CODY , 79 miles east along US-14 and the North Fork of the Shoshone River from Yellowstone, was the brainchild of investors who, in 1896, persuaded "Buffalo Bill" Cody to get involved in their development company, knowing his approval would attract homesteaders and visitors alike. During summer, tourism is big business, but underneath all the Buffalo Bill-linked attractions and paraphernalia, Cody manages to retain the feel of a rural Western settlement. It's certainly not a place where you'd expect avant-garde painter Jackson Pollock to have been born and raised.

The wide, dusty main thoroughfare, Sheridan Avenue , holds an array of souvenir and ranchwear shops, and is the scene of parades and rodeos during the annual Cody Stampede , held on the weekend of July 4. Between June and August there's a rodeo every night at the open-air stadium on the road to Yellowstone, at 421 W Yellowstone Ave (8.30pm; $10-12; tel 307/587-5155).