I confess. I’ve been super busy acting like a tourist here in Cody, Wyoming! Why would I do that? I’ve been doing the research for Cody Wyoming – A Visitor Guide, my latest book. Even though I’ve lived in Cody for 17 years, I needed to “revisit” the town and see it through the eyes of the tourist. I had to overlook the fact fact that I live here and see these things everyday.

This is what I learned about this little town I live in. It’s amazing! There are so many things to do here that if I was vacationing I would absolutely come to Cody! Especially if I lived overseas or in a big City. Yellowstone is only 52 miles away.  What seems like a hour drive takes about two. The landscape is so gorgeous that you really don’t want to drive very fast or you may miss it. There are many things to see along the way too.

The Smith house. Weird but absolutely fascinating to see. Your driving along in the Wapiti Valley and taking in the mountain vistas. The views are phenomenal,  when all of a sudden looming to the left of you, sitting on a hill is this weird monstrosity of a house.  The Smith Mansion.

And you’re thinking WTH is that? If your wondering the same thing here is some information about the Smith house. I found Sunny Larsen’s web site, very interesting to know that she is in the process of restoring it.

The History- Francis Smith began construction  of the mansion in 1973 with a dream. He wanted  to create a home that would naturally fit into the beautiful Wapiti Valley, ie: all wood and majestic. Well, Mr. Smith died in 1992 while working on the mansion and it was not finished and stood for a long time untouched. His granddaughter, Sunny Larsen is the new owner and is currently restoring the Mansion. She has created the Smith Mansion Preservation Project. Amazing! Click on the picture above and read more about the Smith Mansion Preservation Project.

Ok, back to the story. As I was researching Cody I found out that Cody has a little more than 800,000 visitors each and every year. Visitors that stay in Cody for one – ten days just to take in the views and visit Yellowstone. That is a lot of people! I’ve run into people regularly, who when they find out that I actually live here start asking me a ton of questions. Where is the best place to eat? How long does it take to tour the museum? Where’s the post office?

Well, now it was my turn to ‘play tourist’ and ask the questions. I literally drove all over Cody visiting all the hotels, motels, restaurants, gift shops, white water rafting shops and smoke shops. I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which is absolutely lovely, I visited all the city parks and I drove up the NorthFork Hwy through Wapiti Valley to the east gate of Yellowstone and renewed my seasonal pass.

I met some lovely business owners who were more than happy to show me around and offer me vital information,  and then I  had some business owners and employees who were so busy yapping with their co-workers or on their cell phones who completely ignored me without any kind of acknowledgment that they ever saw me. Interesting.

I didn’t mention the negative things in my book,  giving the place the best write up, as minimal as it was, that I could. I focused on the positive highlights and avoided the personalization of my visit as much as possible.

Yes, it has been an adventure and a fun one at that. As for the Amazon Publishing process? Well, it was difficult at first but somehow I got through it. The next one will be much easier I’m sure. The next one? Yes, I will be doing a Red Lodge Visitor Guide, a Northfork Hwy tour and then the big one, Yellowstone Visitor Guide book. I’m stoked! Hopefully it won’t take me 4 or so months to get it done!

About Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide - This book was created for Amazon Kindle users and app users who prefer to carry their libraries in their pocket or have their books ever ready on the desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad or Android. The Kindle form makes it so easy for readers to navigate throughout the book to find the information they need fast.

The Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide book is a handy little reference guide for anyone that is new to Cody. If you want to go sightseeing but don’t know where to begin, I highlighted all of Cody’s attractions. The book has vital information about each place, a short narrative describing what they will see or do, with phone numbers and addresses of each place. The only thing missing in the book is a map of Cody, but, I am working on breaking up the major sections of Cody and will update the book before the 2012 vacation season starts. So a digital map will be available.

Sometimes the unexpected happens, like a tire blowout or engine trouble. If you need a mechanic, the Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide will help you to find one fast! The Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide is a handy dandy little reference guide showing you all that Cody has to offer. Stuck without a RV spot? Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide can help you with that! Need a cheap place to lay your head? Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide will tell you the best spots in town. Want something old and historical? How about a 5 star uppity up hotel? A wonderful updated historical Inn? Yup! Got that too.

The Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide leaves out very little, except the local fishing hot spots! But, that will also be available in the 2nd edition, Spring of 2012. (Working on that)

So, if a Cody Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park trip is in the cards for you, pick up Cody Wyoming Visitor Guide and start planning your trip. Map out the many attractions and historic sites you will not want to miss.

On Sale Now at Amazon.com

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