After change in Salt Lake City and a quick meal at my favorite restaurant in that airport, Squatters Brew Pub, I landed at the small, convenient, and very modern (it opened in late 2010, replacing an older facility) Yellowstone Regional Airport in Cody.

From late May through about the end of October, Cody is a perfect base for visiting Yellowstone, and it has several cool attractions in its own right. It's just 60 mi to the park's East Entrance (which is closed in winter, when access is only from West and North entrances). Here's more on access to Yellowstone's five entrances.

I was lucky enough to take a sneak-preview tour of what's sure to become one of the region's leading attractions, as well as one of the best museums anywhere on the plight of Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II. The Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center, about 15 miles northeast of Cody via U.S. 14) opened in August 2011 at the site of one of the country's largest Japanese internment centers, which was home to more than 14,000 detained Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II. The museum is beautifully designed with re-created barracks and fascinating exhibits.

I even had the good fortune to talk a bit with former detainee Bacon Sakatani, who lived at Heart Mountain with his family as a young boy. And on the morning of the museum's official opening, I had the chance to listen to dedication speeches by Cody resident and prominent politician Alan Simpson (a conservative Republican who's nevertheless been surprisingly supportive of Gay Rights over the years), his good friend Norman Mineta (who was interned at Heart Mountain as a boy, which is when he and Simpson became friends), and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

From the entrance hall, once you've paid the $18 admission (good for two consecutive days), you can enter full museums dedicated to: Buffalo Bill Cody's legacy, Western Art (the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, with paintings by some of the West's foremost landscape artists), Plains Indians, Firearms, and Greater Yellowstone Natural History. I found the latter, the Draper Museum of Natural History, to be the most impressive, but they're all well-done.

In Cody I stayed at the Best Western Sunset Motor Inn, which is great - rooms are nicely updated and clean, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a couple of blocks away, and the rates and reasonable.

But during my handful of strolls and jogs around town, the lodging option that I kept noticing again and again was an upscale, beautifully restored little boutique property called the Chamberlin Inn. It's a swanky, 24-unit hotel, and I popped inside to look around and was very impressed with the artfully decorated rooms and leafy courtyard gardens. It's swanky yet still laid-back, which fits Cody's personality. A cool side note: The lobby contains an ancient guest register signed by one of the inn's most famous former guests, Ernest Hemingway.

The quite famous and happily rowdy Cody Stampede Rodeo takes place over Independence Weekend each year, and it draws participants and fans from all over the world. I can only imagine what a blast this is, although I'm sure it's also amazingly crowded. From June through August, however, the stampede grounds are host to the daily Cody Nite Rodeo, which is great fun and worth checking out even if you're not naturally inclined toward rodeo adventures.

The night I attended, the grandstands were probably half full, which still translates to plenty of loud cheering. The rodeo lasts a couple of hours tops and includes the usual events: bareback riding, roping, barrel racing, and the incredibly dangerous-looking bull riding. This is about as all-American, Wild West as you can get - I'm sure it's not everybody's cup of tea. But I loved it. To whatever extent much of America has come to look similar and interchangeable, an event like the Nite Rodeo feels remarkably distinct and integral to a genuinely Western small town like Cody.

I spent nearly four days in Cody, and the days were pretty jam-packed. In addition to the highlights above, I'd strongly recommend a few other activities. The relaxing float trips along the Shoshone River are great on a sunny day - the rapids are pretty gentle, so don't expect rip-roaring excitement. But the river passes through a beautiful gorge.

Old Trail Town Cody is an interesting collection of vintage frontier cabins and buildings from throughout the region that have been relocated to one plot on the edge of town - it's worth an hour or so of exploring.

I also greatly enjoyed simply strolling around Cody's downtown, which has a number of historic buildings, vintage homes, and some first-rate furniture galleries - this is a hub of hand-crafted, high-end furniture making, and you'll find some stunning pieces here.

As you might guess of a laid-back Western town, Cody is very much a place of casual steak, chops, and burger joints. I enjoyed pretty much every meal, in larger part because, as straightforward American chow goes, I'm happy with a great burger and beer (my favorite local brews come from Grand Teton Brewing, which is actually in Victor, Idaho, but available at many local restaurants (try the Old Faithful Ale).

My best meals were at The Terrace, which has the most ambitious and creative American food in town, plus a nice wine list; and the Silver Dollar Bar, an old-school tavern with a dance hall and expansive patio - the burgers here are huge and delicious. It's worth dining at the historic Historic Irma Hotel to soak up its rich ambience, and Wyoming Rib & Chop House serves very good red-meat fare with some Cajun and Southern accents - it's in an elegant space, too.