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Also, I'm posting Lisa Nova's classic, "Twitter Whore," for laughs.

Bag It

Saturday afternoon, I bought some stuff for my house at Kmart – the retail selections in Gillette are Kmart and Walmart. I chose Kmart that day because I felt a moral obligation to support the store that gives pregnant women preferential parking. When I got home, I realized the sales clerk packed my reusable shopping bag inside a plastic bag.

Apparently she didn't know what to do with it. Maybe I should have explained.

Earlier that day, at the checkout at Smith's Food and Drug, I presented the bagger with a reusable bag and told her to fill it up, then use plastic. (For cleaning up after my dog.) I walked out of the store lop-sided because the reusable bag was stuffed to the brim and the plastic bag had one or two light items.

I guess I'm going to have to become one of “those” types of women – I called them “Coupon Mothers” when I worked at Smith's as a teen, you know, the women who sadly become glorified slaves to their husbands and children and get high from bossing around the few people in their world who are lower than them – and micromanage the bagging of items. Ugh. I dread being that way. But I don't want 10 million plastic bags – especially when I have a great selection of reusable bags that include Whole Foods, Powell's City of Books, a bag from an Asian-American conference in Hawaii about 10 years ago (graciously given to me by Jo-Ann Wong when I was in college and complaining about not having a book bag) and lots of Trader Joe's bags.

Welcome to Gillette

Van loaded, car towed. Thanks to an uncle who owned a towing company and drove the van and car the 8.5-hour trip, it was a cinch. In fact, he beat my mom and me, who were following in her car! This picture is in Gillette.

Nestled between the Big Horn Mountains and the Black Hills, Gillette is described as "high plains." For comparison, the elevation of Salt Lake City ranges between 9,410 (Grandview Peak) and 4,210 (probably near the Salt Lake City International Airport) and averages 4,327 feet, according to the city's website.

Another welcoming sign that emphases the city's energy wealth. Gillette is in the Powder River Basin, which produces 40 percent of coal in the United States, more than Kentucky and West Virginia combined. There is also oil, natural gas, methane gas inside the coal seams, uranium and the potential of wind and solar. As a result, the town's economy is boom-bust -- depending on energy prices -- but city economic directors are trying to diversify the local economy.

The city was incorporated in 1891, a year after Wyoming became a state.

Yikes! Despite the energy wealth, gas prices are among the highest in the country, according to AAA.

No mountain ranges in the immediate vicinity, just rolling hills. Notice the big sky. I love it. I took this picture today in the rain a few miles out of town.

More rolling hills and big sky. Notice the oil well. I've learned in my short time here that natural gas wells can be distinguished by small brownish sheds on site. This one is sans shed, so it's oil, I think. I wish I had a picture of a coal mine but I haven't taken one yet...

A mural painted on the side of a large building. It shows Gillette's industries in the last 100 or so years, starting with cattle (right.) Ranchers started making serious money when the railroads began rolling through town, transporting beef across the United States. While ranching is still an important part of the economy, obviously coal has gained in importance and the railroads primarily transport coal. The mines are 24 hours and so are the BNSF trains that roll through town.

I love the sense of humor they have here. By "Adult Daycare Center," the owners of this liquor store are referring to a few bar stools in the middle of their shop. A couple people were watching TV, smoking and drinking when I stopped in today.

Since I photographed the store's signage on the outside and dawdled and gawked on the inside, I figured the only decent thing for me to do was to buy something. I decided on Root Beer schnapps. I've never had it before but the people in the daycare told me to either pour it into ice cream for a root beer float, mix it with half and half and club soda or mix it with Coke. I went to Albertson's and bought some half and half and club soda and they're now in the fridge getting cold. The schnapps is in the freezer, also getting cold. A Sunday night treat!

"How do you like me now?" Wyoming asks.

Liquor aisle in Albertson's. I would have snapped a pic of myself in front of the liquor but I was having a bad hair, no makeup kind of Sunday.

This is supposedly a Dutch wine cocktail made of chocolate and (unspecified vintage) red wine. I've had similar stuff like this in the past and it basically tastes like mudslide. Anyway, I'll probably buy it again since I'm Sweetie. (A reference to a previous blog about restaurants written with a friend named Spicy Girl.)

For you Fat Tire fans out there, including Spicy Girl! I'll pass on the Fat Tire but I'd like to try some Molson's.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone in Utah about this.

A "Reserved for Expectant Mothers" sign near the front of a big-box retailer could have serious implications for the unpreggers in the Beehive State. Like, they'll be walking 100 miles to the front door of their favorite store passing rows upon rows of expectant mothers' vehicles.

Weather

Gillette's temperature highs are only slightly lower in the summer than Salt Lake City's. In the winter, however, it's much colder. The northeast corner of Wyoming receives about an inch more of precipitation a year.

Gillette's climate can be found here.

Salt Lake City's climate can be found here.

In conclusion, I'm in the market for cute winter boots. The ones pictured above are Sorrel's. The model is Joan of Arctic. They'll set me back about $130. Time to start saving, I guess. :)

Map

Distances*

From Gillette to Rapid City, S.D........... 141 miles

From Gillette to Casper, WY.......... 186 miles

From Gillette to Billings, MT.......... 233 miles

From Gillette to Cheyenne, WY.......... 250 miles

From Gillette to Yellowstone N.P. East Entrance.......... 303 miles

From Gillette to Denver.......... 344 miles

From Gillette to Salt Lake City.......... 593 miles

* According to mapquest.com