Midsummer Dreaming

There is an ongoing argument among some of the locals who are often found hanging out in the lounge at the Irma. They can bend your ear to the point of breaking while they present their cases why summer starts A)June 21 or B)Memorial Day weekend.

On one hand we had the “summer-lasts-from-Memorial-Day-to-Labor-Day” faction that fondly remembered their childhood summers as uninterrupted stretches of swimming, ballplaying and marshmallow toasting. They never got bored or annoyed with their friends, and they always listened to their mothers. 

Their counterparts insisted on summer starting the moment of the solstice on or about June 21 and ending on the Autumnal equinox three months later. 

I got suckered into their discussion once and realized after I bought one round – but before they could stick me with a second – that they were having fun and snaring unsuspecting people like me in their trap. One of their tricks is to turn the discussion to what constitutes “Mid-Summer.” If summer starts Memorial Day, then the midway point is roughly July 15. According to the purists, August 6 marks halfway through the summer.

After some good-natured name calling and mild language, I left my friends with the parting shot that I would split their difference and declare MY midway point of the summer as July 26. This development got them going all over again, and the last I saw they had drawn a nice couple from Ohio into their nefarious web.

So where does that leave us? Regardless of YOUR definition of the halfway point of summer, here in Cody Yellowstone we are running on all cylinders.

• At the Cody Nite Rodeo, the bullfighters are doing a great job at protecting the riders.

• The Heart Mountain Pilgrimage is exploring ways to build bridges.

• All of the dude ranches, hotels, campgrounds and B&Bs are welcoming guests from all over the world.

• The restaurants are grilling steaks, slicing prime rib and scooping ice cream. Some of them are frying up green tomatoes and the classic Western delicacy of Rocky Mountain Oysters.

• The National Park Service is doing an admirable job of keeping visitors on the boardwalks and a safe distance from the thermal features.

• Our cultural attractions are enlightening everyone about life in a one-room cabin in the Old West, the legend of Buffalo Bill, culture of the Plains Indians and the many types of firearms.

• The Wild Bunch Gunfighters are taking advantage of photo opps, and they always seem to recover in time for the next show. 

• Dan Miller is making people smile, hum and sing along to old favorites.

In other words, the Great American Adventure continues.

Until next week, I am lovin’ life – and avoiding arguments – in Cody Yellowstone.