Sunday, March 25, 2007

Northeastern Wyoming

I have not done much of anything the past couple of weeks due to work, and being a little sick. So I thought that I would post some pictures of Gillette and the surrounding area. Most of these were taken in December 2006 and January 2007.




My first picture is some of the development in town. There are seven or eight areas of town just like this. I don't know who can afford to build them because even moderate size homes cost $400K-$600k. The main reason is the labor shortage. Where in most markets construction labor starts at about $9, here it is difficult to get anyone for under $15. The mines still need to fill hundreds of positions, and they start paying at near $20. Then there are all the mine contractors. While their wages start lower, they still pay very well. My manager built a home last year and had people driving by their house trying to hire away their contractors.


Next is picture of I-90. Why a freeway? Well I took it while driving, please don't tell on me, and it is a pretty good visual of what the country looks like. Also I have not yet taken any more pictures of the immediate area. The biggest landscape feature is the lack of trees.



Here is one of the road out of Casper. There are some great sunsets up here. Sunrise is also impressive.
This is from the highway between Casper and Gillette. I took this on January 20, 2007 the night I moved in. I stopped up on a hill and left my car running but out of habit locked the door. Luckily I found a spare key in the moving boxes packed in the Suburban that Jon was driving. There were a tense few moments when I thought I may be stuck fifty miles from any city no cell-phone service and running car.


All of the above are from the mountains West of Sheridan. This is an incredibly beautiful area. The road winds its way up from the valley climbing three thousand feet in about 12 miles.


Sunset in Bozeman Montana.

I decided to close with some pictures of homes. The first is from a house in Montana that I really like. It has a great location. It is just a couple of miles from a river and very near the mountains. The design is pretty good too. As some of you may already know this is Jacqui's house. She has a great location in Spearfish SD. I believe that they have eleven acres of land. Right out the front door they have a great view of the country side. I should have taken some pictures of the back yard, and inside. They are beautiful. There are huge windows looking out of the dining area and family room. A twenty foot high fireplace is the main feature of the living area.

I hope that you all are doing well. Next week I will be in Denver for two days of training. On Saturday I have my Wyoming State Adjuster's Exam in Casper. I hope it goes well. I have been doing a lot of studying, but I still don't feel very confident. I will let you know how it goes.

5 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Greg,
The pictures of the area are beautiful. I still love Wyoming, even without trees in some of the areas. The freeway picture is great. I hope you'll feel better. I can't wait to come and see you. 140 iles desn't sound that far, maybe it is longer than that. Thanks for posting pictures.
Mom

9:17 PM  
Blogger Caroline said...

You are an amazing photographer! The sunset is beautiful. I understand about the sunrises and sunsets. That's the biggest problem with living here, we never see them because of all the hills. That is funny you took a picture while driving. Well good luck with your exam. I hate the pressure that goes along with something like that. But I am sure you will do great!

7:30 AM  
Blogger Jon said...

That freeway picture is spectacular. I'd print it off if it weren't quite so compressed. You should print it and hang it in your living room. I'm jealous you're able to live up there. It seems like a great place. If it were a little less expensive, it might be a perfect residence. Do you think Gillette would be a good place to raise kids?

7:47 AM  
Blogger Gregory said...

Thanks for the comments. I do like the landscape; I just find it interesting that one can stand on a hill and not see a tree in any direction. I think that it would be a pretty good place to raise children. They have just about everything children need. The school system is good, they have a planatarium, they do have some AP classes though not as many as Davis, they have lots of summer rec leagues. My only concerns would be paying for education out of state when they grow up, all may not want to go to UW, the cost of living here is through the roof, it is not close enough to the mountains, and you have to travel a long long way to go to UofU footbal games.

3:27 PM  
Blogger Kanien said...

Hey Greg when you get that dream house can Jon and I live in your basement? I'll cook for you. Those pictures look sweet. We miss ya and can't wait until we can see you again!

6:28 PM  

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