Silt - Sandpipers & Snipes

My Knowledge of Birds is Limited, but these guys are fun to watch- Maybe Sandpiper or Snipe

The water in Guernsey lake is still low, in places not much more than the river running through.  The good news is that the lake will soon be full again. This is the last week of the silt run, and it will not be long before boats are back on the water. We still have a few weeks of warm weather, even if the kids are starting back to school. Seems like this summer went by quickly, hot, hot, hot and now all of the sudden, cooler nights and at times, sorry, the feeling of fall in the air.

Will Be Nice to See Water Here Instead of Sand and Mud

We spent some time in the park this weekend, including a pleasant walk on the deserted beach. Funny all the interesting things we run across when the water is down.

A Bit of Wood a Touch of Dry Moss and Some New Growth - I like it!

Even the wildlife seems to change with the lowering of the water.

These Little Sand Toads are Unique Creatures

As always another beautiful sunset. After our walk, we drove up on the North Bluff to the Castle and watched the sun disappear in the west.

Leaving the park in the early evening, just after sundown, we would be very disappointed if we did not see a few deer or turkey on our way back to town. We were not disappointed. 

Nice Mule Deer Doe and Fawns

On another note, a fire of many acres burned in the corner turning into the park from the highway. Unfortunately, with the burn the power pole that held a huge Osprey nest the past two years (they raised a little one this year) was burned to the ground. I am sure the birds survived with no trouble, but now without the nest, we probably will not see them again next year. 

Osprey On the Nest

Another great day in Wyoming - oh - and at Guernsey State Park

Sunset From the Castle

The Civilian Conservation Corps at Guernsey State Park

CCC Worker Statue Number 53 of 65 in America

As I look at society and the world of work in our country now, I am amazed at what was accomplished by the CCC in the 1930s. Two camps worked nearly four years in putting together, what today is, Guernsey State Park. Camp Nine was located between the Museum and the Spillway on the east side. Camp Ten, the west side camp, was situated on the south side of Skyline Drive at the foot of Mae West Hill.

Plaque on the Statue Base

The following three paragraphs are from my book – The Civilian Conservation & the Building of Guernsey State Park – With Folktales and Stories of the Park. Take a look at a free sample here.

  By 1935 there were 2,650 CCC camps in the United States with camps located in all of the forty-eight states. Young men, most with their first real job earned thirty dollars a month. Although a good number of people called this salary a dollar a day, it is not strictly accurate as weekends were off for the CCC men.  This would mean most worked twenty to twenty-five days per month, making their pay slightly more than a dollar a day. On a national level, there were some protests, thinking this salary too low, even for what many believed was a government handout. For the most part, the men were happy to have work and no records, which I have run across, report organized protests from workers in any of the Civilian Conservation Corps camps.

The Magnificent CCC Museum Built by Camp Nine

Of the $30.00 the men were paid, each month, they were allowed to keep $5.00, the rest was sent home as relief for CCC member families. The $25.00 each worker's family received every month was one of the first real attempts in America to jump start the economy during the hard times of the Great Depression.

America's Most Elaborate Picnic Shelter - The Castle - on the Parks North Bluff

 The five dollars the workers kept each month might not sound like much in present day, but in the 1930s the men were able to buy camp, vouchers used to purchase articles at the camp store.  Any money left was used during weekend trips to town.

Here I Am Talking About My Book and Guernsey State Park

Want to see more? Take a look at a free sample here. 

The View From Mae West Hill on Skyline Drive

Silt Run Birds

The silt run causes the park to go to the birds – in a good way.

Blue Heron searching for lunch in shallows

Most people seem to stay away from the park when the water goes down but not us.

Lot's of shoreline and not much water with Silt Run in full force

 This is an excellent time for bird watching. It is the only time of the year to see numerous Blue Heron and Pelicans, although they are always around, usually up the river.

Silt-laden water takes on a gray look - Pelicans don't mind

Today we watched a group of four Herons and another mile up Lakeshore Drive we watched five more.

Blue Heron Landing

As for the Pelicans, almost too many to count.

Birds seem to enjoy the new sandbar beaches

When we got home to rain and hail, hope the garden survived okay.

 

I like odd colors in the garden - how about a black petunia?

Guernsey Lake Silt Run

The silt run is on, and the lake is going down. Still a few smaller boats on the lake Friday and Saturday but I suspect that as I write this, Sunday, that the boats are gone.

Often the Silt Run Brings Out, Even More, Wildlife As Seen Here in 2015

Despite the low water levels, it is still a terrific time to hike in the park. Last evening we hiked with friends, one of our favorites the Red Cliff Trail. The area, once called the enchanted forest always seems out of this world.

Water Running Through The Enchanted Area On Red Cliff Trail

Not often I have I seen water rolling from the Morning Glory Spillway, but during the silt run it happens. The Morning Glory is the spillway that comes from under and behind the Powerplant.

Sun Sets Backlighting the Powerplant and Spillway

 This spillway is 128 feet long and was controlled by two, 64 by 14 1/2 foot drum gates until 2014. The 2013-14 rebuild and work on the dam closed one of the two original south gates after 86 years of service. Now one, newly rebuilt, gate controls the south side spillway.*

Morning Glory Spillway

One last thing about an evening hike in Guernsey State Park, walkers and hikers can always depend on a beautiful sunset to end the day.

From the Boat Launching Area on the East Side

*This information is taken from page 169 of my book on the Park – The Civilian Conservation Corps & the Building of Guernsey State Park – With Folktales and Stories of the Park. If you would like a copy, they are available by clicking here on the link. Books are available from many Wyoming booksellers, including the Park’s CCC Museum, and the visitor centers in Guernsey and Hartville. If you just want to take a look, click the link and read the free sample pages.

Thanks!

By the way, profits from books purchased from the museum go to Friends of the Park and are used for projects throughout the park.

Laramie Peak at Sunset - Photo From the Museum 

The Castle - Guernsey State Park

The Incredible North Bluff Castle

Last evening I took a drive up to the Castle on the North Bluff. I had high hopes of getting a few terrific sunset photos. The smoke in the air, glad it is not from around here, really adds to the vibrancy of colors with the setting sun.

 It looked like rain, and the cloud cover took away what chances I had for a great sunset photo. Best thing, it was still a nice way to spend an hour.

Not bad, Considering the Heavy Cloud Cover

Each Time I am at the Castle I Take This Same Shot

Everyone should spend some time at the Castle, it’s a geat place to relax, contemplate life, or just enjoy the views. 

A Close-up From the Castle

A Telephoto View From the Castle

A Hike In the Park

The Magical Keyhole Loop on the Echo Cave Trail

One of the great joys of hiking in Guernsey State Park is finding old, but little-used trails built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. If the day is right, it is almost like walking with those long forgotten men of the CCC. Places like this give the careful hiker and unlimited time to dream of things past, and all things future, much like the CCC workers must have as they built the park in the 1930s.

The Trail

 I have looked at this one for many years and my wife, and I decided yesterday, (Sunday), to get some photos. We invited along a few family members and off we went. Actually, I believe they asked us, but the story flows better the other way. It was a bad idea as the temperatures were in the upper 90s when we started and triple digits when we finished. A particularly poor choice of exercise days for seniors like us. The main trail leading to the long lost one we were after, is the spectacular Echo Cave Trial. This is a hike everyone, or most everyone should try. I should temper that statement by saying it is one of the most challenging hikes in the park because of changes in elevation, although not long, only about a mile and a half.  

No One Built Steps Better Than the CCC

How to Find the Trail

From the castle, we followed the very nice North Bluff Trail until it meets up with the steps that switch back and go down to the Echo Cave Trail. Follow the trail and enjoy the view as you walk. Once reaching Echo Cave make sure and try out the famous echo, we did, fun and one of the best comebackers ever. The no longer much used, if used at all, CCC trail loop starts once we reached Echo Cave. After exercising our echo abilities, we followed a trail that continues south from the cave. This portion of the trail starts up a very nice set of rock steps. After only fifty yards the trail appears to end. But with my 68-year-old eagle eyes, I was able to find the loop, and it is terrific. I call this one the, Keyhole Loop, and am sure the keyhole is the reason the original trial went from upper trail to the lower trail, the one we walked in on, at this point. One question? Why when trying out the echo does almost everyone holler, ECHO? Next is often, HELLO.

The Keyhole

Only an arm’s reach from the trail is one of the two great rock keyholes in the park. Unfortunately getting from the upper trail to the lower there are no steps. Instead, a slide of crumbling rock greeted us. The original must have had steps cut into the sandstone and dirt that covers the hillside, but time must have run out on the Corps workers before the loop could be finished with the great stone steps found on trails throughout the park. Time and weather have taken whatever the CCC men built on this part of the trail, but it is only about 10 yards long.

The younger members of our group were able to pick their way down, I used what they coined the Grandpa Slide method. I sat down and slid down, slowly. It is actually quite easy with no danger of falling, that I like. Oh, and there was no cactus or yucca so no posterior injuries.

Other than the heat it was an enjoyable hike. There is much more that I could say at this point about heat, hydration and senior citizens trying to do things they should not, but I will leave that for my Google + Fitness and Exercise For Seniors, blog.

Knight Mountain

The Photo at the top of this site is the park’s other, and more famous keyhole, Knight Mountain Keyhole. Thanks to friends Billy and Brandi, we were up there to take this photo on top of Knight Mountain one year ago today – July 11, 2015. 

Our Leader and Impossible to Keep Up With