Life at Keyhole and Surrounding Area continued

June 18-Eagle Butte Coal Mine 

Tire from a coal truck.  

This gives you an idea as to the size of the trucks.

One of the attractions in Gillette is touring one of the open pit coal mines.  Not having had any experience in or around a coal mine I had no idea as to what we would see.  To say the least, T loved the tour and all the BIG trucks.

The mine operates 24/7 and this area of Wyoming supplies 40% of the coal in the US.  

240 Ton Coal Truck,
holds enough coal to fill two train cars.

Open Pit Coal Mine

 June 19- Bird Banding @ Keyhole State Park

What an exciting day I had working with the Audubon Society helping with bird banding.  We started at 5:30 am and worked until about 12:30 pm.   I got to hold birds in my hand and learned how they are caught and how the information is logged. Oh so many birds. And on top of all that I made some new friends.   If you’ve never been bird banding, you should try it.  It is quite a thrill!

Common Yellow Throat 

Eastern King

Yellow Warbler

Life at Keyhole

June 7 - Free fish in day in Wyoming.

I haven’t been fishing since I got to Wyoming.  Mostly because the cost of a license for out of state residents is $92 and I thought that was a bit high.  

Today was ‘free fishing” for everyone, so I went fishing.  T & I joined a few of the other out-of-state volunteers who were taking advantage of the “free fishing.”  I caught a little one and tossed it back, but had to have a picture.

Caught a nice bass a little later and that was all I caught all afternoon.  

After fishing we had a cookout and a few drinks to end the day.

June 11- Volunteer & Staff  Potluck

T & i hosted a potluck and we had quite a turnout.  Even though the weather didn't cooperate.  It was windy and cold. 

Left to Right 1st Row: Kelly, Terry, Shawna,Glo, Estella 2nd row, Joann, Kenny, Jim, Nancy, Sandy, Mike 3rd row: Dennis, Jim, Gerri, Wayne, T

June 12 -Hiking @ Keyhole

There is an old, somewhat, abandoned volksmarch trail at the park.  Sadly it hasn’t been maintained for several years.  One of the staff members here said she would go with me to find the trail and I was excited to have someone to join me on my adventure.  However, at the last minute she backed out.  t was around 3:30 pm and I had so been looking forward to this hike.

I had a few choices, I could not go or I could go alone.  Guess which one I chose.  I know it isn’t wise to hike alone, but I figured I was on the park property, I had my cell phone and I had water and a snack.  I am so glad I went.  

It was great being out in the woods, seeing the wildlife, the flowers and the trees. I saw a fox and a deer and I came upon a couple of fawn prancing through the grass.  I think they were as enthralled as I was.  They let me get quite close.  Then I think one of them remembered, “Mom said run and hide in the grass.”  So the wiser of the two ran and hid, then the other one realized that’s what he was supposed to do.  So he went and hid.  However, he thought like most children, “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me.”

Hiding fawn

While on this hike, I had it in my mind that I wanted to walk to one of the other camp grounds. I was advised that there was a “rather large culvert” between our campground and the one I wanted to hike to.  When I asked was it possible to hike it, Andrea said, “It is possible, but..”  So as I hiked I kept thinking I can do this until I came to THE CULVERT.  Then I knew what she meant.  Definitely not something I would try to cross alone.

THE CULVERT

The folks here find things to entertain them.  As you can see by the poster.  There was a “Chicken Roping” contest.  Sadly I didn’t make it to the event.

Chicken Roping contest

June 16 - Pine Haven Cemetery

It took awhile, but I found a cemetery in the area to explore.  The Pine Haven Cemetery appears to be less than twenty years old.  It has thirteen graves.  I saw the most unique grave there.

Dad was a fisherman

After visiting the grave I went for a hike along Colter Bay.  Keyhole is a beautiful park when the sun is shining.

Keyhole State Park from another angle

Spearfish Canyon

June 5,

What a difference a sunny day makes!  Today we drove over to Spearfish, SD and it was like we were in a totally different place than when we went last month.  The sun was shining and the surrounding area was beautiful!  We found a great little coffee shop called Common Grounds, where we had lunch and coffee and sat outside basking in the sun.

We drove the scenic road through Spearfish Canyon and hiked back to the falls.

We hiked the 1 1/2 mile trail to Roughlock Falls and enjoyed the beauty of the area.  Being outdoors with the sun shining, hiking though the woods, seeing the wildlife and enjoying the fresh air, what more could a person ask for!!!!

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Bridal Vail Falls

Roughlock Falls

Buffalo Wyoming

With the weather warming a bit(hah!), we have been on a few trips to see the surrounding area.  On June 3rd, thinking the weather would be decent, we drove over to Buffalo, a 2 hour trip one way.

Buffalo, Wyoming is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Big Horn Mountains and is conveniently located at the intersections of Interstates 25 and 90. Wyoming State Highway 16, on it’s way from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park, runs through Buffalo. Buffalo has a population of about 4600. 

As has been the case for most of our outings while here in Wyoming, the weather turned gloomy and it rained a little.  We did stroll down main street and visited the Occidental Hotel with it's 134 years of history.  They say Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stayed there.  When rooms aren't rented the hotel leaves the doors open so visitors can take a peak and the lobby is quite charming.

Occidental Hotel Lobby

Town Mural

While there I took in the Jim Gatchell Museum.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It is one of the best small town museums I've seen.  So much history and thousands of artifacts with diaramas depicting the trails and battles of the past.  Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed, so I have no photos, but if you are ever driving by Buffalo on Interstate 90, it is well worth the stop.

Jim Gatchell opened a drug store in Buffalo in the early 1900's.  His customers included cowboys, lawmen, settlers, cattle bronx, and famous army scouts.  he was also a trusted friend of the region's Native Americans, who fought in the last Indian Wars.  They considered the pharmacist a "Great Medicine Man."  For more than fifty years, Gatchell cherished these friendships.  In turn, he was present with priceless artifacts of a vanishing era.