Day 29, Wednesday July 6, At Buffalo WY

 Day 29, Wednesday July 6, At Buffalo WY,

  Well, we did get to De Smet Lake and saw some good birds, wildlife and a beautiful creek that runs for miles and miles. The entry to the road is off I-90,  just north of Buffalo, but I got off I-90 one exit to soon, so we toured the west shore of the Lake high above on a plateau. That was OK as the creek we wanted to get to was at the north end of the Lake. After  a few miles I took a side road toward the I-90 that I saw in the distance and sure enough it had a ramp (narrow) to the freeway. The ranchers must have fought for that one! On this road we did see more sparrow in the fields.

De Smet Lake on the west side  looking NE

We spotted this buck (Pronghorn) on a ridge.

There are small cattle ranches along Piney Creek

 

The NEXT exit was the entrance to Piney Rd. and the route we had been seeking. There are, in this country, always field birds along the way, if you have the patience and eyes to spot them.

Pinery Creek runs north of the lake to the east, and then turns south down  W 14 , so it follows the road system, OR, the roads were following the low stream bed when they were built. I suspect the latter.

Piney Creek where the tree line is.

Some of the hills on the range land.

An Osprey eating its catch on a pole.

 

There were many places where the trees made small thickets by the road, and those were the best birding spots. A good combination of water and  trees usually increases the chances fo bird life. We did see 30 birds on that run, and stopped at "U-Cross". 

Ucross has a population of 25. It is part of the so-called UCLA of Wyoming — Ucross, Clearmont, Leiter and Arvada.  The community received its name from the Pratt and Ferris Cattle Company, whose logo had a U with a cross beneath it. In 1981, the Ucross Foundation opened. A 20,000-acre artists retreat, the Foundation has a residency program that has hosted 1,300 artists, writers, and musicians.

We used their picnic tables for our noon repast. Coming back to Buffalo on this "circle" route on US 16 gave me a lot of "throwback" memories.  I lived most of my young life just one block from US 16 in Detroit. called Grand River in the city. I had no idea it came this far.

Perennial Lupine

Giallardia aristata (cone flower)

There were a few more at this ranch.

 

The town of Buffalo, has some really wild history in the area in days gone by, There was the "Hole in the Wall" gang with Billy the Kid and his bunch which centered in Cody,,mountain man, WY, there were the Indian wars and what was called the Johnson County Cattle Wars. We are in Johnson County. The cattle barons were moving in on the homesteader/ranchers in a big way. They hired assassins to kill the homesteaders who resisted and one man (Nathan D. Champion) held "50 invaders" off long enough for the citizens to come to his aid, for a final battle  called the "TA Battle" after the ranch of the same name.

As for me, I learned much about the Indian wars of the1830's. John Bozeman "mountain Man", mapped a route to the mines in Montana, through Crow land (the Crow were peaceable and allowed the route go through their land), but the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Lakota tribes had an alliance and banded together to attack any one coming through that land. (It was not their right to be there.) The US Cavalry was sent to stop them, but the Natives knew the territory,  and using tactics they knew well,ambushed 100 of them and killed them all. This was known as "Fetterman's Massacre" as he (Fetterman) did not listen to his commanding officer to NOT go beyond a certain point. (He did). After that time for about 10 years the cavalry pulled out of that Powder River Country, as the Native alliance held together. 

This is a fascinating, yet bloody history in which the Natives held together for awhile.

These Conglomerate rocks fall down the hills and 

Storm a brewin' but little rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 are used as driveway borders. (Drive carefully)

The road on the west side of Lake De Smet

 

We ended the day with some grocery shopping, at "Lynne's Superstore" .We noticed that here the shelves were empty of many items. That left few choices that we were used to. But, we did get what was needed. ( I think the "squeaky wheel"gets the grease (Supplies.)

A light train threatened all day ,but these storms coming out of the Big Horn Mountain to our west come quickly , but do not carry much moisture. When we are driving in the country we can see the shafts of rain coming down but not reaching the ground. They say the heavy rains are in the spring.

Tomorrow we head for Douglas WY, where we will pick up the North Platte River , which we will follow into Nebraska and the BIG Platte River.  Catch you then

  Summary: In the 18th and 19th centuries, people in what’s now Johnson County witnessed:

• Inter-tribal rivalries that epitomized the northern Plains horse culture;
• Beaver trapping by mountain men in the Bighorns;
• Military, trapper and trader exploration and the establishment of several trading posts and military forts, as well as use of the Bozeman Trail by wagon trains;
• Indian attacks on wagon trains and forts;
• The Fetterman Fight (Massacre)the biggest Indian victory on the northern plains before the Little Big Horn battle, and predating it by a decade;
• The rise of the cowboy and cattle baron, and the decline of open-range cattle empires, culminating with the Johnson County War.