It’s been nearly two years since I left the Cody Enterprise for the Powell Tribune and left behind the hassle of working in a tourist town during the summer. 

Now, I can pretty well avoid Cody if I want while it’s swamped with tourists, but I won’t be doing that this week. 

Independence Day week is always a blast in Cody and I hope some of you will join me in enjoying what our county seat has to offer during what is likely its busiest week of the year. 

The events, in my opinion, are well worth dealing with the mass of tourists, even the ones who will simply stop in the middle of the street to take a picture of a deer on the side of the road, or stand in the middle of Sheridan Avenue to take a picture of, I kid you not, the Wells Fargo bank building on the edge of downtown. 

Do you like parades? The Kiddie Parade is Tuesday (today) at 10 a.m., with the two main parades starting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a chance to see Larry the Cable Guy and all of the cool floats and tricked out vehicles — and horses — following along. 

How about All American patriotic displays? The annual Freedom Celebration, put on by the Park County GOP, is at 1 p.m. Wednesday, this year at Choice Aviation. Our Washington, D.C. delegation is expected to be there as usual, and plenty of other state and local dignitaries. There’s also an Independence Day Rally at 1 p.m. Thursday, on the Fourth of July, at the Holiday Inn Ballroom in Cody with Rep. Harriett Hageman (R-Wyo.) as the main speaker along with Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody).

You can join me at the Cody Stampede where I’ll once again be, along with our stellar photographer/designer Carla Wensky, covering at least one night of the first-class rodeo, which looks to feature at least a few contestants from the region and a handful of Northwest College alum. See a future Tribune for pictures and stories from that. 

Finally, of course, there’s the fireworks Thursday night across the Shoshone River from town. That’s one activity you don’t need to go to Cody for, however. The annual Fourth of July Celebration in Cowley starts at 5:30 p.m. with a potluck dinner and concludes with fireworks starting at 10:15 p.m. 

Or, if you live out in the county like me, just look outside after dark any one of those nights you’re bound to see a neighbor lighting up their little patch of sky. 

Whatever you do, I hope you have a great Independence Day and that you take at least a second to think of how we got here today — the brave Founding Fathers and others who put this great experiment together, and the men and women who have fought to keep it going.