Musings

Up, and back

Long miles of distant vistas sometimes with a nearby creek or river, punctuated by interesting stops. The long miles permeate my memories, but I’ll give you the fun stuff from two notable stops, Gentle Reader.

Scottsbluff terrain model

We started with a big climb to the top of Scotts Bluff, or the Prius made the climb. We merely sat. This vertically exaggerated model is in the vistor-center-museum. The actual feature an eroded 740′-high ridge of alluvial and aeolian deposits that are relatively soft, but a hard limestone caprock has allowed them to be preserved, although they of course continue to erode away. The survey marker that was installed on the “highest point” is now sitting atop a metal pillar that sticks above the surface over a foot in the air….

Scottsbluff view ENE

Here’s the view to the ENE from the top, a slight pano. That’s the town of Scottsbluff (yes, different spelling) there in the haze. The ranger thought it might be smoke not typical haze. I can’t say. We never smelled smoke, but saw the haze for miles.

Pullman RR car kitchen

If you ever wander through Douglas, Wyoming, you must stop at the Chamber of Commerce visitor center. Sweet people and every state highway map from the area. Also, lots of RR cars to look at—and two to clamber through! Here’s a Pullman kitchen! Cleaned up but not restored—soooooo special. Even the duckboard is on the floor, just like the carpeting is in the adjacent hallway that bypasses the kitchen….

Pullman RR car dining area

They used plastic dishes and plastic toppers, but the visual flavor of the dining section is preserved. The decorative details, like the rug and the carving of two deer on the bar at the end (brown zone, sorry no detail in this shot) demonstrate the care taken to make dining pleasing even as the wheels click-thunk over each rail-joint.