FRONTIER RELICS & AUTO MUSEUM~Gillette-WY

We had planned to drive out and see the Devil's Tower (the tower seen in the sci-fi movie, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind') …

… but a thunder/rainstorm blew in overnight, with a flood warning in the morning … so, we stuck a little closer to home - got the dog shampooed (we're going to have to learn to do his toenails ourselves; the groomers either do not do them at all, or they just clip the tips which isn't helpful at all) and visited one of the local museum's.

Museum Info.

Perfect Pawz Dog Spa from Green Tree Crazy Woman Campground; 3 min (1.2 mi) via US-14 WUS-16 W

Flash Flood warning.

Museum Entrance; about a block from where Independence is parked.

Entrance.

Vintage Gas Pump.

Holland told me every year and every model each tailgate came from …

I love these colorful vintage dishes - but, nowhere to put them, now.

We ate lunch here; just off the main museum floor.

I like the way the booths were repurposed.

We both ordered the Ruben Bison Brat; Holland also got kettle chips, I got waffle fries. No coke - so I settled for a root beer, & Holland got a pepsi-coke blend. YUK!

I liked the whole set-up.

Interesting way to repurpose cast-off bikes. Cool … but difficult to eat around.

I could almost hear the coins dropping … and the glass bottles thunking into the slot for grabbing ;-)

I couldn't resist setting this in motion.

Gillette Tires Sales Sign; I burst out laughing when I saw this little bear rolling a tire; I do miss white wall tires.

Ford cars; lower car named for Henry Ford's son, Edsel Ford.

I like this little Nash; it's compact, and colorful.

Not fancy … but it is cute.

It was interesting to see SO many different styles of gas pumps.

It was interesting to listen to Holland give me a run-down list on every vehicle park on the Museum floor.

Car with a Rumble Seat in back.

Vintage Delivery Car w-Drive-In Food Tray.

I've never seen anything like these …

Waaay before Harley's became a luxury ride …

Texaco Gas Pump & Pump Attendant.

Vintage Refill Motor Oil Pump.

Holland got all excited about his Jeep Truck - personally, I wouldn't have it in my driveway. Holland thinks those ugly El Camino's are great too - ICK!

This does NOT say 'Jeep' to me; I'm more interested in an actual Jeep. Holland is drawn to 'upscale'.

This Woody Station Wagon got my attention …

Vintage camp gear …

Vintage Cooler, Suitcase, & Charcoal Firepit cooker.

Miniature model of Vintage Gillette-WY; during coal-mining days.

Gillette-WY~Energy Capital

Gillette, a city in the northeast corner of Wyoming, is known for providing almost 35 percent of the nation's coal and is also a significant producer of oil and natural gas. Thus, Gillette calls itself the "Energy Capital" of the country.

Holland spotted this display that caters to my primitive side; I love archeological finds.

Mammoth Dig Site & Ice Age Fossils Museum; Hot Springs-SD; 2-1/2 hr. drive one-way. And, we'd have to backtrack.

Mammoth carving on a petrified hip bone.

Petrified Buffalo Skullcap; found along the Missouri River in North Dakota.

Indian Pottery Shards.

Large & small Ammonite Shell Fossils. Ammonites were shelled cephalopods that died out a couple million years ago.

Ammonite vs Cuttlefish:(https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2014/08/04/unravelling-an-ammonite-mystery.html)

 Fossilized Dactylioceras Ammonites & Dactylioceras Ammonite supposition; internet surf picture.

Trilobite Fossils; extinct marine arthropod.Trilobite:(https://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/invert/arthropod/trilobite/index.htm)

Knightia; Wyoming's Official State Fossil.Knightia:(https://www.fossilera.com/pages/wyoming-state-fossil-fossil-fish-knightia)

Large fossilized freshwater clam.

Prehistoric stone shard spearheads - very sharp!

Prehistoric hand-knapped bifacial knife.

Prehistoric stone arrowheads.

Coal Miner Head Lamps.

Vintage Post Office Boxes - I used one of these from 1970 - 1973 ;-)

Telegraph tools.

To run power to blasting caps when dynamiting.

1930's Ford - this was a luxury ride! Pretty fancy.

Interesting Gas Pumps …

Vintage Laundry Aides; cloth laundry bin, double electric-wringer washing machine, electric steaming press; replacement washing machine rollers.

Vintage 'hot' iron; heated on a wooden stove - sometimes with water pour into it for a steaming purpose.

Vintage Laundromat.

Vintage Bell Phone Box - no idea what era. I've never seen a phone like this one.

Gun Shop Sign - Winchester Rifles; 'how the West was won'.

An outfitted 'frontiersman'; I want a pair of boots like that, when we go into snake country!

Top - DBL barrel Shotgun; bottom guns are Youth Rifles, used by young boys before they got their 'man size' rifles.

1840-1870' black powder rifles.

I laughed out loud … I had NO idea Coors dealt with milk, as well as beer!

Vintage Soda Fountain tools; draft soft drinks, milk shakes, ect.

Ancient Gas Pumps; pipes attached to metal tanks in the ground, and pumped into containers packed in cars.

A trip down Memory Lane; both our mother's collected & traded Green Stamps for 'free' items - my mother smoked, and the green stamps came in the cellophane that wrapped her pack of cigarettes; Holland's mother didn't smoke, but he said the stamps even came with coffee, bread, ect. if you spent a certain amount of money. I had forgotten about that aspect of the stamps.

BB guns - on every 8 yo boy's Wish List for Santa Claus.

Vintage 8mm Movie Camera.

On our way back home, we stopped at Wal*Mart and got Bleu a higher dog dish; he's taller now, and this new dish will be easier on his neck.

When we got back home, Bleu surprised three wild rabbits, and nearly jerked my arm out of socket when he bolted after them :-(

His jerk behavior continued (it started at the dog groomer's, and carried through with the rabbits - ending with the chewed up halter) … so, I had to pull out my BadAss Card - which had Holland laughing when  I went into full-on-MOM Mode. Bleu took one look at my stance, and backed up 'til he was hidden under Holland's knees. But, I got him anyway - and slipped a new halter on his jerking little body. We prefer he runs free too, but he's got to wear a halter when in RV Parks.

Wild rabbit - 3 of them came shooting out from under the RV when Bleu was outside.

Bleu didn't get away with anything … I slipped a camo halter on him; and this new one has a strap that will make it easier getting him in and out of Betsy ;-)

Bleu's new dining table; perfect height.

Today has been a good day.

A good ending to Shabbat; even with Bleu's jerky hijinx :-)