4th August, 2017

Yes, we are still here. Indeed, I am typing this in Las Vegas at half time whilst watching the English Premier League – and it is not yet 8.00 am! We are off to Death Valley soon, but I will try to catch up on a few days of our travels.

Well, I think I left you in Cody after our great trip to Yellowstone Park at near enough to midnight. So today was our day off and we went into Cody for a bit of shopping, mostly windows as prices are not too brilliant at present. We had a quick look at the Irma Hotel, named after Buffalo Bill’s youngest daughter. Very wide streets, lots of souvenir shops and art galleries and places to eat accompanied by the thud, thud, thud of Harley-Davidsons cruising up and down.

Now, the whole purpose of the trip has been to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of my great great grandfather, William Frederick Cody, aka Buffalo Bill. For the genealogists of you out there, he had 4 children, two of whom died young – his son, Kit Carson Cody at about 5 years old and one daughter, Orra, when she was about 11 or 12. That left two daughters, Arta and, 18 years younger than her, Irma (and no, I don’t know where they got the names from!). My grandmother, Arta Clara, known as Clara, was Arta’s daughter and she also had one brother. Clara married my English grandfather, Frank Hamilton Benn in 1910, when she was 19 and he was 42 (!). They had 3 children, one of whom was my father. Hope that all makes sense!

So, the first event was a picnic in the evening. It did take us a little while to find it, but we made it eventually and met up with the myriad cousins from both sides of the Atlantic. The Benns were well represented with 3 of my 4 sisters there and my brother, my first cousin and two of his children, and two of my nieces as well as various partners and spouses making some 23 in total. And then there were the American descendents of Arta and those of Irma making up another 31. Luckily my cousin, Michael had provided us with a brilliant family tree and we were all equipped with name tags! No photos from the picnic, I regret, or from our trip to the Silver Dollar Saloon (featured above!) afterwards (probably just as well!).

5th August, 2017

(Now writing this just before heading for the airport to come home!)!

It was an early start for many of us as there were a number of activities planned for our first full day of the reunion. Our little party set off up the valley for about an hour to go zip lining. Caroline, being pregnant and Chris, having done it before, opted out, but there was still a merry and enthusiastic band who got equipped and trucked up to the start of 5 lines down what in winter is a ski slope. Great fun, though over quite quickly, but a lot of laughs and screaming! The last part was where you walked off a ledge, attached to a cable. One’s whole instinct was not to do it, but we all did, though cousin Kimberly almost had to be pushed!

Close by is Pahaska Teepee, which was a hunting lodge and hotel that Buffalo Bill built as a stop off on the way to Yellowstone which was opened in 1905 and was the site of a barbecue lunch for the reunion. Very picturesque. The building itself is very original, all wood and had some 24 bedrooms. We were joined by the rest of the party, some of whom had been on a two hour horse ride. A wonderful lunch, lots of chat and a series of generational photos of descendents, one of which I attach below.

It was then back to Cody, a rest at the motel, before our next engagement, a dinner in the Museum followed by the Dan Miller Show, featuring lots of very well-performed country and western numbers.

A full and excellent day. Some repaired to the saloon, most went to bed!

6th August, 2017

Another early start with a scrumptious breakfast at our host’s house before heading off for some white water rafting. It was great fun, relatively calm, though with just the right amount of splashing and shipped water and wet clothing. Sorry, no photos as I did not want to risk the camera.

A quick change back at the hotel as we had an appointment at the museum (the Buffalo Bill Center of the West) at 1.00 with a personal tour of the vaults to look at some of the artefacts that don’t make it into the displays the whole time. We were even able to handle some of them, once attired in white gloves of course, including his Winchester rifle and one of his Stetson hats. As you will see, we were also shown boots, saddles and some of his outfits. The one below, that was obviously not worn by him, was the wedding dress of his daughter, Arta, my great grandmother, which my father had donated to the museum. Arta and her husband Horton Boal both died at the ashes of 37 in 1904 and 1902 respectively when my grandmother was between 12 and 13.

We then went round the museum – or at least some of it as it is BIG! There are in fact 5 parts to it – one on BB, one on the Plains Indians, one on weapons, one on art and one on nature. Guess which one I went round first! Can you spot the family likeness (no, nor can I!).

And finally, to round off a fun-packed day, we grabbed a quick and excellent burger at the Silver Dollar before heading out to an evening at the rodeo. We had allocated seating and were introduced to the crowd (not individually) and settled down to some bronco riding, some lassoing competitions, races and bull riding (mostly falling off!). Nice one of my great niece, Lucy on the bull!

Ok, time to post this (we are now at Oakland Airport!). I will try to finish the tour from back home in Blighty.