YCGL - Cody/Z-Cross Ranch - Saturday, September 17, 2022

 Oh, Mortals!

I can feel your pain.

Because you haven't had a day like I have had today.  I feel like one of the most privileged people  on earth.  I've spent the day with Pete Simpson, one on one, almost all day long.  The only regrets are that Lynn and Sally weren't with us.  Lynn had to be in Cheyenne today, being the wonderful mother that she is.  

Pete is 92 and Lynn is younger than that (I don't know exactly, and I wouldn't tell you if I did.  I'm not "that" kind of guy.)  As Pete says, "at this point, we aren't apart from each other very much."  And Lynn is very good about looking out for him.  So, when she heard that I could make time to be with Pete this weekend to visit the ranch (at our breakfast together last Monday), she jumped all over that we should do that, and almost set up the arrangements to make sure it was going to be all day long.  You gotta love a wife like that!  Believe me, I was a very willing conscript!  

We laughed all day long!

My day started at 1:30, when I rang the doorbell at the house he grew up in.  Nothing happened.  I rang again, and then walked to the other side of the screened porch, where there wasn't a doorbell.  I finally walked into the porch and rang the other doorbell next to the main door (which is in the back of the house so it's not a front door.  I think that was from the old days when you'd drive into the yard and enter there.)  Still no answer, so I called Pete on the phone.  "Yes, those buzzers don't work anymore, come on in!"

(I think to understand Pete and Lynn, you need to know a little about the family background.  The family runs deep into Wyoming History.  Pete's great grandparents platted and named the town of Jackson Hole.  Another great grandparent was an advisor to the Shoshone Chief Washakie.  Pete's grandfather was a lawyer in Northwestern Wyoming.  Pete's dad, Milward Simpson, was born in Jackson and attended school in Powell and Cody.   He attended the University of Wyoming and Harvard Law.  He was a State Representative, the Governor and U.S. Senator before returning to Cody and resuming his law practice.  He was a member of the UWyo Board of Trustees for 15 years and president of the Board for 9.  Pete's younger brother Al was State Representative and U.S. Senator from 1979-1997 and was the Republican Whip for 10 years.  Pete's wife Lynn (and Alan's wife Ann) were both from Cody as well.  To say the family has deep ties to and love for the state is an understatement.)  

Pete was a little concerned about being able to get to the ranch.  Brother Al and Ann had borrowed Pete's car to drive to Laramie and left Ann's car, with very strict instructions to not drive it to the ranch.  I was happy to drive my truck but I was concerned that Pete would have trouble getting in and out of it since it is so tall.  But Pete, at 6'4", found it was easy to get in and out of with his 37" inseam.  I laughed and said "I had to buy pants with a 29" inseam because I can't find them with the 28" I really need.  And I find it tough to climb into the driver's seat.  

As we drove down the South Fork road out of Cody, Pete talked about the people and ranches along the way.  Many were ranches he worked on when he was in high school and summers in college at UWyo. (If you want to hear stories, travel with a former History Professor. {Right, Ken??})  We also listened to the Met Opera broadcast on SiriusXM (Channel 355).  Another opera lover!

The Bobcat Ranch (the Z-Cross) used to be part of the TE ranch (Trail's End) owned by William Cody (It's now half owned by a man who played him in a movie!)  Cody gave the ranch to his foreman who had provided excellent service for him for many years.  He tried to run it as a dude ranch, but it was just a little too small.  It changed hands several times until Milward Simpson obtained it.  There are several guest books that have been signed over the years by a number of notables who have been guests at the ranch.

Opening the Gate to the Ranch

The Guest House and Several Cabins are in the background.
Dead Indian Peak on the horizon.

There are two primary houses, the ranch house and the guest house.  In addition, there are seven or eight guest cabins and the law office of Pete's grandfather which was moved from Jackson.  After touring the main house, we sat on the back deck, ate some peaches and gazed at the majesty of the mountains.  

View from the deck

We then went to the other house, which had been the ranch foreman's house.  It is now Pete and Lynn's.  The original structure is still the bones of the house, but they have done extensive updating and remodeling (and stabilizing) to make it more inviting.  The living room is basically the heart of the original building, 

Pete is especially proud of the ceiling (which is made of up lodge pole pine) and of the fire screen in the fireplace.  

The screen was made by a local artist.  It's full of little details, like the animals eyes are cutout so the light of the fire comes through them.  

As we left the ranch, I needed to take one more picture. (Right-Click on the picture and select " Open Link in New Window" to get a full screen view of the picture.)  The red roofs are the TE Ranch.  It looks like a painting to me.  I would make the red roofs a little larger for the color contrast.  I love the repetitive bluffs above the South Fork of the Shoshone River on the left  hand side.  I think Pete and I could have sat there for hours, watching the scenery and listening to the opera.

When we got into Cody again, Pete insisted that we eat at the Trailhead Restaurant.  When we walked in, he greeted the greeter like a second daughter.  She had just finished her degree in Vocal Performance and was living at home and was working up auditions.  She led us to a table next to the piano.  When the pianist saw Pete, she popped up and gave him a big hug.  It was really cute, she was about 5'2" in high heels (yes, she was wearing heels) hugging Pete at 6'4".  Hope Sheets is 86 and is playing piano and vibraphone.  We ordered the special that night, Elk Medallions in a savory sauce, drank our gin and tonics and played "Name that Tune" as we talked.  For example, Hope played the first three or four notes and I piped up with "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael.   (Original version 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2fbOAyNOpM

Pete popped up with, "I had a chance to visit at a friends house in California.  I got into a golf foursome with Hoagy Carmichael.  After the round, we ended up at his house on the golf course."  

You might come close, but you aren't going to beat him!  It was quite a day.  One I will surely never forget.  All I can say is, 

"Thanks Lynn!  He did alright!"