A street (looking north) slowly being reclaimed by the grass. Off to the left is a derelict tennis court. These are some images I took in Jeffrey City recently. Jeffrey City is the only town between between Muddy Gap and Lander on Highway 287. It was once a boom town--uranium mining--and currently has a very small population who work mostly on ranches. Rumor has it that it might boom again--can't remember what it is they think they'll mine there but surely something that will damage the landscape and people's health. Right now it is a sleepy place that the landscape are beginning to retake. I was there in April 2008, about 2 weeks after the last major snowfall, on a very windy day. The wind just sweeps through there.
A closed restaurant with snow piled up in front of it (north facing).
One of the buildings where they housed men who worked in the mines. Below is one of the old gas stations. On the back, which faces a road coming out from the Red Desert and the mines, it says "Flats Fixed."
The only signs of current life I saw are below, other than the post office's drop area (Jeffrey City doesn't have a post office anymore, just a stoutly built shelter on what must have been a town square idea. It houses locked mailboxes and a mail bin for sending things out. I am not sure where you purchase stamps.
5 comments:
Howdy,
For reasons too complicated to go into here, I plan on visiting this area on my motorcycle later in June. It doesn't sound like there is any fuel here. Is that correct?
Dean
Hey Dean
Thats right there is no place in Jeffrey City to get fuel, you can however get fuel at muddy Gap, 25 miles south east, or Lander or Riverton about 55 miles west. There are lots of historical sites all over this part of Wyomoing so it makes for a real fun road trip.
Brian
"Rumor has it that it might boom again--can't remember what it is they think they'll mine there but surely something that will damage the landscape and people's health." Oh and by the way that is the same old liberal crap. 90% of the tax revanues in Wyoming come from Oil, and gas, and Coal exploration, and mining. And the environmental rules are the strictest they have ever been. They get the stuff that heats your home, fuels your car, and they do it with little or no impact to the environment. If we live like people like you want us to, everywere will look like Jeffrey City, WY.
Brian
Thanks Brian, I'll plan accordingly. The bike has a safe 160 mile range. I could get there and back from either Rawlins or Lander but I wouldn't be able to explore much on site.
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