Today In Wyoming's History: December 7

Today In Wyoming's History: December 7: Today is, by State Statute, WS 8-4-106, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  The Statute provides: (a) In recognition of the members of th...

The coffee run

Garbage truck in drive through line at Starbucks.  Hey, I can't blame them, it was early.

Chase scene

Ejection Seat

Planning on fishing?

The Plow

Bond Issue — NCSD Transform

Bond Issue — NCSD Transform

Bond issues haven't done well here recently, except those associated with Casper College.  I 'm hoping that this one proves to be an exception, however, and passes.  The facilities associated with NCHS and Kelly Walsh are, in my view, necessities or near necessities.

I particularly hope that NC gets its new swimming pool.  The old one is simply ancient and completely inadequate.  A new one is really needed.  Teaching students to swim is wisely mandated by the State, and there's really no other realistic way to do that but to have a pool there.

Lex Anteinternet: The Golden Era of Classic Hotels: Parco

Lex Anteinternet: The Golden Era of Classic Hotels: Parco: The Parco Hotel. If you try to book a room in the Parco Hotel today, you won't be able to.  Indeed, you won't even be able to ...

Sinclair Cannons

These cannons in Sinclair, Wyoming are proclaimed to be Civil War era cannons which were used by the Sinclair Refinery as safety cannons.  Whether or not they are Civil War era cannons I don't know, as I couldn't read the data on this cannon's muzzle, and I didn't get the chance to look at the muzzle of the other cannon. This cannon is marked at the muzzle, which cannons of that era were.  The wheels are not original to the trails and are not Civil War vintage.

They were undoubtedly used as safety cannons at Sinclair, and muzzle loading cannons were made as late as the early 20th Century for that purpose. The concept was that the cannons could be used to blow holes in oil tanks, in the event of fires, to drain them.  Whether these were ever used for that purpose I don't know, but muzzle loading cannons at the Standard Oil Refinery in Casper were used that way to drain oil tanks during the big fire that occurred at that refinery in the 1920s.

These cannon are decorated for the Christmas Season.

Prewar Ford

Ford pickup truck.  I'm not sure of the age, but no newer than 1940 anyway.  The details indicate that it is a V8.  This appears to be an unrestored original.  Nice truck.

Laramie Range from the air

 Great Plains near Casper.

 Casper Mountain.

 Casper Mountain.

 Valley between Casper Mountain and Muddy Mountain.

 Muddy Mountain.

Bates Creek Reservoir.

 Bates Creek Reservoir.

Flooded open pit Uranium mines.

Mastodon at the rest stop

Mastodon display at the really nice Wyoming rest stop as you enter from Colorado.

East Colfax, Denver Colorado

Just outside of what was once the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.

T33 Soviet Tank.

This is a Soviet T33 tank on display in Spain, photo displayed by my friend Daniel Moratal who appears on the photographs.. This early Soviet tank, quite modern when built, was used in the Spanish Civil War and was no doubt supplied by the Soviets to the Republican side of that civil war.  Very interesting example.

German 88 mm Anti Aircraft Gun in Spain

A very fine example of a German 88mm Anti Aircraft gun in display in Spain, photographs courtesy of my friend Daniel Moratal.  He reports that the gun was in service until 1985.

Cows at San Carlos, Costa Rica, courtesy of Juan Sepúlveda

My friend Juan Sepúlveda took these fascinating photographs of cattle near San Carlos, Costa Rica.  Interesting photos, I've never seen anything like these cattle steps.

Commentary on Lex Anteinternet: Dean Easton Resigns

Lex Anteinternet: Lex Anteinternet: Dean Easton Resigns: When the letter noted here; Lex Anteinternet: Dean Easton Resigns : came in yesterday, most of the lawyers I know were pretty surprised. We...

Lex Anteinternet: Dean Easton Resigns

Lex Anteinternet: Dean Easton Resigns: Interesitng development at the UW law school as of yesterday:   Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Friends of UW College o...

Nocturnal Ursine Visitors

About a decade ago a bear visited our backyard in the middle of the night.

 Stuffed bear head, literally, on my office wall. This bear is not the nocturnal visitor.

It was in the Fall.  Around 11:00 you could hear the bear out back making some racket.  At the time, my wife urged me to get up and check it out, but I figured it was just a cat or something knocking something over, so I didn't.

In the morning, when I opened the curtains to the sliding glass door, I could see his muddy paw prints on the window and the deck.  Further investigation showed muddy footprints left on the deck steps and a place where he scratched the deck going over the fence.  He also turned, rear end to the glass window, and deposited a big pile of "skat", which apparently suffices for an ursine calling card.  It was a large amount, and full of partially digested berries and seeds.

As we thought we ought to, we called the Game and Fish to note it, and a Game Warden came out and confirmed what we already knew, yep, that was a bear.  Apparently it was a slow news day, as the story ended up on one of the local television news broadcasts, with an interview of the Game Warden warning people that bears this time of year (Fall) will wonder about and hit people's bird feeders and whatnot. We didn't have a bird feeder at the time.  In thinking about it, I suspect the bear was going from backyard to backyard looking for dog food, and that's why he came up on our deck.

I've always thought the bear was probably a juvenile.  When they're young, they wonder, including into town.  Just before Winter they're really hungry, and there's food in town.  We've had them down in our neighborhood since then.  Last year one was hanging around for a day or so just a block away, apparently convinced that shrubbery made it invisible.  But we haven't had any back in our yard, at least that we know of.  Snakes in the backyard, and lots of rabbits, but no bears.

Our entire neighborhood is rabbit central.

Well, that changed the other day and we had a bear stop by late at night.

Like the first time, he was noisy.  I heard something about 1:00 am but I thought my son had gotten up for some reason so I went back to sleep.  My wife went out the next morning and found:

Android photo of bear calling cards.  Apparently Androids change coloration a bit in photos.  The actualy sample was quite green. Again, packed with seeds of some sort.  The wood decking is made from 1 1/4" x 6" decking.

No muddy paw prints this time, but for some reason this bear also left his calling card right up against the glass door.  Weird. It must be a bear thing.

He also overturned a mat at the bottom of the steps and flipped it up on the steps. Probably hoping for beetles or something underneath it, and he batted the bucket of clothes pins clean across the yard.  Apparently bears to do not approve of clothes pins, or perhaps the bear lacked a means of otherwise expressing his displeasure over the lack of snacks.

This time, I think I'll forgo calling the Game and Fish.

 Post bear visit sentry duty by local cat. .  .apparently hoping for big game.

Ones.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Cloudy night and full moon.

More Sagebrush Country