JEFF'S EXCELLENT GALENA ADVENTURE, JULY 18, 2006
This morning I primed the spots on both cabins that I had scraped yesterday. After some internet stuff, I went to Brownsville for lunch, then to Dalton Lake. At Brownsville I talked to an older couple who were camping in the hills. They said that they thought tourism was way off (they're from Wyoming but grew up in Custer). Most of the campgrounds they had stayed in were pretty quiet.
I planned to take a better photo of the log with the stream going through it. But when I got to the spot where the log had been, it appeared that some kids or somebody had moved it! There were small dams built on the bedrock there, which also screwed up the beauty of the location. So I went further down and walked along the creek and took a few so-so photos. It was pretty hot (102 in Galena today), so I went on to my next project. Road 704 goes north from Dalton Lake toward Wonderland Cave Road. But I couldn't figure out the roads back there to save my life. I was on 1C which did deadend as the map showed. But 704 just did not go where it was supposed to, so I gave up and headed to Sturgis to pick up my new brake handle.
There was almost nobody on Vanocker Canyon road. In fact, it seemed like I had all the roads to myself today. I don't know if that was just due to the heat or what.
From Sturgis I thought I'd go to the other side of the Camp 5 road and measure how far it was to the cabins. That way I could add the mileage from the other side, plus the couple of miles from the walking part, and I'd have a good idea how far we went on our great Lost Gulch March long ago when we got lost. So: 10.8 miles from the cabins to the west stopping point on Camp 5 road, about 2 miles walking on the bad part, and about 4.3 miles from the east side to the cabins. Total: 17.1 miles. I seem to recall that we got a ride toward the end there, maybe at Coppos? Not sure. Anyway, I do remember that hike.
When I got back I painted the spots I had primed. While I was painting Gammy's, I heard this low humming sound, like machinery far off or something. But I only heard it at the front left of the cabin. I got the step ladder out, and there's a hole below the rafters where a wasp was sitting. Aha, that's what it is! Sure enough, that's where it was the loudest. I could hear it inside too. So now I'll have to decide how to deal with that. Right now I'm thinking of spraying in foam insulation and running like mad.
I went into Deadwood and got water, then went downtown. They had Main street blocked off and about 40 Chevy Impalas were parked there. They were all very nice, and looked very original, except for some chrome parts here and there. The town seemed a little busier tonight, I think mainly because there seemed to be a couple of bus loads of Taiwanese there. Anyway, I went to my favorite slot machine at the Midnight Star and came out $12 ahead by the end. So now I'm only out about $16 total. One guy was playing the huge slot machine in the front window when I walked in. I watched for a whle, and he said "it's the only one I can see." Funny, but also an interesting point. On the way home I noticed that the hotel parking lots seemed pretty full. So who knows.
There are millers in the cabin now, so I try to kill them all off before I go to bed. There was another black widow above my bed today too.
Why does scratching a poison ivy itch feel so good? It almost makes having poison ivy worthwhile!