Info on Jeffrey City, Wyoming (Riverton, Lander: to rent, buying, earthquake)
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I was in Jeffrey City last week, January 23rd and the only thing that was still operating was the bar and it looked like the motel. The gas station/convenience store is out of business. The teacher still comes from Lander and has three students. You can Google Jeffrey City and find several articles written about the area in the Lander newspaper, and the Riverton Ranger. I pass through there at least once, sometimes twice a month and there has been a steady decline in residents. Keep in mind also that there is very little law enforcement and as was stated earlier, there some rather odd people out there. There have been times when I was out there, usually on Saturday, traveling to Lander, and didn't see a vehicle going in either direction. I'm not sure that would be the best spot for a tourist attraction. It is quite a ways from Highway 287, the route to Casper. It kind of sits in the middle of nowhere.
Location: MT/34 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
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Hey TEEPEEMAKER......................
I was just reading some old posts and came across your residence location..
Here's a little bit of Trivia....................
Back in the 1960's I worked for a company that supplied a lot of mining and milling equipment to the Uranium industry. I think my first trip to JC ( aka: Home on-the-Range) was in1962. I have a pic of the only building at that location where you turned off to the R to get to the mill (an old log structure that had a hand lettered sign in front that said: "Post Office. Home on the Range, WY" I lived in the Denver metro area and would get to JC by taking "old route #30" out of Laramie (there was no I-80), through Rock River and then when you got to Medicine Bow you turned right onto that gravel road that took you to the "Split Rock Mill". (in those days, that road would make GM's proving ground, look like an Interstate.) After my week in WY, I always would come home by turning off Rt 30 at #130 and come south through Saratoga and then T/L & go "over the top" on 130 (through Centennial) & on down into Laramie (all gravel and a beautiful drive in the fall). On one trip in the fall of 1963 I think, I had a WY deer tag and got a dandy Muley (6x7) about 6 miles east of Centennial. On occasion I'd go on a little further south before turning east and drive into Encampment for a cup of coffee --can't remember the name of the place --. Any way, just thought I'd mention that I'd been to your part of WY....beautiful area....love the Snowy Range, I suppose there's been some development on either side of Centennial.....hope it's been controlled to some degree.
Growth on the Snowy Range has been controlled quite a bit. There are homes all over out by Centennial, but once you get into the mountains, it's limited, National Forest. Ryan Park has grown and still is, although the beetle kill has many people cutting trees like crazy so it's getting rather barren looking. There are many large ranches on this side of the Snowies so that has kept building to a minimum. Encampment has changed very little, and very slowly thankfully, kind of. Because of our lack of growth, and fear of change, the economy has suffered. Many of us, including me travel to Rawlins for work. You probably stopped at the Pine Lodge Restaurant or the Sugarbowl if you were in Encampment. The Bear Trap is in Riverside, but I'm not sure it was open that early in the sixties.
The sign you mentioned "Home on the Range, WY is still there in JC.
I love it here too, that's why I work so hard to stay.
Thanks
Most uranium ore in the United States comes from deposits in sandstone, which tend to be of lower grade than those of Australia and Canada. Because of the lower grade, many uranium deposits in the United States became uneconomic when the price of uranium declined sharply in the 1980s.
Uranium mining declined with the last open pit mine (Shirley Basin, Wyoming) shutting down in 1992. United States production occurred in the following states (in descending order): New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Washington, and South Dakota. The collapse of uranium prices caused all conventional mining to cease by 1992. In-situ leach mining has continued primarily in Wyoming and adjacent Nebraska as well has recently restarted in Texas. Rising uranium prices since 2003 have increased interest in uranium mining in the United States.
It appears that uranium prices are higher now ($42/lb) than in 1992 (<$10/lb+/-), but they were a lot higher in 2007 ($138/lb) and we didn't see much increase in uranium mining. Prices have been declining since 2007 to $42/lb.
I wonder how high it has to get before it will spur additional mining? I think eventually the US is going to have to start generating more power with nuclear plants. There hasn't been a nuclear plant accident in ages, but we still have a fear of nuclear plants. But I guess it could get pretty nasty if someone crashed an airliner into one.
I haven't heard too much about the uranium. The focus down here where I live is on wind turbines and alternative energy right now. We were slated to get 1000 turbines south of Rawlins in the next couple years, but there have been some issues with BLM and private property access so that has slowed down progress some. There is supposedly a mill going in here in Encampment that will use beetle killed trees to make coal. Not sure how that's going to work out.
We have a pretty regular cycle of boom and bust. Some years you will see the housing market flooded with homes for sale and rent, then there will be a few years, like in 2006 and 7 when there isn't a house available in the entire county because there's a boom. Nothing predictable about Wyoming except for the at least 260 days of sunshine.
About the only thing that would 'attract' tourists off the beaten-path/interstates, and draw them to pass through JC would be to build another 'Burg-Tower'...similar to what they just opened up in Saudi Arabia...it'd be tall enuf to attract attention...
...but then Wyoming is still (more or less) tectonically active...so the first 5 or 6 pointer would probably bring that tower crashing down...
...which might ALSO be a good way to bring in the tourists, to 'goggle' at all the destruction...
But I agree...it'd be an awsome place to shoot horror-flicks...or even a period western, if you could digitally erase the telephone poles and power-lines, and the occasional sound of a semi-truck passing by...
Myself, I'd kill to move there, but no ranchers in that area ever seem to want any help.
It appears that uranium prices are higher now ($42/lb) than in 1992 (<$10/lb+/-), but they were a lot higher in 2007 ($138/lb) and we didn't see much increase in uranium mining. Prices have been declining since 2007 to $42/lb.
I wonder how high it has to get before it will spur additional mining? I think eventually the US is going to have to start generating more power with nuclear plants. There hasn't been a nuclear plant accident in ages, but we still have a fear of nuclear plants. But I guess it could get pretty nasty if someone crashed an airliner into one.
I just read the other day that around 20% of the power generated in the US is from around 110 existing nuclear power plants. That is much higher then I expected. I wonder how many people are aware of this?
50% of the power generated in the US is from is from coal and 50% of that is from Campbell county coal
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