Thursday, 16 September 2021
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| today's route |
On the road
Google said today's route would take more than 4 hours, which I figured meant at least 6, maybe 7 hours, so we left Buffalo at 7:00 AM. Although this was after sunrise, I was still heading almost due east for the first chunk of the drive, so the sun was full in my eyes.
I saw antelope running across a field where cows were grazing and lots of those deer warning signs. By actual count I saw 11 of them, each saying to watch out for deer for the next 5 miles, 10 miles, 16 miles - varied distances. So with the sun full into my eyes, the 80 mph speed limit, my own sightings of antelope, plus all these deer warning signs made me worried about suddenly finding something alive in front of me and kept me at my usual 65 mph.
I've found a lot of religious radio stations in Wyoming.
I heard a story on the radio (Wyoming Public Radio, not a religious station) about the new Webb telescope. I still remember being fascinated by an exhibit on that when I was in Maryland a couple of years ago. Apparently they're planning to launch it in a few months, and considering the pictures other telescopes have sent us, this one should be very exciting. Someone on this radio story compared the Webb design as either a Transformers or origami, because it's launched folded up and then unfolds itself once in space. Looking back at my blog entry (Feb. 27, 2019) I find I mentioned both origami and Transformers in talking about this amazing gadget, so I guess those are still the most useful analogies.
I also heard on the radio that only 38% of Wyomingites have been fully vaccinated. Certainly a reason for me to continue being very careful.
The interstate bypasses the town of Gillette, and all I know about it is a sign pointing travelers to the Campbell County Rockpile Museum. The name struck me as odd enough that I looked it up and have learned that there is an actual pile of rocks that the town was originally formed around. A tiny photo I found online suggests the pile, which might actually be a rock formation rather than a pile, is about 20' tall. The museum says original settlers located their land claims around that rock. Otherwise it's apparently your basic county museum. It used to be free but just this July they started charging a $10 fee for adults, $8 for seniors - which is a pretty big jump from free.
Just outside of town, I passed what looked like a coal pit on the left and maybe a processing plant on the right. I looked it up and learned it's a vertically integrated power plant, serviced by the next door coal mine. It's owned by the Wyodak Resources Development Corp., which is in turn owned by the Black Hills Corp., which I can't find any information about its ownership other than a list of its stockholders. I bothered to look this up because Google Maps had the power plant labeled as "Wyodak kullkraftwerk," and when I looked that up the 2nd listing I got was a Wikipedia page in German. But I can't figure out where the German influence comes in.
What the company's website says is that this coal pit has been operated since 1923 and is the oldest continuously operating surface coal mine in the US. And from a mesothelioma website, I learned that when the power plant was opened in 1978, it was noted as the world's largest power plant to use air-cooled steam and that it was technically advanced for its time. However, Time has a way of moving on and the plant is now seen as presenting significant public health risks. Coal-fired plants produce fine particulates and this plant alone is estimated to cause 6 deaths a year, as well as asthma and other health problems. In addition, the plant was built with asbestos, a popular insulation material in the '70s, and we all know now the problems with asbestos.
I certainly didn't expect all that information when I just tried to find out if it were really a coal pit I was looking at. Although I had a clue when I passed a lo-o-ong line of coal cars, waiting on a railroad siding.
I turned off the interstate onto US 16 and, near Upton, I passed a bentonite plant, and I'm learning about this substance. Its name came from Fort Benton (WY) where it was first found in large quantities, and it seems to have a number of uses, some of which look dubious to me. It's an absorbent clay so is used to seal ponds and to clarify beer and wine. It's used in skin care products such as acne treatments. And some believe it promotes digestion, thyroid health and weight loss. Given the wide variety of uses, this substance is bound to be a growth industry.
A town that may be benefiting from this is Upton, pop. 1,100 and elev. 4,234 - Best Town on Earth (according to their water tower). I'm sure it's a wonderful place, though I didn't see any obvious signs of it just passing through.
We stopped at a rest stop at the edge of town and I discovered that Wyoming provides areas specifically for dogs at these stops. I was pleased at first, when I saw they were leash-free fenced-in areas, but then I realized it was 3 areas, not 1, and that each was too small for any but tiny dogs. The weeds in all of these had so many stickers and thorns and prickly parts that the dogs were uncomfortable and I was bothered by the size of these areas: each was about 6' wide and maybe 10' deep. Why bother taking off the leash since nobody's got one less than 6'? So I ignored Wyoming's obvious intent to keep the dogs separated and walked them around the rest stop. After all, there was almost no one else there anyway.
I've been noticing Gracie's showing balance problems, especially when she shakes her head or body. Probably left over from her stroke in May? Even in the RV she sometimes seems to have trouble staying on her feet and has even fallen down on the stairs when we're not going down the stairs - she just sometimes loses her footing when she's nearby. It's not a constant thing and doesn't even look bad, but it's different than she used to be. She's 11½, not ancient by any means but definitely a senior citizen, considering her size.
Even though we were on another highway, I still saw deer warning signs, 4 of them, each saying to expect them for the next 12 miles, 6 miles, whatever. All the deer (mostly antelope (aka pronghorn)) I saw were grazing in fields.
I passed scattered oil wells, low hills, lots of grazing land, scattered farmhouses, industrial staging sites and plants, a small skiff out of water on its side. Lots of horses and antelope. I passed a very small but real airport with a sign on the hangar saying "Tuff Air." Hope that's someone's name because, otherwise, I'm not sure I'd want to ride with them.
I came to Newcastle, pop. 3,532 and elev. 4,334, and immediately got lost. A street that Google claimed was there wasn't, but did have the next street I was supposed to turn on after the nonexistent one, so I didn't know which way to go. I stopped at the Rendezvous Beauty Shop because I saw someone there, and Dana the owner gave me good directions that were hard to trust, because they were full of local landmarks and back roads to get to the main roads. But she even drew me a map, explaining that "Google doesn't work in Wyoming." No kidding.
But she turned out to be right. She also warned me that the next leg of my trip would be "81½ boring miles" and she was kinda right about that too. She also told me I'd find areas settled by Amish, and a horse-and-buggy highway sign said she was right about that. I learned online that in the last decade or so, Amish and Mennonites have been expanding their traditional settlement areas into Western states, and their communities are now found in WY, CO, Idaho and Montana.
I saw the Black Hills off to the left as I traveled south, and nearby I saw rolling hills, grassland, scrubland and a few trees. Snow fences here and there. Lots of flat land. The trees seemed to follow streams and otherwise, I didn't see many.
I didn't see many cows but have seen vast amounts of haybales, ready for the winter feedings.
I crossed the Cheyenne River, which didn't have much water in it.
I also passed Old Woman Creek, which reminded me that yesterday, driving into Buffalo, I passed the turn for Crazy Woman Canyon. I was curious about the name and the canyon, so I looked it up and learned that, if I were driving something other than an RV, it would be a great place to visit. Here're 2 websites with information. https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/crazy-woman-canyon-road (the name says it all) and https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/crazy-woman-canyon-wy
Seems like every highway in the state has signs saying "this road closed when lights flashing." Here's one of them.
You can just see the arm in the air that would come down when the lights flashed - probably during snow season. This is the sort of country I was driving through. Flat, huh?
I think it was at this rest stop where I found a variety of information about WY. One exhibit was titled "Along the Cheyenne to Deadwood Stage: Robbers Roost."
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Then there were 2 others that purported to be about wildlife and agriculture but seemed to me to be more about people.
Before today, I've enlarged these photos to make them more easily legible, but now I'll confess I've only just discovered that you can enlarge them yourselves just by clicking on them. Okay. I'm a slow learner, but I'm trying.
I passed a working windmill, which I knew was working by the herd of cows gathered around a large round water trough.
I stopped at Lusk, pop. 1,567 and elev. 5,015, to get gasoline. Almost immediately, a dozen bikers pulled in, 2 of whom were from Longview TX (they told me when they saw my license plate). Then some real bikers pulled in - several cars carrying bicycles, who had trouble finding an available gas pump.
I passed a sign for a historical marker about the C&H Refinery. I didn't stop but should have. I just assumed it was about C&H sugar and was surprised they'd be processing sugar out here, where I sure hadn't seen many crops (besides cows). But it was oil they were processing and it's a fascinating story about hard work and local ingenuity. https://www.hmdb.org/c&h-refinery
At Lusk I turned onto US 20 and soon passed a sign saying it was a historic route. Turns out this was one of the original roads in a nationwide system of highways that was conceived in the Federal Highway Act of 1921. At that time, the standard signs for US highways came into being.
That shield symbol that designates all US routes started with this new interstate system. And I never knew.
A tumbleweed blew across the road in front of us.
I passed Keeline, a town that rated an elevation sign (5,377' - note that we've been gaining elevation all day), but not a population sign.
I saw 8 bison in a field that held so still I decided they were sculptures, until I noticed they were twitching their tails.
And then I came into Douglas, that didn't have a sign but I can tell you had a 2010 population of 6,120 and an elevation of 6,175'. The Wyoming State Fair was here in August, and the town calls itself "Home of the Jackalope." Okay. In case you haven't heard of these, they're supposed to be jackrabbits that have horns like an antelope. Fortunately, they're also mythical.
Once I was in the campground, I got a call from the doctor I saw in Greybull who was worried about my sodium level, as shown in that blood test. It's not an unhealthy level but it's lower than normal, possibly a result of one of the blood pressure meds. She was willing to give me a 30-day refill but wanted me to see a doctor in my next state down the line for them to check this out.
And I think I forgot to mention that at the Greybull clinic, my weight came in at just under 145, which is at least 25 pounds too much but not nearly as high as I feared, and my height was 60". Which means I've lost 3" in height, which means I've developed a very bad habit. Over the years of walking these dogs, I've noticed I automatically assume a sort of crouching position, a defensive posture to give me more leverage for when they suddenly take off after a deer or rabbit or something. Apparently, I'm now standing like that always and I've got to stop it. I had a great-uncle and a great-aunt that each developed what were known as widow's humps (obvious sexism with that naming), so I know that over time it becomes impossible for the person to stand upright once they've got this condition. I am not going into my old age hunched over. I'm not. So I have to take steps now to correct it.
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