Adventures in Kirwin, Wyoming

Our first “official” field trip from The Cody took us on a spectacular journey to Kirwin, Wyoming - a small abandoned mining town 38 miles south west of Meeteetse. We’ve decided to take our fans on some adventures around the Big Horn Basin and luckily chose this one first, since it’s going to be impossible to get there soon. The road leading back to this spot is rugged, to say the least, and will most likely become impassable as the winter progresses.

We couldn’t have asked for a more incredible day! We left Cody in 40 degree fall sunshine and ended up in 5 inches of snow with temps requiring winter coats and mittens. Amazing! The road to Kirwin is only a nine-mile stretch from the Trailhead, but takes about 45 minutes in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. It’s hard to imagine miners getting in and out of this desolate country, but they did.



Mine Shaft Building



Kirwin sprang to life after gold and silver were discovered on Spar Mountain in the mid 1880’s by William Kirwin and Harry Adams while on a deer hunting trip. Numerous shafts were dug around this time including, Bryan, Pickwick, Tumlum, Wolf and Galena Ridge mines. Most were operated in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. In 1891 the Wood River Mining Company was formed and by 1897, the first ore was shipped out of Kirwin.

By the early 1900’s, 200 families lived and worked in Kirwin. There was a hotel, two general stores, a sawmill, the headquarters building, a post office, stables and meat storage sheds.  It was a hard life for miners and their families. They used heavy hammers to drill holes for the powder charges and after the rocks were broken up, the miners loaded the ore into cars with shovels and either pushed the cars themselves or used donkeys to pull the cars out of the mines. The ore was transported to Meeteetse every other day by wagon. Later, air and steam powered mechanical drills were used, but these produced clouds of rock dust that got into the miners’ lungs and made for early deaths from miners’ consumption.

The summers were beautiful up the canyon, but winters were brutal. The isolation was overwhelming and there was always the threat of avalanches – known as “white death.” On Feb. 5, 1907, after days of heavy snowfall, an avalanche roared down Brown Mountain killing three people and damaging several buildings and homes. After this devastation, the folks packed up and left, leaving behind cabins, shaft houses and equipment.

Like many early day mining camps, there appeared to be more money made for the investors than what was taken out in ore. The Kirwin mines never found enough gold or silver in quantities necessary to make the mine viable. Not only was there very little ore and no railroad to transport it, but in 1907 there was a national financial panic that drastically cut investment funds.

Today, the stabilization and restoration of Kirwin is shared by the Shoshone National Forest, the State Historical Preservation Office, the Abandoned Mine Land Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and many volunteers.

Of the many fascinating stories surrounding this abandoned mining town, my favorite is the one about Amelia Earhart. In 1934, after visiting the Double D Dude Ranch, she asked Carl Dunrud to build her a cabin in this wilderness. Unfortunately, the cabin was never completed because Miss Earhart disappeared on her around-the-world adventure.

Another interesting piece was that Kirwin, unlike other rough and tumble mining towns didn’t have a single saloon or brothel. There was, however, the town fortune teller, Luciel the Palmist and when it was discovered that she was doing more than reading palms, she was asked to pack up and leave the town.

Well, that’s about it for our Kirwin adventure – except that Celes and I saw a huge wolf on the way in and followed some pretty fresh tracks for nine miles. So much for there being no wolves around Meeteetse!

Welcome to The Cody - a little about our hotel

The design concept for The Cody, as a luxury boutique hotel, was formulated a number of years ago with the intent of providing business travelers and family vacationers with a luxury hotel experience previously unavailable in lodging establishments in Cody, WY. The design structure was intended to remind one of the appearance of Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park.  Perhaps our lobby is most representative of the interior design created to remind us of early western hospitality and elegance.

Construction of the hotel began in 2007 and was completed in 12 months with the Grand Opening on May 1, 2008. The building was designed with 75 rooms and is environmentally friendly. Not only is the construction “green”, but the daily operating practices have the environment in mind as well. Energy consumption is limited by the use of state of the art environmental control systems and window casements. The wood trim throughout the building was reclaimed from wood discarded during the recent remodeling of the Old Faithful Inn and other historic inns. Interior paint colors are subdued earth tones which maintain fidelity with the earth colors in the Cody/Greater Yellowstone area.

Each guest room in the building is equipped with a microwave, mini-refrigerator, flat screen TV, DVD player, coffee maker, hair dryer, plush towels, ironing boards and terry cloth bathrobes. Each room has either one king bed or two queen beds and our guests often rave about the comfort of the beds. We promise you a wonderful night’s sleep! Deluxe level rooms have a balcony/patio for your enjoyment. A small number of our deluxe rooms have extra space and a fold-out queen size leather sofa which can sleep two additional persons (total of 6 persons in those rooms). There are 6 suites available which, in addition to the items mentioned above, contain a Jacuzzi, wet bar, and a large sitting area. Three of those six suites are equipped with a gas fireplace for an added touch of romantic elegance.

There are many additional features at The Cody which help to make your luxury lodging experience complete. We operate a complimentary shuttle service to anywhere in the Cody area including the airport and our downtown area. We have an indoor heated pool with lap lane for those who like to exercise and a Jacuzzi and dry sauna for those just wanting to relax. Adjacent to the swimming pool area is our health club with a variety of aerobic machines and weights. For those more inclined to outdoor exercise there are an infinite number of places to walk and jog. Should you be more interested in a bicycle ride please take advantage of our complimentary Chrysler touring bicycles. We have a guest laundry for your convenience and 24 front desk help.

Breakfast in our Cottonwood Creek dining hall is complimentary and expanded, from the norm, to include such hot items as egg casserole, sausage gravy and biscuits, waffles and French toast as well as cereals, bagels, breads, juices, yogurt flavors, sliced fresh fruit such as strawberries, and bananas. We serve our breakfast on china plates with silverware and linen napkins following our “green” concept.

For those inclined to relax outdoors on our stream-side patio we offer comfortable bench seats popular in the evenings for sitting by the gas fireplace. If you enter the lobby of The Cody in late afternoon or early evening you will find a tray of complimentary freshly made Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies and our delicious iced tea.

The Cody has a business center which is available to all guests. It is located in our library and contains two laptop computers which guests may use to surf the net, read email or download boarding passes. For business guests we make available a fax machine and copy printer. In addition to the machines of a business center we provide locations in our lobby which are conducive to very small group business gatherings in the comfort and relaxation of a fabulous “home-environment”. The Cody has free Wi-Fi capability and local and domestic long distance telephone service is available at no charge.

For in-house guests or others requiring meeting space The Cody offers our Shoshone River Room which is capable of seating up to 75 persons in a “theatre-style” setting. That room may be divided, into two separate rooms for smaller meeting needs. The room is audio/video sophisticated through a ceiling mounted projector that is easily connected to your laptop for Power Point presentations including audio. The types of “meetings” we most often host are training seminars, board meetings, legal depositions, Christmas parties, weddings and/or wedding receptions. Catering arrangements can be easily handled by our staff if you choose. Our board room table is without a doubt the most unique in Yellowstone Country and was created especially for The Cody by local furniture designer, John Gallis. If you have questions about the singular use of our meeting room or how you can put together a combined package of guest rooms and meeting room services please contact our Sales Manager.

We are absolutely the best in Cody at providing our guests with help planning dining decisions. We provide a map at check-in which shows the locations of all the restaurants in Cody and we will recommend those restaurants which our guests most prefer. If you choose, we will use our shuttle to drop you off and pick you up from local restaurants. If you require carry out service from these restaurants just let us know and we will pick up your meal selection and deliver it to your room.

Because of our experience working with visitors, as well as our own personal experiences travelling through Yellowstone country, our staff members are experts at answering your questions concerning all facets of vacation trip planning in and around Yellowstone and the Big Horn Basin. All you need is to ask for our help.

Last, but far from least, we urge you to use the web to check out our website: The Cody; to like us on Facebook; and to look at our latest videos on YouTube. You will find specific information about The Cody on our website but the other websites stick mostly to highlighting the reasons you come to Cody/Yellowstone/Big Horn Basin country. We believe your experiences in the mountain country of the Cody/Yellowstone area will speak to your sense of yearning for freedom. You will find freedom to roam without the usual constraints of your home area. Come horseback riding, hiking, sightseeing, rafting, backpacking into the wilderness, searching for sightings of animals which roam only in this country; just enjoy the vastness of our mountains, prairies and high deserts. We are confident you will want to come back again. Please don’t make the mistake that some others make which is to allow insufficient time for this area and most wind up wishing they had spent more time here. By the time you try to fit in visits to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Cody Nite Rodeo, Cody Trolley, Cody Gunfighters, sightseeing over the Beartooth Highway, the wild horse range and Hidden Treasure boat tours……and, oh yes, Yellowstone National Park, you will need at least two nights in Cody. We look forward to seeing you at The Cody!

Yellowstone tops 3 million visitors for the third straight year!

Despite the cold temperatures in May and June, Yellowstone National Park has seen over 3 million visitors for the third year in a row. This translates to a great summer in Cody despite the struggling economy. In fact, people find that a trip to Yellowstone is one of the best vacations for the money.

Springtime in Yellowstone was kind of hit or miss, but the fall weather now is more than making up for it. Even when Yellowstone closes its gate due to inclimate weather, there's tons to do in our little western town. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is always a fantastic draw for Cody, or a visit to the Buffalo Bill Dam and Visitors Center can keep the tourists entertained for hours. There's white water rafting - especially fun in late spring and early fall,  and  The Cody Trolley Tours running several times a day during summer. Shopping downtown can't be beat and the area restaurants offer a wide range of cuisine, both western and ethnic!

Be sure and stay tuned for more updates on our terrific town as well as other parts of the Big Horn Basin.

Feel free to friend us on Facebook for more updates and have a wonderful fall day!

The Cody

Tourist season in Cody

Hello from the Cody Hotel!

After a slow start at the end of May and the beginning of June, tourist season came in with a bang! Due to spring snow in Yellowstone Park, some of us were a bit concerned about how the summer would fair, but here at The Cody, our numbers are up from last year!

We're still going strong as of this weekend with several schools in town for swim meets and track and field events. We look forward to a busy winter and thanks to all that have made our summer successful!