Buffalo, WY

5 Sept 2006 - Becky relaxed in front of the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo. The hotel has been in continuous operation since the late 1800’s and the bar and restaurant are exactly as built. The bullet holes are still in the wall of the bar and the mahogany bar is original. The photos did not do it justice so are not included. The statutes depict the cause of the range war around Buffalo. They show a ‘big rancher’ discovering a homesteader branding a maverick calf out in the bush and pulling his saddle gun. The big ranchers felt all of the open range belonged to them and protected it with their and ‘hired’ guns. As a side note, the artist used local cowboys as models for the two figures! Good on him.


 

Sundance to Buffalo, WY

We drove from Sundance, WY to Buffalo, WY with a lunch stop in Gillette to enjoy meeting with Vickie and Lynn Brown. They moved to Gillette from Lebanon and we had not seen them for some time so it was great catching up on how life in Wyoming suited them – the answer is FINE! They have a beautiful house and both are enjoying their new jobs – what more can we ask?
The view as we traveled left me wondering if I was in a time warp and had somehow been dropped into the Mojave Desert!!! Ok, there were a few more trees but the similarity is certainly there!

 

Critique

I know there are some of you reading our blog since I have heard from you. However, I have no idea how it is going. I would be interested in comments on how it is working. In the same vein as the old 'Off sites' (remember those Jack, Ray, etc.?) I could use feedback as to 1. What is about right 2. What should I do more of and 3. What should I do less of. Feedback to dcrawford182@excite.com would be appreciated. Thanks.

No Elk but Beaver!

3 Sept 2006 – After the Cowboy Poets we returned to Sundance via the Black Hills National Forest (gravel road). Becky kindly allowed this 2 hour trip so I could pursue my photo of a male elk. We managed to see 4 females (crossed the road right in front of us but kept going into the woods) but I am still looking for my elk photo. What we did see was more white tail deer than I have ever seen in my life. They ran from 3 or 4 in a group to a mile or more of 30 to 40 deer HERDS right after another. I only saw a few trophy bucks but plenty of 8 point. Mixed in with some of the deer were flocks of turkey – 4 to 15 birds. However, the high point for me was the beaver dam and lodge in the photos. I had never seen one other than in a photo and was quite impressed. Becky thought I was crazy for climbing down the cliff to get the photo but what can I say! The close up almost shows the tooth marks!!! I thought the beaver could have done a better job of organizing the logs for the dam though, don’t you?

 

Cowboy Poets

3 Sep 2006 – We went back to Devil’s Tower on Sunday for a four hour session of Cowboy Poets. It was about 50-50 poetry and singing. Practically all of both was original with only a smattering of traditional songs and poems thrown in (Two Roads was one of the traditional poems – one of my favorites). There were about 6 women and 4 men and the women’s theme was ‘women in the west’ for lack of a better title. They outdid them selves and most quoted the poems from memory (some were VERY long). I was impressed! Outstanding singer, hands down, was the woman pictured on the left in the last photo. You could be excused if you closed you eyes and thought you were listening to a young Baez or Collins. I made videos of several of her songs and look forward to sharing them. The lady with the fiddle was also very good and has/played a Civil War vintage fiddle for a special song for all veterans present. There was a good story to go with the fiddle that I will also share at some point.


 

Vore Buffalo Jump

2 Sep 2006 – A few miles from Sundance is a site that will soon be developed as a ‘Tourist Site’ but is presently only an archeological dig. Hopefully you can read the sign. Prior to the introduction of the horse, Indians needed an edge to kill enough buffalo. One method they used was to stampede a herd over a cliff and then ‘finish them off’ with arrows and spears. Photos of the dig show skulls, bones, arrow heads and spear heads protruding in a solid mass. When completed this will be a great site. The third shot is vegetation along the rim of the sinkhole.

 

Aladdin Wyoming

2 Sep 2006 – Not far from Devils Monument we stopped at Aladdin. It included a small campground, a general store/service station and 15 folks. We only saw 6 or 7 but will take their word for the others. Becky can be seen sitting on the ‘Liars Bench’, visiting the first privy we have encountered in awhile and a candid shot of the Ladies room. For the record, the Men’s was a ‘one holer’.