On Our Way Back East To Sundance, WY 7/11/2010

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TWO BLOGS AGAIN TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Up this morning and packing up to start our trip back east. We were on the road by 9:30 as we had to get on I-90 (NYS Thruway) for the 130 mile trip to Sundance, WY. It was a nice trip with no hitches or problems. We did go through a rather large city along the way called Gillette, WY. As we drove we saw a large plant or factory off to our right and some land that had what looked like black earth deep in the ground. Well come to find out it was coal coming from the Powder River Coal Co. Powder River Coal Company in Gillette, Wyoming, is the second largest coal producing company in the United States. Powder River Coal Company owns and operates four surface mines in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Together, the four mines control 2.5 billion tons of recoverable coal. The coal seams at the four mines range from 65 feet to over 100 feet thick. These mines produce coal with high Btu's, low sulfur, and low ash, which means that much of the coal produced is compliant with the Clean Air Act. When coal is burned to produce electricity, the sulfur content combines with oxygen to make sulfur dioxide. The greater the sulfur content of the coal, the greater quantity of sulfur dioxide that is formed. When sulfur dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, it can become part of the chemical cycle that produces acid rain. Because Powder River coal has such a low sulphur content, it is in demand for use by electric power companies all over the United States. More coal is produced in the state of Wyoming than in any other state in the United States. According to the Gillette, Wyoming Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Wyoming's Powder River Basin produces one-fifth of all the coal produced in the United States annually. One of the reasons is because of the low sulfur content of the coal found in the Powder River Basin. In the United States, coal adds $81 billion a year to the economy and more than one million jobs for Americans. Coal is a major industry and generates over 55 percent of America's electric power. Coal is the power behind your electricity. Every time you turn on a light or turn on your computer, it is possible that you are using coal, maybe even Powder River Coal. We thought that was very interesting seeing as you would never think that someplace in WY would be the second largest coal producing company in the U. S. Well we got to the Mountain View RV Park & Campgrounds about 11:45, registered, got set up and had lunch. The campgrounds is very nice as we are sitting on the second tier on a hill overlooking Sundance Mountain which climbs to 5,810'. The sites aren't the biggest but adequate, showers and bathrooms are great, cable is great and of course wi-fi is so-so. After lunch I had to wet a towel and wipe down the coach as it was getting rather dirty and of course the bugs were bad on the front. After I finished that I showered and watched the rest of the soccer game and then we took a ride into Sundance to see the town. Well seeing as there are only 1100 people here that took us all of 15 minutes to see the town. Not much here but they do have 8 churches, for 1100 people.....about 140 per church if everybody in town goes, a few older buildings, some small restaurants, a grocery store and a few motels. Then it was back to the coach for the day. Well that's about all from here for today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick