About Gillette, Wyoming (September 9 - 15)

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Gillette, Wyoming, the energy capital of the nation. The area produces over 93 million tons of coal annually. Gillette is also known for it's rodeos and cowboy history. Roger, Bear and I are here for ten days at the "Rendezvous In The Rockies" Ramble sponsored by the Family Motor Coach Association and the local chapter called the Rocky Mountain Motorhome Association. Although this is our first Ramble, the RMMA has sponsored this event for 29 years. This has been a great opportunity to meet other motorhome owners and learn more about the RVing way of life.

Roger and I arrived early for the Ramble on Saturday, and had fun saying hello to other early attendees. We are staying at the Gillette Camplex, an excellent facility that has plenty of spaces for motorhomes (complete with full hookups) and large meeting facilities for classes and vendors. The Ramble started on Wednesday. Tours in the nearby area were provided during the pre rally days.

On Monday, Roger agreed to take care of Bear in order that I might go on the Deadwood/Devil's Tower tour that lasted all day. Our bus drove us to Devil's Tower, which is actually the core of a volcano, exposed after millions of years of erosion by the Belle Fourche River and the weather.  The tower stands 865 feet tall and offers some of the best rock climbing around. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt designated it as the nation's first national monument.

 Devil's Tower from a distance.

 Notice two rock climbers in this picture.

 One rock climber in this picture, near the bottom.

 A picture of the land surrounding Devil's Tower.

Our second stop was at the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. This old western town is now known for it's casinos, but it was the place where Wild Bill Hickock was shot playing poker. 

 Saloon #10 where Wild Bill was shot.

 Deadwood Main Street

Wild Bill getting a hug from me.

Tuesday was a tour of the Eagle Butte coal mine in Gillette. Roger and I learned so much about coal mining. We stayed on the bus throughout the tour because of the security, safety precautions and grime associated with open pit coal mining.

 These storage towers mix coal to the specifications of various customers.

 Coal is loaded onto coal cars in this picture. Each train engine will carry between 100 - 125 coal cars.

 One car filled and many more to go.

 These machines move the coal from the seam to the cropper where it is crushed. The tires are 11 feet tall and cost $28,000 each.

 Coal is loaded into the cropper to be crushed.

 We are headed down into the open pit where coal is mined 7 days a week.

 After blasting the land (internal blasting), the drag line scoops up the coal and loads it into one of the coal moving machines.

The coal mines are required to reclaim the land and restore it to the grassland that it once was. This was a very interesting tour and we were so glad that we got to take it.

The rest of the week was spent at the Ramble. We were in classes during the day and entertained at night. One highlight was the Pet Parade! The pics below show Roger and Bear strutting their stuff.

 We will leave on Sunday for Cheyenne, Wyoming for two nights. The next blog will come from Colorado Springs where we will stay for almost three weeks.  Thank you for your interest in our blog.