Deb Trotter, Cowboy's Sweetheart

(Thanksgiving inside the Irma Hotel, Cody, Wyoming)

Ever since we moved to Wyoming, Thanksgiving has been different.

Trust me when I say, cooking all that food for three is silly. It’s a pain. Eating leftovers (and there are plenty) gets old real quick.

This year we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel in downtown Cody. If you want to really go back in time and get stuffed like a hungry cowgirl, this is the place.

The Irma, built by Buffalo Bill by 1902 and named after his daughter, Irma, is the real deal. It’s Wild West personified. The bar was a gift to Buffalo Bill Cody from Queen Victoria. It’s a beauty, and right now it’s festooned with red Christmas lights. The tin ceiling, complete with antler chandeliers, as well as the wallpaper and the carpet, are exactly the same as they were over one hundred years ago. Buffalo Bill’s trophies are everywhere – Buffalo, Moose, Elk, Deer, pheasants, foxes, and yes – turkeys, too. There are renderings of some of his friends, like Wild Bill Hickok (one of my personal favorites) all over the walls.

Every time I visit the Irma, I feel that rush of stepping back in time. Thanksgiving Day was no exception.

Got my boots, got my cowboy hat, got my turquoise jewelry. Yep, pardner. I’ve got cowgirl soul, and it feels good. Even my son and my hubby have on their cowboy hats and boots. All we’re missing are guns and spurs.

And true to the western tradition, we have our choice of prime rib or turkey. And my favorites – dressing with gravy and Oysters Rockefeller. Pumpkin Pie. All the extras.

I stood up as we were leaving our hand carved wooden booth and snapped this photo, just to share with my blogging friends. When you click on the photo to enlarge it, notice the guy to the left, the one with the mustache – he doesn’t look too happy that he’s part of the picture (either that, or he just broke a tooth on a turkey leg). The place was full, and I didn’t recognize a soul, which is unusual in a little town this size.

So this cowgirl spent Turkey Day with the cowboys. (I mean really – this is ME. What did you expect?) It’s all good.

I hope all of you were able to spend Thanksgiving amidst family and friends – or at least in a place you love. That’s the thing about Thanksgiving. It’s laid back. No Christmas rush. No scurrying here and there. Just food and love.

Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Trails.

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 7 Comments »

Well, here I am (complete with a Santa Hat and sunglasses) along with my friend, Gina, and Big Harry. Isn’t he something?

Big Harry is a Belgian Draft Horse, also known as a Brabant. One of the strongest equines around, a typical Belgian will grow up to weight about 2000 pounds (that’s one TON!) Let me tell you, Big Harry lives up to his name. He is one mighty piece of horse flesh!

My friend, Jody Horvath, the owner of Reindeer Ranch in downtown Cody, brought Big Harry to her store as part of the Turkey Day celebration. (Yea, pardner, Turkey Day. More about that later). There were photographers there who would don you up with a Christmas scarf & Santa Hat and take your picture with Big Harry for free.

Big Harry was a big show off. He ambled over like a pro and stuck his head right between us. Posed. Then backed up and waited for the next picture. He was so gentle and happy. Loved to be petted. Simply doted on all the attention. Frankly, I wanted to take him with me (but I didn’t have a big enough bed.)

Now. I promised to explain Turkey Day. This is the stuff of which small, down-home, hokey towns can boast. It’s one of the reasons I love Cody. Wanna go back in time 50 years? Then move here.

Every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving, Cody puts on its winter equivalent of July 4th – on a much smaller scale. The Lions Club sponsors a Turkey Shoot. Right across the street is an annual craft fair in the historic Cody Auditorium. All the stores downtown have open houses with hot cider, coffee, tea, (sometimes even wine), and tasty hoerdouvres and cheesecakes and other delectable concoctions. You hit the craft fair, try your chances at the turkey shoot (everyone almost always wins something – my son brought home a turkey AND a cornish hen, and I’m not even COOKING for Thanksgiving), buy some kettle corn, then go downtown and check out the stores’ open houses. By the end of the day you are happily stuffed, pooped, and ready for Thanksgiving.

To give you an idea of how "BIG" Turkey Day has become, here’s an excerpt (paraphrased) from our local paper, The Cody Enterprise: The Lions Club’s annual Turkey Day, one of Cody’s most celebrated "unofficial holidays," recently became "official." From this year on, the Saturday before Thanksgiving will be known as Turkey Day. The day’s festivities include a turkey shoot, turkey on a string, basketball shoot, the