From the Basin to the Plains

Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.

- CANDY MOULTON

Scotsman Peter McCulloch ramrodded a crew that trailed 3,800 head of cattle into Wyoming's Bighorn Basin in 1879. The herd was owned by Judge William A. Carter and Carter Cattle Company which operated in southwest Wyoming near Fort Bridger. His herd became the first cattle trailed across Wyoming to form the basis of the industry in the region southeast of Yellowstone National Park.

McCulloch established a headquarters for the new cattle operation on a stream he called Carter Creek, and he also named Carter Mountain. The mountain is a dividing line between the Wood River Drainage near Meeteetse and the South Fork of the Shoshone River west of Cody, a town named for the frontiersman turned entertainer William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Settlement in the Bighorn Basin increased as more livestock owners moved to the area, and farmers came as well. The town of Cody, named for Buffalo Bill, developed when federal reclamation projects provided muchneeded water for irrigation. But Buffalo Bill's fame attracted hunters and dignitaries from across the world. Caroline Lockhart, a writer who owned and edited the Cody Enterprise newspaper, was a founder of the Cody Stampede, a rodeo that is still going strong every Fourth of July. In 2024, the Stampede will be held July 1-4. If you love rodeo and can't be in Cody over Independence Day, then don't miss a chance to attend the Cody Nite Rodeo, which is held every night from June 1 to August 31.

The Cody Heritage Museum located a short walk from the Irma Hotelwhich was built by Buffalo Bill and named for his daughter-highlights Lockhart's story and stories of other townspeople. Another few blocks away is the world-class Buffalo Bill Center of the West with its museums devoted to the area's art, wildlife, Indian tribes, firearms and of course the great showman himself.

Casper