What to Wear on Your Cody/Yellowstone Country Vacation

Following my Mother’s Advice in Cody, Wyoming

Just saw a group of people heading out a trail with their fly rods in hand wearing shorts and hiking boots with their waders slung over their shoulders. I’m sure they had Cody’s blue-ribbon trout waters on their minds.

Apparently, nobody told them that a vacation in Cody was restricted to summer months.

Seeing hopeful anglers is common all summer here in Yellowstone Country, and I normally would not even mention it. I, however, thought I was way ahead of the game when I spent the best part of last weekend organizing my clothes in preparation for the changing of the seasons.

While blue jeans are pretty much appropriate for any Wyoming event, many of us match our clothes to the activity. Summer is warm, and those jeans can simply be too much in the direct sun when I am climbing a steep trail, bicycling out to a favorite getaway or listening to some cowboy music on the porch of the Irma Hotel.

So when the weather report called for a high of 89F for today, there I was completely prepared for cool and comfortable “jeans and sweater” weather.

The good news was that I knew in exactly which box I had packed away my summer clothes. The bad news was that I had to move six other boxes to get to it.

This is not the first time I have jumped the gun on packing away my summer clothes. Every time I do so I vow to leave one pair of shorts and a cool shirt in my dresser for the inevitable stretch of warm days that appear after the Autumnal Equinox.

I never learn, though. I blame it on being in the sun too long.

Fortunately, our warm days are still comfortable. Yesterday afternoon when the temperatures were in the mid-80s, the humidity was in the mid-20s. While the dry air might make my skin a little rough, it does make the lows feel a little warmer and the highs feel a little cooler.

We also know that at night the temperatures drop faster than they do in other parts of the world. That is where the jeans and sweaters really come in handy.

I hate it when I say something and my mother’s voice comes out of my mouth, but she was right on the money when she used to tell me to take an extra layer. That is my advice when visitors come to town.

What is the weather like where you are and what clothes are still in your closet?

I would love to hear from you.

Until next week, I am lovin’ life – and restacking boxes – in Cody, Wyo.