Return to South Pass City and We Visit a Historic Dump

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Copper Queen Mine site, 3 miles north of South Pass City State Historic Site, Wyoming.

The Copper Queen Mine sate beneath the gravel in the foreground. Apparently the old opening was closed earlier this year. The concrete structure in the mid-ground is the foundation for a stamp mill that stood here.

We go up early, had breakfast and coffee, and went to Safeway for groceries. Then, back to South Pass City. Along the way we saw two mule deer in a pasture, just as you leave the Lander valley. We got in around 8:30 AM- early enough to put things away from the trip, relax a minute, and then get to out 9:00 training for school tours. The training was mostly discussion and lasted about an hour. So, ...

Back to the trailer. We have hamburgers to smoke for our weekend/workweek lunches, then we made frittatas (the smoker is our oven) for breakfasts, and then I smoked a few chicken thighs for dinner. I worked on the computer- four slides for my Lovejoy presentation!, and read while things were on the smoker. However, by the time we got the chicken thighs off, it was time to head to our group trek to the Copper Queen mine. It is probably less than three miles as the crow flies from South Pass City, but it is a much longer trip by vehicle over some rough terrain. 

We got to the mine and discovered it had been covered up with soil and rock. Only the foundations of the old stamp mill remained. Bummer. I had seen the mine on an earlier stint in South Pass City, but Connie had not been on that trip. We walked around the site for a bit and then started back to South Pass City. We saw five pronghorn antelope on the way out to the mine and about 23 on the way back- I suspect this also includes the earlier five, as they were in the same area as where we had seen five earlier.

Evidently, Joe had told Jonna (another of the volunteers) about a dump site along the way. She was eager to see it. So, we had a side trip. This was a fun walk through mostly old metal cans, punctuated with automobile tires and old dinnerware. So, a 1930s era dump, or later?

I took a few photographs, but this one tells the tale.

Beer cans in one small dump site outside South Pass City, Wyoming.
 

Old steel cans, with triangular (church key)  punch holes in their tops. Many of the cans had a golden hue- Banquet Beer! South Pass City residents of old evidently had a fondness for Coors. Reminders me of my high school days in Las Vegas: Coors and Fritos. This small dump tells the story of many an evening spent drinking beer. 
 

We returned to South Pass City, and Connie and I went over to Atlantic City, to the Miners Grubstake for nachos and a couple of drinks. We saw five mule deer on the way in, one of which looked as if it wanted to take the truck on- luckily it made a better decision.) We had nachos and drinks and headed home Along the way, we saw a several rabbits and had one run beneath the truck and jump up beneath it. This didn't sound good. We made it home, ate dinner, cleaned up, read a bit, and hit the sack.

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