Back in the Field (and bloggy)

Hello.  It's me, Miley back after a long break.  Mommy ended up working in the lowlands during our very long and hot summer of 2012 so she couldn't take me with her.  Then she got very busy last fall, despite my requests that she at least post an update.

Well, the snow melted and we did get to work in a somewhat scenic area at about 25 miles east of Yellowstone National Park along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, just inside of the Forest boundary.  Wish Mommy would have driven me through the Park, but it isn't open yet for vehicular traffic.  Still covered with 3-4 feet of snow, the roads are being plowed so the East Entrance (original entrance and closest to Cody, WY) can officially open in May.



Photo of study area along North Fork of Shoshone River looking northeast.  Signal Peak in left background.

A narrow one-way bridge along a county road is scheduled to be replaced so we had to do an archaeological survey (technically termed Class III cultural resource inventory).  Below are a few pics of the existing bridge, about 85 feet long (looks shorter in pics) leading towards the Grizzly Ranch and several others.



(Above) Bridge looking southward towards Flag Peak.  (Below) side view.

Bridge viewed northward toward Flag Peak
 

(Above and below) Here's me at the base of an andesite outcrop near the road.

(Above) View southwest through Shoshone River Canyon. (Below) eastward view of river.

 



 We did see a small herd of about 20 Bighorn (Dall) sheep strolling along the highway.  Six sauntered down to graze along the terrace while we were hiking along a ditch berm adjacent to the river.  Unfortunately, Mom's camera lens wasn't strong enough to get a good photo - Grrr!  Hence the "mystery animal" pics below of the ram with a few ewes.

Hugs, Miley

 

Hiking through Elk Basin

Hello, it's Miley.  I 've finally gotten Mommy to update the blog.  She was mildly horrified when I pointed out that our last post was back in January.  She spent the late winter and early spring buried in reports and just got back into the field last month.  At least I got to go with her for a few days before the weather became too hot. 

We started on the gentle crest of Polecat Bench and headed north-northwest.  The snow-capped, Beartooth Mountains are visible on the western horizon.

     Elk Basin is rather rugged below the bench.

I like sandstone outcrops.  Sometimes bunnies pop out and startle Mommy.

This rock did not look happy!

  We walked through several steep drainages.  We were both tired by the end of the day.

Here's a little map.  The terrain in the west half (left) is much rougher than the gradual crest of Polecat Bench.  Both of us got a nice workout!

Hugs, Miley

Visit to South Pass City

The South Pass City Mercantile (Wyoming) 

It's me, Miley again.  Winter is here and things are a bit boring for me, but last fall was fun!  Mommy and I were working in the historic South Pass/Atlantic City region along the Wind River Mountain Range. So of course we had to take an hour off to wander around South Pass City.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, over 20 historic structures occur which were either rebuilt or restored.  Mommy had planned on us being there a month before in September when the interpretive center and all the buildings were open, but we got delayed.  The historic site is located at about 7,900 feet so snowfalls generally start early there.  However, we could still wander around. 

South Pass City was established around 1868 after gold was discovered in the area.  The community eventually reached a population of around 2,000.  Resident Esther Hobart Morris served as the first U.S. female Justice of the Peace in 1870. William Bright, a saloon owner and representative to the Wyoming Territorial Constitutional Convention, introduced a women's suffrage clause into the territorial constitution. When it was approved by  the Territorial Governor in December 1869, Wyoming became the first U.S. territory to recognize a woman's right to vote!

The Carissa Saloon

Within a decade, South Pass City's population shrank dramatically as the anticipated large gold deposits unfortunately failed to materialize. South Pass City's population was reduced to only about 100 people by around 1875 and continued to decrease. Presently, the city is divided into the historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a small community of only about 10 residents.

The Wolverine Mine adit

Closer view of the adit entrance.

 Peeking inside the adit after climbing over a box.

Photo taken through screen door, couldn't get any closer.  Getting some weird effects from the flash.

Me temporarily attached to the stamp mill used for extracting gold from the ore.

Yes, Mommy couldn't resist tethering me to a wagon.  No, I did not pull it!

 Hugs, Miley

Hello.  This is Pat, Miley's Mommy, briefly posting on her blog since after being tagged on another bloggy.  The questions were more pertinent to human rather than doggy activities so I'm answering them rather than Miley.

First, The Rules:

 1. You must post these rules.

2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

11 Things About Me

1. My favorite colors are purple, dark green, and burgundy.  I do not do pastels (although they look great on other people).
2. I've been around dogs since I was 5 years old.  My first was a Collie/German Shepard cross followed by a German Shepard and more collie crosses.  I got a Sheltie in 1989 and my first Airedales in 1991.
3. I can't swim.
4. I love shooting and do most of my target practice with a .22 revolver (cheap ammo).
5. I wish I had 40+ acres in the mountains with a cabin in the center.
6. I wear a watch all of the time except when taking a shower.
7. I hate cooking and with the exception of a few things, I'm dreadful at it.  I attempted baking a chocolate cake last year for my husband's birthday.  He suggested adding some pudding to make it moister.  Rather than adding a dry mix, I stupidly included two small Snack Packs.  A chocolate volcano formed.  It stood over 5 inches/12.5 cm tall! 
8. I love walking and I pace at home when I'm trying to figure something out.
9. I want to learn more about photography because most of my photos are simply lucky shots.  I like taking pics but avoid having my picture taken.
10. When I was a little kid, I hated ice cream and anything sweet but loved dill pickles.  
11. Both my Mom, my brother, and I were born in central Florida near Tampa.           

Questions to answer

1. If you could live in any time, when would it be?  Probably the 1800s or early 1900s.

2. Do you have any famous ancestors?  None that I know of.

3. If you were on Survivor, how do you think you would do?  Sorry, have to admit that I don't watch the show.

4. Starbucks or Dunkin?  Starbucks

5. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?  Probably would be a Phd doing lots of  research in archaeology (and a lot of fieldwork) . 

6. Name something on your bucket list.  I want to go to Egypt and see the pryamids.  

7. How many countries have you been to? and which was your favorite? I've only been to one, Canada.  We took a vacation (about 20 years ago on a Harley) to Glacier National Park and also visited Waterton Lakes National Park just across the Montana border   

8. What did you do with all this free time before the internet?  Definitely more reading and TV watching.

9. What is your favorite holiday and why?  Halloween because it's such a relaxing and fun holiday.  No major expenses or huge meals.  You can do as much or as little as you want without the guilt. 

10. Do you have any talents? (they can be weird, lol)

None really, I'm a decent technical writer, but lousy at creative writing.

11. What was your first car?  1981 Mercury Cougar.

Time for 11 new questions and I'm tagging http://romanceinthehighlands.blogspot.com/ .

1. Where would you go on an all expense paid vacation if you could choose anywhere in the U.S.?
2. What is your favorite color or colors?
3. What kind of vehicle did you learn to drive in?
4. How many US states have you lived in or traveled through (excluding airports)?
5. What animals are your favorite pets?
6. If you could take a course on any topic, what would you study? 
7. What are your favorite TV shows (think I know what one of them is)?
8. Do you have a favorite type of jewelry stone?
9. What is your favorite type of food when dining out?
10.  Where would you go on vacation if you could go anywhere in the world (outside of the U.S.)?
11. If you had the opportunity to hop into a time machine and meet someone well known or significant in history, who would you select?

Miley Delight

Happy New Year!  Yes, Mommy is behind on the bloggy again.  She's been buried in an avalanch of report writing generated by our 2011 projects.  We got to visit Miners Delight in October, now a tiny ghost town enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places.  Located at about 8,250 feet, Miners Delight occurs south of Lander, WY amid the Wind River Mountains.  It lies within the historic South Pass/Atlantic City region known for gold mining around 1867-1895.   


The Miners Delight lode was discovered in 1867 which led to the development of the surrounding town (Hamilton City).  Seventeen structures occur including cabins, a blacksmith shop, a cellar, shaft house, butcher shop, saloon,  etc.  A small cemetery lies south of the townsite near the modern crowned road.  The Bureau of Land Management installed interpretive signs and stabilized (to varying degrees) several of the old structures to avoid collapse.

Gold was reportedly first discovered in the South Pass area in 1842 with the initial lode claims filed in 1867.  The Miners Delight lode was discovered in September of that year.  A ten-stamp mill was erected in January of 1869.   By mid-summer of that year, it had extracted an estimated $65,000 of gold from the Miners Delight ore.   A fairly large sum for 1869,  $65,000 went alot further then than now. 

Okay, history summary complete - time for photos (clicking on them makes them larger) before I bore everyone to sleep.  Unfortunately, it was getting cloudy and late in the afternoon when we were there so the lightening, especially in the trees, was far from ideal.

Hamilton City obscurred by trees.

Miley briefly attached to fence around cabin.

The Blacksmith Shop

Another cabin with an old stove in front.

More cabins.

Me waiting on Mommy

A little storage structure.

The remnants of the shaft house.

The little cemetary.

Old headstone dating to 1875

Bye for now and have a great 2012, Miley

The Bear Creek Area

Hello, it's me Miley again.  We had a very busy summer/early fall.  Mommy is taking a break from report writing and is helping with the bloggy.  The keyboard does not cooperate with my paws. I always hit at least 2-3 keys each time!   We spent some time in August in the southern Absaroka Mountains north-northeast of Dubois, WY.  On a limited budget, we happily stayed in a Camping Kabin at the KOA Campground.   We woke up one crisp August morning to 32 degrees with frost on the truck's windshield.  Dubois is at about 6,940 feet so it cools down at night.  

We got to explore a new area (nice road in pic below).  We tried out the 4 Wheel Drive Low setting on the Durango on some rocky, steep grades.

  We had lots of rocky roads.

Walked on trails through the willows.



 Read an informative but not comforting sign.  Happily no close encounters with grizzly bears!

Crossed the East Fork of the Wind River in a shallow rocky area. This probably would have been impossible in June when the water was much higher.   

 

Recorded a cow camp with one cabin dating to the 1920s (with very modern front door).

Nice area for a cow camp.

 
I'll try to get Mommy on here again soon.  Hugs, Miley
Hugs, Miley

Bittersweet Summer

Hello, Miley here.  The past  3 months have went by fast with some good times and sad times as well.  Too many of our doggy friends crossed the rainbow bridge this summer.

My little friend Bisquit departed our world on August 9 after a year of on heart meds (Enalapril, Lasix, and Digoxin twice a day).  Mommy and Daddy got her back in late 1996 - a long time before I was born in 2006.   At the time, she was a 8 week old Boston Terrier/Australian Cattle dog (Heeler) cross puppy advertised as a Boston Terrier cross pup.   She later showed various mannerisms and the tendency to try to herd range cows strongly suggestive of her Heeler Mom (who had a litter of 11, a bit  large for the typical Boston Terrier).    At the age of nearly 14, she had a cardiac episode  leaving her with a severe heart murmur.  On the morning of August 7, 2010,  Mommy woke up and found her breathing very heavily like she had been running around, but had been laying down for hours.  It was Saturday and our vet's office was closed, but Mommy got ahold of Dr. Lyle who met them down there.  Bisquit did really well until this past Spring when it became apparent the meds were gradually loosing effectiveness.

Below is an older pic of Bisquit helping Mommy back in May of 2007.  She is standing by the orange stake along an old stage road.

On a lighter note, Mommy and I got to spend a lot of time in the mountains this summer.  We got to work along the Green Creek Valley at about 35 miles east of Yellowstone National Park and saw some pretty scenery. 

Hugs, Miley.