Author Archives: Sharon

Deadwood to Sturgis to church

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_1750

Deadwood, South Dakota – final home of Western legends Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. It's a busy little city in the center of a ravine. Lots of bars and gambling and fake hookers peering over the street. I had fun walking through it one evening, though it would have been more fun if someone else was with me.

Sturgis was the next quick stop on my trip. I arrived exactly one month too early to witness the peaceful town of 9,000 swell to more than half a million during bike week.

In Rapid City, I checked out Chapel in the Hills, an exact replica of a 12th century Norwegian church that was built with money from a Lutheran donor. There is a prayer walk behind the church with stone statues and
encouraging sayings. I've had better success finding God in back
alleys, but that's ok.

IMG_1797
IMG_1798IMG_1796

A coal mine with big toys

Posted on by
1

IMG_1725

While in Gillette, I hopped in a van with 10 other folks for a free tour of the Eagle Butte coal mine. The tours are run by Foundation Coal West, a Baltimore, Md. company, that owns two of the 21 coal mines in Gillette. Coal from the hundred-mile seam that runs beneath and around Gillette is considered "clean" because of its low sulphur content.

Above-ground coal mining is probably not a bad gig. The work is done by mega machines and vehicles, and drivers need no prior experience. Hourly wages start at $19 and top out around $46 for drivers. The average annual wage of a Gillette mine worker is $54,800, according to a handout provided by Foundation Coal West.

This is a shovel that's used by the trucks to grab the coal. Coal weighs less than dirt and is sold to power plants for about $2 a ton.

IMG_1719

The trucks themselves can weigh as much as 360 tons and hold 1,800 gallons of gas, with proportionate amounts of engine oil and antifreeze. Tires cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece and need to be replaced after several months.

In front of this truck are members of the Ewald family, who just moved to Gillette for a job at a power plant.

IMG_1730

Gillette, Wyo. – a boom town created by mineral extraction

Posted on by
2

IMG_1664

In 2000 Gillette had 19,000 residents and today there's closer to 35,000, I'm told by Brian Pierce of the convention and visitor's bureau.

And that's one of many growth spurts in the history of the city, whose economy is based on mineral extraction.

There is a smallish downtown and huge newer shopping area. Lots of city financed amenities, including a free swimming pool (with lines out the door!)

On a lighter note… peanut butter is my main food source now

Posted on by
1

Practically. I am becoming adept at creating fantastic RV kitchen recipes that require minimal cleanup or refrigeration. This one's a little decadent but it's cheap and yummy. Peanut butter with bananas and chocolate sauce. Aww yeah. Oh, and the bread is Big Sky Montana wheat. It's sold in all the regular grocery stores in Montana and northern Wyoming and has no hydrogenated oils or preservatives. Wish they would ship it to Washington.

IMG_1633

More ‘adventure’

Posted on by
2

I got pulled over the other night (first time!) for driving like a dumb girl and turning down a side street from the center lane. The cops (two guys who were probably younger than me) let me go with a warning, but not before a half hour of processing.
After the serpentine belt incident, I'd switched out my insurance papers to have the ones with my emergency roadside coverage more handy. Sadly, the dates on those papers are expired.
And my license was in my camera bag, which is tucked out of sight above the driver's area.
I had to retrieve both things from the inside of the RV and in each case, one officer had to follow me with his flashlight and instruct me to move slowly.
I'm glad they followed process because for their safety, they need to.

I kept thinking about the stories police officers get about a person. A youngish woman in a van from Washington state with a growling pit bull in the back. She doesn't look like the picture on her license. Seems nervous and says she's headed no where specific. But no warrants or signs of drug or alcohol use…

And then there's the story a journalist gets — what a person voluntarily reveals about their history, motivations, relationships. Warrants and a lack of insurance are usually left out of that.

Each method reveals a story and neither is really complete.

Am I the woman the cops see or the one interacting with the people I interview?

And then it all went black

Posted on by
Reply

My progress, that is.

After I turned around on the isolated road from Devil's Canyon overlook, I felt something snap under my van's hood and lost my power steering. Miles from town, with no safe pull-offs and no cell phone reception, I kept driving. I looked down a few minutes later and noticed my battery meter was down, while my thermostat was registering full blast.

Serpentine belt. Damn.

I made the decision to drive into town and park for the night near a gas station. There are no fully equipped mechanic shops for at least 35 miles.
But I was blessed enough to encounter two young guys at a service station who in the 90-degree heat located and installed a new belt for me. I drove away, checking for signs that my engine was ok and noticed coolant gushing out everywhere.

Headed back to the service station, but they couldn't help me.

Lloyd Mayes, a local motorcycle and auto mechanic and locksmith figured out the leak was coming from my heater core and rerouted the hoses around it for me. I was so relieved to be able to drive away.

Once I got to Gillette, I found another mysterious leak and ended up at the Midas there. So maybe I should add an "American mechanic" category.

Anyway, I think I am ok, now. It's all a part of the adventure. But send your prayers and good thoughts my way!

In search of wild horses

Posted on by
1

What could be more American than the wild mustang? There are several bands of horses scattered throughout the middle of the U.S. and though their genetic makeup differs, they are all hardy, healthy, intelligent survivors.

Last week I drove into the Devil's Canyon recreation area, northeast of Lovell, Wyoming and into southern Montana in hopes of a mustang sighting.

I was blown away by the quiet majesty of the painted desert terrain – massive red rocks and a curving cliffs that look down 1,000 feet to Bighorn Lake.

IMG_1557

Armani and I went swimming.

IMG_1551

I meditated for a minute atop these cliffs, while flying birds and wind swished past my face.

IMG_1587

And while I was on my way back from the canyon, I spotted this guy:

IMG_1609

Here's how close he was to my van:

IMG_1620