Buffalo Bill's (and his wife's) grave.  Lookout Mountain.  Golden, Colorado.

Buffalo Bill Museum and Gravesite 

Since I was in an “Old West” mood on this trip, a visit to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Gravesite seemed like a must.  While I knew a bit about Buffalo Bill, I was hoping to learn more by touring a museum dedicated to his life.  I achieved my goal; but, I also experienced some disappointments during the visit.

We pulled into the museum’s parking lot and then went straight to the gravesite.  I didn’t know this before I visited the museum, but there is some controversy regarding whether Buffalo Bill wanted to be buried outside of Denver or instead wanted to be buried in Cody, Wyoming (which was named after him).  The folks in Denver took their claim so seriously that they parked a tank on top of the grave when it appeared that some Wyoming residents planned to steal the body.  I don’t know who is right in this dispute; but, I can certainly understand why Buffalo Bill would want to be buried on Lookout Mountain.  The gravesite and the museum are situated among a beautiful alpine forest.  One can look down from either the grave or the museum and see the Denver skyline and the Great Plains all the way into Kansas (or, at least it seems one can see all the way to Kansas).  Still, I was disappointed by the gravesite.  Not that the grave itself is anything other than tasteful.  But, some genius of urban planning put television antenna and cell phone towers within a quarter-mile of the grave.  To put this in perspective, the effect was the same as putting these types of towers on the top of Half Dome.  These ugly intrusions completely took away from the forest setting and the sanctity of the grave.

We then went into the museum.  The first thing that struck me was the museum’s slightly dated atmosphere.  It seemed like all of the exhibits were a bit dusty, a bit faded, and simply had been there a bit too long.  But, once I got past that impression, I found a lot of interesting information that I didn’t know.  For instance, I didn’t know that Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show had stopped just 10 miles from my hometown for several years in a row.  I also enjoyed seeing some of the posters and the costumes that were used in the shows.

Overall, it was worth our while to make a trip to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Gravesite.  While there were some disappointing features and there was a bit more “marketing” than I like (much like Buffalo Bill himself), it was overall an enjoyable and informative experience.  There is no fee to visit the gravesite, but admission to the museum is $3/adult.  The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (4 p.m in the winter).

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