City bears bring scavenger hunt opportunity to Park County
Park County artist Tanner Loren shows off the first Bears in the Basin statue at the Powell Commons. There are 18 bears in Park County sponsored by Cody Yellowstone for a new trail to encourage local and non-resident visitors to spend more time in the county’s downtowns. Photo by Mark Davis, Powell Tribune.
POWELL — There are now grizzly bears in the Basin.
These aren’t your average bears, but rather adorable bronze bears created by Cody artist Tanner Loren for the Park County Travel Council. The question is, can you find them?
Multiple bears were installed throughout the county including nine in Cody, six in Powell and four in Meeteetse. As participating families discover the bears they can use a check-in list (available through Codyyellowstone.org) to verify locations where they found each bear to collect a prize.
The bears were crafted to represent the individual identities of each city involved.
The Powell bear is named Farmer Growl and reflects the importance of agriculture in the city. Cody’s bear, named Buffalo Bear Cody, is riding a stick horse and waving a hat and honors Buffalo Bill Cody. The Meeteetse bear is named Amelia Bearhart, wearing a vintage leather aviation helmet; a nod to the city’s special relationship with the famous aviator Amelia Earhart.
The statues are strategically placed to encourage participants to explore the downtown areas of each city, said Katrina Southern, marketing manager for the council.
The program is the latest free, thematic trail for visitors and residents of gateway communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
It kicks off on June 7 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Commons in Powell at 10 a.m., Bell Plaza in Cody at noon and The Visitor Center in Meeteetse at 2 p.m. The opening day will be the only day prizes are redeemable in person at each location’s visitor center.
“All three Cody Yellowstone towns have an abundance of one-of-a-kind places to visit and see, and through this fun Bears in the Basin scavenger hunt, we think our visitors will discover some of these lesser-known gems,” said Ryan Hauck, executive director of Cody Yellowstone. “The whimsical Bears in the Basin statues are also just plain fun, and they showcase the incredible talents of one of our top local artists.”
Committees from each Park County community voted to select the project from a list of three ideas.
Once the Bears in the Basin scavenger hunt was selected, Loren, who has worked for the Caleco Foundry in Cody for more than two decades, was chosen to create the bears based on his bid in a competitive process. The local artist has previously been commissioned to create sculptures; one featured just outside of the Cody Heritage Museum.
Loren strives to capture forms that bring life to western, wildlife and historical sculptures. Born in Cody in 1984, Loren spent his early years working cattle on a ranch owned by his aunt and uncle in Thermopolis. It was this ranch life that instilled a deep love and respect for the cowboy and Western way of life.
Loren’s sculptures start with design and he follows every step through the foundry. He’s there from the wax chasing, to welding and metal chasing, even the pouring of the 2,200 degree Fahrenheit liquid bronze himself.
“We wanted to keep it [the project] as local as possible and Tanner has been absolutely amazing,” said Southern. “We’ve seen his work around town, and his idea was definitely the most organic. We knew that he was definitely going to be the right man for the job.”
This story was published on May 14, 2024.