On my way to Wyoming I stopped off at the Sternberg Museum in Hayes Kansas. I'd passed it on previous trips, but didn't have time to stop. This time I decided I was far enough ahead of schedule that I could afford an hour or two stop at the museum. I also needed to stretch my legs.

I'd read Sternberg's fascinating book "The Life of a Fossil Hunter" several years ago. He was a major player in the so called "Dinosaur Wars" of the late 1800s, having worked as a collector for both Marsh and Cope at various times. So I was looking forward to actually getting to see the museum named after him and full of his finds. The museum is very oriented toward kids, but I found a lot of things to interest me too while I was there.

Here is the skeleton of a 40 foot long mosasaur that Sternberg dug up out of the Kansas chalk beds. It's so big that the room it is in is almost too small to get far enough away from it to get the whole thing in one photo.

Aside from the dinosaur and mosasaur displays, of which there were many, I spent some time looking at more recent fossils like this saber cat. This is the sort of thing we would be hunting for out in the Nebraska badlands later on this trip. There is quite a collection of Oligocene era fauna at the museum.

I also checked out the titanothere display. we were going to be spending a lot of time fossil hunting in the titanothere beds of the Nebraska badlands.

After the museum, I pressed on, driving into Colorado and stopping for the night just short of Denver. The next morning I drove through alternating snow, hail, slush and driving rain the rest of the way to Denver to pick up Leslie at the airport so we could head up into Wyoming.

The bad weather in Colorado and Wyoming after Leslie arrived put a monkey wrench into our plans to drive a scenic mountain route to some hot springs Leslie wanted to see. We didn't think we could make it on those mountain roads in the snow and ice with my Florida tires and no chains. So we took a safer route to Thermopolis instead, and spent the night in a hotel there, soaking in their hot spring fed pool. The next day we drove the rest of the way to our L&M Ranch in Wyoming.

Here is a photo I shot standing in front of the barn and looking toward the guest house and my workshop. It was early may and most of the trees were still bare. Contrast this photo with the one taken from the same spot before we left almost a month later.

There was a lot of work that needed to be done around the ranch, and not a lot of time to do it. We had to empty the second garage, (my workshop), of a lot of furniture and other stuff that was stored there. We had to do some landscaping and general cleanup of the construction debris and dead wood in the yard. There was lots of re-arranging and organizing of stuff in the guest house as we furnished it. And there were a lot of other jobs that needed doing while we were there. One job that needed doing bad was constructing some proper steps into the studio / guest house. We had been using a couple of cinder blocks as temporary steps. I built some nice sturdy steps with a wide stoop at the top.

Another job we wanted to do was fix our Bloomsky weather station and get it up and running again. It had stopped working a few months earlier. Leslie suspected the solar panels had died and ordered new ones. I replaced the solar panels, and after some cajoling, got it working again. You can see the live image, weather info and daily timelapse movies from it below.

One big job we tackled was getting the cabinets and countertop installed in the studio. I drove the countertop all the way to Wyoming since we wouldn't be able to get one like it out there. Nothing is screwed down yet, since things may need to move a bit in the future. Even so, this makes the kitchen area a lot more usable. In the future we plan on adding a sink and a propane cooktop. for now we make do with a microwave and hotplate, and do dishes in the outside sink, see below.

Since we didn't have the plumbing in place to put a sink inside yet, I built an outside sink using an old sink we had in the garage and some scrap lumber. I anchored it to a tree in the yard and hooked water up to it with some garden hose. I ran more hose for the drain out into the yard so our feet don't get wet while using it, and the gray water can water the plants. Now we don't have to do the dishes in the bathroom, at least not when the weather isn't terrible outside.

Another job I did was to move the junky old cabinets we had in the studio temporarily, out to the warming room of the observatory. First I fixed them up so they weren't falling apart any more. Then I put an old door we had stored in the barn across the top to make a desktop. Now the observatory has a desk. I need to find a better chair for it though.

After a week of working at the ranch, it was time to drive over to Nebraska and spend two weeks fossil hunting in the badlands. This video is a compilation of the highlights of that two weeks. It was another great fossil hunting expedition to The White River Badlands.

We also got a really great behind the scenes guided tour of The Black Hills Institute while we were fossil hunting. The tour was led by none other than Peter Larson, the president of the Institute.

After we got back to our ranch from fossil hunting in Nebraska, we had some time on our hands to go exploring and have some fun, since we did the bulk of our projects before we left. This day we decided to head up into the Wind River Mountains and do some exploring and see what interesting sights we could see along the way. Here my lovely wife Leslie is taking a photo of the lovely snow-capped Wind Rivers, as seen from our ranch, before we headed out to get up close and personal with them.

We were shocked to find, just outside the tiny town of Dubois, in the foothills of the mountains, an amazing museum. It is The National Museum of Military Vehicles. It's huge, and amazing, even though we only got to see the outside displays. The museum was actually closed for renovations before their big grand re-opening the next day. The outside exhibits were open though, so we spent quite a long time looking at the hundreds of vehicles parked outside.

This photo shows just a few of the hundreds of vehicles parked under the gigantic outdoor pavilion, plus there are more in the yards and parking lots around the museum. There are military vehicles of every kind, from all over the world, and from pre WWII to the present day. It is a truly amazing collection. We spent a couple of hours just looking at all the outside displays. This museum is definitely on our list of things to do on our next trip to Wyoming so we can get to see the inside displays, which look like they are even more awesome than the outdoor ones.

After lunch at a quaint cafe in Dubois, on the bank of the Wind River, we headed up into the mountains. We went as far up as Togwotee Pass, where the snow was still quite deep. People were parked beside the road and practicing their cross-country skiing. The mountain vistas were amazing. There was one particular amazing vista we wanted to get to but couldn't due to the snow. Leslie wanted to see Wind river Lake, which is quite scenic. Unfortunately the road in was closed by the snow. Not just closed, thoroughly buried under many feet of it, with deeper drifts. We'll have to try again to get there sometime during the summer months.

After playing in the snow for a while, we retreated back to just below the snow line and found a picnic area with a truly amazing view. We stopped here for a while and took photos. There is also a really cool looking campground just above the picnic area, but it was closed. We looked around as much as we could, thinking this would be a nice place to camp in our RV during the summer and fall.

I really like this photo. I use it as the background on my computer. The thumbnail doesn't do it justice. Click on it to see a larger version.

By now it was late May. It was time to go. I stood in the same spot where I took the above photo of the bare trees and took another. Now, almost a month later, they were leafing out nicely, including the apple tree, which was also covered with fragrant blossoms. We are going to have a bumper crop of apples this fall. We said goodbye to our wonderful Wyoming ranch. I took Leslie to the airport so she could fly home. Then I started the two day long drive almost due south to our place in Arizona.

As with last time I made this long drive, I stopped at Douglas Pass in Colorado and did some fossil leaf hunting. I did a bit better than last time, I found a partial large leaf. The rest had already split off and tumbled down the mountain. Too bad. It would have easily been as big as my hand if whole. Still, not bad for only spending an hour or so up at the pass splitting rock.

Eventually I arrived at our place in Arizona. After unloading the stuff from the truck that needed to stay at the ranch, I drove into town and swapped vehicles. I spent the next two weeks driving my beloved Toyota Tacoma, while the F-150 rested for a while at the airport. As usual, the Tacoma started right up with the first turn of the key. It has nearly 200,000 miles on it and it is still going strong. You just can't kill those things.

I had a big project in mind for this trip. I was going to enclose the front porch and make it into a kitchen and storage area. it would increase the inside space of the cabin by about 25%, and unclutter the main living area. It was going to be a big job for one person. I did it in small bites. Just like the old adage of "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

So here is a picture of the (rather cluttered) front of the cabin before the work began. It was about to change big time. I took measurements, brainstormed some designs, made a list, and went into town to buy materials and supplies.

I was going to be here for almost two weeks, so there was no hurry. I did the job a bit at a time in the cool of the mornings and evenings. It was just too hot in the middle of the day to be out in the sun working hard.

I started with the easiest side first. The north wall just needed some 2X4 studs installed and then some sheathing slapped up. It went pretty quickly and easily.

The south wall was a bit more of a challenge. Not only was there going to be a window in it, requiring extra framing, but the existing structure on that side was seriously out of square. Ten years of exposure to the weather had taken a toll. The wood of the porch was seriously warped and twisted in places. I had to fur out a lot of the existing wood to make it square before putting on the siding. The end result looks great.

The east wall was not only the longest wall, with two openings needing to be framed out, but it was also seriously warped and twisted. It took an entire day of furring out the front to make it square enough to put the siding on. I used every bit of 1X material I had on hand, plus some scrap strips of sheathing to build out the areas where the porch structure had warped inwards. The sheathing isn't quite perfectly flat across the front, but it's nothing a little caulk couldn't fill. The window and the rough opening for the door went in without a hitch.

Moving the front door and putting in a floor on the porch would need to be done in one day. Otherwise the cabin would be open to the weather and varmints. I planned a big push for the next day.

Naturally, the day of my big push was also one of the hottest days while I was there. I was glad I built the shower room on my last trip out here. It came in handy after working all day in that heat.

So here is what I had after my big push. Cutting out the door frame from its original location and relocating it proved to be easier than I expected. It probably took less than an hour and I had a functioning front door again. Putting in the floor took a while longer. It was quite a job in the heat, on the sunny side of the building.

Here is a photo of the finished outside of the cabin. The trim at the corners and around the window and door frames came a day or two later. Not too bad if I do say so myself. It needs paint, but that can wait until another visit.

Also on another visit I want to build a new front porch on the cabin. Just so we have an area out front that is under cover and out of the rain and sun.

I used the same sheathing I was putting on the outside for the floor. Since I had some left over, I also ran it half-way up the inside walls, giving the new room a semi-finished look.

In this somewhat out of focus photo I have begun moving the kitchen stuff out of the living area. After I took this photo I decided to add a short countertop and some shelving. plus some hooks for hanging pots, pans and large utensils. The new kitchen is great. I love cooking in it without having to work around the bed in the main living area. There is also room to put the coolers along the wall so all the food and cooking supplies are right at hand. no more running outside to get stuff out of the coolers.

Not only did I have the extreme heat to contend with while working, but the wildfire season was in full swing. Fires far off near Phoenix and Flagstaff were sending smoke my way. The air quality was terrible for several days. This is a photo of the sun barely burning through the smoke and haze. I developed a cough that lingered for about a week after I got home.

June is always hot, windy and dry in my part of Arizona. It is also prime time for wildfires. I usually avoid the state during June, but my schedule this year meant I had to be there. I normally try to be out there no later than May, and no earlier than late August, and usually not during the worst of the winter months. I got a good reminder on this trip why I avoid June.

Near the end of my stay the weather improved. The wind shifted direction and the smoke and haze cleared. We even got a few brief rain showers. The summer monsoon season was about to start up.

This photo shows a rainbow, with the Tacoma parked next to the shower room I built last year, with the storage shed in the background, and the wind break for my telescope mount just peeking out from behind the trees. The old ranch has come a long way from when I originally bought it and spent the first few years living in a tent when I visited.

On my second to last day in Arizona I went back out to my favorite, secret spot out in the badlands (I always seem to end up in badlands somewhere) where lots of petrified wood can be found. I've been here several times before, and it never disappoints. There are areas where the ground is literally completely covered with shards of petrified wood. There are also whole huge petrified tree trunks. I was looking for stuff in between those two extremes, and with interesting colors and patterns. So up and down the hills I trudged.

Here I have many of the interesting bits of petrified wood I found set out on top of this big slab of rock so I can look them over and choose which ones to keep. I also sprinkled some water from my water bottle over them to see the patterns and colors better, and wash away some of the dust and mud covering them. I couldn't keep them all. There were just too many and it was a long hike back to where the truck was parked. I was only going to take as many as I could comfortably carry that far in the bucket over rough ground. Maybe 40-50 lbs tops.

What I didn't take this time will still be sitting there next time I come out. The rain will have washed the mud and dust off the pieces, and some of them I passed up on this time may make the cut next time.

A lot of the pieces I took home will be donated to the Tampa Bay Fossil Club for their fund raising auctions.

After leaving the badlands, I drove to Holbrook to go to the hardware store, and visit one of the many rock shops in that town. I bought some geodes and other stuff while there. After getting back home to Florida I used my stepson's lapidary saw to cut open the geodes, and make thin slabs out of some of the rocks I bought in the Nebraska and South Dakota rock shops on this trip. Here is a video I shot while cutting up the stuff with the rock saw.

On my last full day in Arizona I drove to the airport and swapped out vehicles again. The Tacoma is parked and covered until next the next time I am in the area. Hopefully I'll be able to fly in next time, and my truck will be right there waiting on me when I get off the plane. Then it was a long, three day drive back to Florida in the F-150.

After leaving Arizona and heading East, I stopped for a bit at one of my favorite places in Albuquerque. I did some shopping at Surplus City. I made a little video of the place while I was there. It is always worth a stop. Unfortunately the F-150 was already packed to the gills with stuff coming home from Wyoming, Arizona, Nebraska South Dakota and Colorado. So there was no room for major purchases, but I did buy a few small things.