Wyoming Trip: Day Four
5:30
After it worked so well yesterday, I opted to wake up early again today. Except that it’s not really early…compared with Ella’s usual wake-up times, a 5:30 start actually counts as sleeping in for between 10 and 35 minutes.
Of course (now that I think about it), unlike what was the case in Kemmerer, getting up earlier isn’t really optional for me anymore. The Naughton Power Plant might only be 10 minutes outside of Kemmerer, but the Jim Bridger Power Plant is about 45 minutes (or so Google claims) outside of Rock Springs. That means I can’t realistically depart the hotel later than about 6:15…and that calculation is in turn based on the assumption that there will be no delays due to road (highway, really) construction. I can avoid any such obstacles in town, since the La Quinta is only a block from I-80, but I can’t do much to avoid problems on the interstate itself.
Speaking of Naughton, here’s the promised “better shot” of the place. This was taken from a picnic & fishing (!!) area located at the east end of one of the larger cooling ponds at the site:
Evidently, it’s a “seeded” pond.
Mindful of the time constraints, I made lunch quickly, packed up my laptop and notes, and left my room within about 20 minutes.
I backed up the photos before I left, as well. I really need to just transfer them to my iPod Photo (which has become my photo-editing hard drive) and just start working from there.
Maybe I’ll do that tonight, if I get tired of poring over diagrams and figures for work.
6:00
The La Quinta advertises that it offers guests a hot breakfast starting at 6:00 AM…and they certainly deliver on the promise. Breakfast this morning was vastly superior both to what I’ve been eating for breakfast thus far (protein bars), and is also superior to the breakfast offered by the more expensive Holiday Inn that we stayed at back in April.
Of course, given that the Holiday Inn offered no breakfast at all (other than coffee), even the protein bars can claim superiority thereto.
6:10
Not wanting to be late, I scarfed down my breakfast fairly quickly (I’ll probably pay for that later), got back into the Ford Edge, and set out for the Jim Bridger plant.
I think I was on I-80 for all of five minutes before road construction reduced the highway to a single lane.
6:45
The road construction lasted for a couple of miles, and then the interstate returned to being two full eastbound lanes. And without speeding, I made it to the plant within 35 minutes, beating Google’s estimated time quite handily. Not that it’s hard to beat Google’s time.
Just to compare with Naughton, here’s a shot of Jim Bridger that I took back in April:
Okay, it’s a bit “fancier” than the Naughton shot. Despite appearances, however, this shot is not an HDR image.
And just for fun, here’s a panorama of the view from Bridger’s top deck, about 24 stories up. It’s a pretty commanding view:
As noted, these are shots taken back in April. The plant and surrounding area look basically the same now, in August…except there’s no snow. The terrain is still mostly brown, although a few somewhat green shrubs have sprung up.
7:30
I guess my site contact must be busy this morning; I’ve been waiting in the security office for about 45 minutes already waiting for him to come and escort me into the plant.
7:45
Evidently, they remember me from last time; the picture on the security pass I was issued is the one they took of me back in April.
8:00
A lenghty kickoff meeting was the start to this work day…and there will evidently be another one come Tuesday. In penance for not bringing donuts this morning, I have to bring donuts on Tuesday.
Also, it was rather edifying to learn that several of the guys I’m working with at the plant are Catholics, and then practicing ones; I asked about Mass times and was promptly given a list of Saturday and Sunday options.
What can I say? It’s a nice thing to find where one can, especially in the company of good people.
9:30
I came at a busy time, it seems; I’m working on diagrams again while my contacts tend to various other tasks.
So why not add another image, also from April? This is a panorama of the Bridger plant, taken from the “media observation point” situated on a hill overlooking the main parking lot:
12:00
It’s lunch time, and I have to say: I have to write this sandwich “recipe” down. The addition of Greek seasoning and jarred mild pepper rings is just…just sublime.
Also: I must have forgot my camera at the hotel this morning, because it’s not a anywhere
And what is “Tevere?” I mis-typed “anywhere,” and that’s what the iPod Touch threw my way as a spelling “correction.”
2:45
I think my scope of work at the Bridger plant may have expanded somewhat…but I booked myself 4 days at the plant, so I’m not worried. There’s providence at work, I suppose.
3:00
I’ve been pushing the Ford’s fuel supply as far as possible, but I don’t think I have enough gas make Rock Springs. Fortunately, one has to drive past Point of Rocks, Wyoming, to get back to I-80, and there’s a gas station there.
3:30
Just as I thought might be the case, I found my camera sitting on the bed in my hotel room. So I apologize, good reader; there won’t be many pictures from today in this or tomorrow’s post.
But that’s okay; I was a bit behind in the editing process anyhow, and can’t say I mind avoiding another backlog.
4:15
I left the hotel a bit earlier than normal, to grab a slightly early dinner. What can I say? I get hungry.
Dinner will be at Bitter Creek Brewing (a local microbrewery, analogous to Brewster’s in Edmonton. We missed trying the place out the last time I was through here, and it’s been recommended to me now by several people.
5:00
I have this much to say: artichoke dip on a hamburger is pure genius! I hadn’t actually intended on having another burger for dinner (I’ve been doing that too much this trip already), but how could I pass up something like that?
6:00
I’d been working on getting a mobile version of the UAMC website working when Grace and Ella called me via Skype. The usual cuteness ensued, and it was just great to hear my girls’ voices again. Especially Grace’s. It sounds like a lot is happening at home, and then not just related to Ella’s growth. But then, that’s good; I’m always overwhelmed by how supportive our friends can be, especially, when I have to be away for a bit.
And I love that people are just pouring themselves out for my wife. She deserves as much.
9:30
Case in point, I suppose: Grace messaged me just briefly to say good night, and to let me know that since our Skype call, she’s been taking phone call after phone call from friends.
It never rains, but it does pour. But there are good deluges.
10:30
Okay, I’m done with the UAMC mobile site; it’s as good as I think it needs to be. Not that too many non-mobile users will probably VIEW the site in the first place; I’d hope that the majority of traffic thereto is from actual mobile devices.
But just in case, there’s a simple theme in place on the site that is a reasonable simulacrum of the site mobile users will see in place, just in case the odd desktop browser visits the site. There’s a mod_rewrite rule in place at the Mixed Chorus main site that automatically redirects mobile user agents to the mobile site, and it would be the cat’s meow if there was some way to set up a reciprocal rule at the mobile site that punted all non-mobile user agents back to the main site…but if there is such a method, I can’t figure out what it might be.
And frankly, I don’t really give a darn.
Flickr is being slow as thick molasses tonight, so there won’t be a Pic of the Day posted until tomorrow. And also, the panoramics that I still owe you, good reader, will have to wait until then.
But I’ll have it all up tomorrow. I’m here over the weekend in Rock Springs, and I’m already bored by the prospect. I’ve already seen what the town has to see, and the differences between April and August around here seem to be minimal. So I’ll probably just work on stuff for most of the day, take a walk when the mood strikes me, and hit up Mass in the evening.
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