Buffalo Jump and Cooke City: October 4

The hot springs were much hotter in the morning than they were last night, and soaking felt amazing.  I didn’t even have breakfast before going in.  Today we drove to Cody, an adorable western town with a fantastic new winery, Buffalo Jump, which we were lucky enough to stumble upon.  They offer free tastings, and the pours seemed like they nearly filled the glass.  After talking about our foraging adventure, we got the star treatment from owners, Scott and Beckie. They took us on a tour of their operation, a small warehouse and production facility where grapes are brought in, fermented on site in small batches, and the bottles are, corked up, and labeled—all of this by the hands of Beckie and Scott!  Beckie talked about her experience growing up on a ranch, where her family raised Buffalo (hence, the name of the wine).  They cared greatly about their animals, and still do, being mindful of who they sold them to, how they were transported, and how they would be processed.  It was so refreshing to see the care instilled by her family going into the wine she and Scott brewed.  Not only was it made with love, it was absolutely delicious!

After nearly 2 hours at the winery, we decided it was time to move on.  The drive to Cooke City brought the snowstorm we’d been anticipating, as well as the cold temperatures.  It was predicted to be 14 overnight, so we decided it would be best to book a hotel room, and found openings at the Alpine Lodge.  Before settling in, we cleaned out the entire bus of all potential freezables, nearly filling our spacious room with boxes, bottles, and food.  How did all that stuff come out of Butter?  Andre settled in immediately following the completion of our only chore, and turned on the television.  For the next hour or so, he was fixated on Patrick Swayze, not even noticing when I spoke.  Completely zombified.  This is why I threw out my television when I was 18.  It just sucks you in, and the only point of commercials is to tell you that you suck if you don’t buy the latest and greatest new thing.  Who needs that?  It was the best thing I ever did for myself, and certainly accounts for why I spend so much time outdoors.  After a while, I was able to capture his attention with a bottle of our new wine and  some yummy Bozeman cheese. 

In the morning, I woke up from a dream about the bakery up the street and offered to treat Andre to breakfast.  We walked there, in the cold, watching our breath fill the air with moisture. Me in my slippers, my clown feet as Andre says.  When we arrived, we learned that they were closed for the season.  Next door was the only other hotel in town, the Super 8, and I joking suggested we go in to forage free breakfast.  Andre went straight in and asked if we could have a coffee. The friendly clerks kindly said yes, and we ended up talking politics, farming, and homesteading with a native Alaskan for nearly an hour.  Connecting, so much of this trip has been about beautiful people.

Butter didn’t want to start when we got back to our hotel.  It took more than 20 minutes, what felt like 100 turns of the engine, but finally she got going.   Phew… on the road again.