“Wyoming is so dry, the fire hydrants are chasing the dogs,” says Gillette attorney and State Rep. Tom Lubnau.

         And here in Fremont County, he is absolutely right.

         Of course, Lander’s firecracker-fueled July 4 will provide additional dangers to our mountains.

         Among the most beautiful day trips you can take here in Wind River Country is what our family calls the traditional “Loop Road Trip.”

It is not unlike the mountain roads you can take all around Yellowstone or Teton National Parks, or in the Big Horns or around Casper or south of Rawlins and Laramie. 

You can also take these mountain-type trips in the Wyoming Black Hills near Devil’s Tower or the breaks north of Lusk. Or above Cheyenne, too. Evanston, Mountain View and Rock Springs also have favorite touristy roads.

But if you go on one of these drives, I assume other Wyomingites like myself will be stunned at how dry things are for this early in the summer season.

         On our trip, we started the journey in the aptly-named Sinks Canyon, where the Popo Agie River disappears into the east side of the canyon and reappears a quarter mile farther down on the west side. 

         The water is usually roaring here but is definitely showing the lack of snow pack in the mountains right now. Last time I checked the measurement of snow left in the mountains, it was 25 percent of normal. Not good.

The newly paved switchbacks going up the mountain from Bruce’s Camp now provide a wonderful smooth ride.

         Long-time Forest Service employee Jim Smail says it is the driest he has ever seen it and he has been working on the mountains for over 50 years.

Signs warning of fire danger were all around us. I had even heard that authorities were thinking about discouraging horseback trips with metal shoes on the horses’ hooves because of the potential of sparks. A call to prohibit all campfires may be next.

         We stopped at the lookout above the last switchback. Despite some haze, the view of Wind River Peak was awesome. Not much snow left on that huge mountain.

         There is a huge rock formation that juts out above the switchbacks which locals have always called Windy Point. It looks like a man who is searching the heavens and could easily be described as an Indian Chief. I have always thought it could be named Washakie Rock or Man’s Head or some other creative name that sounds much better than Windy Point. There are probably a dozen “windy points” across our breezy state.

         Frye Lake (which later this summer some visitors will call Dry Lake) is starting to empty, as water is being drained out for irrigation.

We went up to Worthen Reservoir for lunch. Water seemed down there slightly as I understand more water is being taken out of there because of the dry weather.

         Again, the weather was wonderful and the 83-degree temperature was just right for a packed lunch and some beverages. We watched a young wife hold up her trout while her husband videotaped it.

         High point of our trip, both enjoyment-wise and elevation-wise, was a hike up to the top of the Blue Ridge fire ranger lookout. This is a great place to view the southern end of the Wind River Range.

         We spent quite a bit of time up there just enjoying the 360-degree panorama. The Civilian Conservation Corps built it in 1938. It takes a four-wheel drive to travel up through the trees to the site or it can be a nice hike up the hill.

         We paused along the road heading toward Louis Lake to look back at towering mountains. Lizard Head Peak, which is part of the Cirque of the Towers, juts up majestically.

         The beach campground at Louis Lake was a place where we have taken our relatives for picnics for 40 years. Years ago, my late brother-in-law Bob Kloewer of Omaha carved his name into a huge log on the beach. We always thought it would be there forever. Then one year, it was gone. I still look for that old log.  

         The trip home on the paved highway includes wonderful vistas for Red Canyon, especially late in the afternoon.

         On this day, it was really hot and the breeze seemed even hotter. This trip was in late June and conditions seemed more like late August.

         Lord help us here in Wind River Country (or elsewhere in Wyoming) if lightning strikes or a careless camper leaves a fire burning.

         Lots of interesting things have been happening around Wyoming and the region recently. For example:

         Longmire - Perhaps it is not quite as big a stir as the movie Brokeback Mountain a few years ago, but the new cable TV series Longmire is generating lots of positive press for Wyoming. 

         Based on books by Ucross writer Craig Johnson, the first episode generated over four million viewers, which was a near record for a new cable show, according to Johnson.

         The show is about a troubled Sheriff in mythical Absaroka County (county 24). After watching the first three episodes, I give it a big thumb’s up.

         Johnson is a Wyoming treasure and it is gratifying to see him getting the attention he is getting.

         I follow him on Facebook and he is a hoot. 

         One time, he was just leaving a Costco somewhere when he was awed by overhearing people talking positively about the series. He also writes about how strange it is to be such a center of attention.

         Most writers live fairly obscure lives and Ucross, Wyoming, for those who have never been there, is a beautiful but somewhat lonely place. It is an ideal place to grind out some good works.

         Governor - It may go down as a footnote in Wyoming history, but when Senate President Jim Anderson activated the National Guard for fire-fighting purposes in Guernsey, well, that was a rare event.

         With Gov. Matt Mead in China and Secretary of State Max Maxfield out of state, it fell to the state senate’s leader to make the big decision.

         I wonder how many times in Wyoming’s history that a Senate President made such a decision as “acting governor?”

         How did it feel, Jim, to have all that power?

         President - Looking at the national presidential race from a lowly populated place in the center of the lowest-populated state, well, things look really odd.

         As I write this, President Barack Obama is now coming across as a loner-introvert who smoked a lot of pot in high school and college. And his aides have leaked info that claims he is doing such macho things as going through playing cards featuring images of terrorists and then deciding who the USA is going to kill?

         Meanwhile, the GOP’s Mitt Romney is moving up all the time. He looks more presidential than the president. 

         This election is four and a half months away. It has been a long campaign already but it is certainly getting more interesting each day.

         Most recently, President Obama goes on national TV and says the “private sector is doing fine.” What has he been smoking? Pot?

         Regionally, when it comes to marijuana, our neighboring state of Montana has seen its officials cracking down on the freewheeling medical marijuana doctors

         After peaking at 31,000 medical-MJ cardholders a year ago, the number has now dropped below 9,000. 

         This seemed impossible but give credit to the Montana officials and law enforcement folks. They knew it was out of hand so they cracked down.

         Medical marijuana is actually a wonderful thing for folks with certain legitimate diseases like glaucoma. But these laws have been abused. 

         Perhaps Montana will give conservative states like Wyoming and Utah a new example of how such laws can be implemented for the benefit of sick people who can use this treatment.

         Meanwhile, down south in Colorado, things are a lot different with over 200,000 holders of medical marijuana cards and the state now reliant on tax dollars generated by the stuff.

         No cell phones – The Wyoming Catholic College in Lander got some good publicity in the National Rifle Association magazine recently with its tongue-in-cheek slogan: “the only school in America where you can’t have a cell phone but you can have a gun.”

         You can even buy tee shirts with that slogan on it from the college bookstore.

         The college prides itself on having probably the strongest outdoor program in the country for its students that includes horsemanship, mountain climbing and shooting.

         Photographers – While compiling photos for my new coffee table book about Wyoming, I have encountered about 20 incredible men and women.

         We have some of the best photographers in the country here in Wyoming. And their photos are stunning. It is going to be very difficult to decide which photos get published and which don’t.

         One of the biggest losers in this is me. I originally thought my photos would dominate the book, but alas, they just don’t measure up against these folks.

         Some years ago, a prominent Wyoming politician who believed the single-party “Republican” system in our state needed improvement approached me.

         This person felt there was room for another political party. He said that it seemed that Wyoming’s dominant Republican Party was just too tightly aligned with mineral and old-time Ag interests and there are thousands of people out there who are registered Republicans but who feel left out of the process.

This person felt Wyoming could be better served by having two Republican parties.

         He proposed that a new party be formed called The Wyoming Independent Republican Party. This group could represent the majority of the 50,000 government employees in Wyoming who are Republican. It would also be a means to reach out to those independents and even some Democrats who didn’t want to be dominated by mineral interests.

         I mention this because lately in Wyoming, something that is just about the opposite has been happening.

         CROW which stands for “Conservative Republicans Of Wyoming” were recently formed to purify the current Republican Party. Another prominent acronym RINO, which stands for “Republican In Name Only,” in these folks’ minds, have too big an influence over the Grand Old Party (GOP). Oops, sorry, another acronym.     

         CROW’s chairman Harlan Edmonds proclaimed in a newspaper column last Sunday: “Of course, CROW seeks to collapse the Wyoming Republicans’ big tent. Just like liberal newspaper editors and their liberal Republican In Name Only clients seek to protect and expand it.”

But back to that conversation some years ago. My source also felt that The Wyoming Independent Republican Party could be quite popular in the wake of a 2006 general election when the Wyoming electorate, once again, proved that conventional Republicans couldn’t elect a mineral person as governor. Instead, a Democrat, Dave Freudenthal, again won.

         At the time, I wasn’t ready to join.

But I definitely said that The Wyoming Independent Republican Party definitely wouldn’t work as a name. The acronym TWIRP just didn’t work at all.

With my marketing background, he tried out a few other names on me, such as:

The Republican Independent Party for Everyone? No, the acronym TRIPE probably wouldn’t work too well, either.

Well, how about simply The Republican Independent Party (TRIP)? Well, might appeal to some youngsters or some motor home-traveling older folks, but definitely not for the mainstream.

At least it’s better than Republican Independent Party (RIP).

Then, this person suggested the Wyoming Independent Major Party. That acronym is WIMP. Enough said.

At this point, our discussion ended and my friend walked away with head down and a heavy heart.

Strange things can happen with third parties.

Ross Perot’s efforts with a third party propelled Bill Clinton into the presidency back in 1994. Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska because of a third party candidate.

Years ago, Teddy Roosevelt helped launch the third party Bull Moose Party. Say, wouldn’t that be a good name for a new Wyoming party?

A few decades ago, former Casper legislator Russ Donley’s pro-constitution, archconservative group had some members wanting a new party.

The Republicans in Wyoming, because of their potentially divisive membership, used to adhere to what they called “the big tent” system, which invites lot of people in, even if they all don’t agree with each other. But it also invites in the RINOs.

Wyoming actually does have a real third party – the Libertarians.

They are a hoot to watch and were fun, most of the time, when I was on the 2002 campaign trail. At one Casper candidate forum, there were four Republicans, four Democrats and one Libertarian.  The Libertarian spoke last and said: “Well, of course, we disagree with everything that’s been said so far!”

In Great Britain, they have lots more political parties than in the USA. One of their favorites is the Monster Raving Loony Party. I am not making this up. Their motto is: “Vote for Insanity. You know it makes sense.”

On election night, the BBC literally takes the viewer to each part of the country. All the candidates are lined up on stage, just like a beauty pageant, and then the results are read, and winner celebrates.

Right up there on the stage is the candidate for the Monster Raving Loony Party. They rarely win, but I must admit – it’s great TV.

Although some times it may look like it, I do not think it is time that Wyoming and the USA joined their crazy British cousins by descending totally into lunacy, though.

         Two unrelated circumstances that occurred 20 years ago gave Wyoming coal a huge boost in its development.

         They were government regulations and cheap energy. Federal laws favored Wyoming’s low-sulphur coal over the dirtier eastern coal and our coal was very cheap. This made it attractive to utilities.

         My, have times changed.

         Today, the same two circumstances are threatening Wyoming coal. New governmental regulations are punishing coal-fired power plant development. And coal has a new competitor – natural gas, which is now incredibly cheap.

         I am trying to simplify a pretty big and pretty complicated worldwide situation on energy here. Other factors in coal’s favor include the continued dissatisfaction with nuclear and the possibility of shipping our coal overseas.

         As a distraction, we read where some knuckleheads are planning to come to Wyoming to harass our coal miners. Called High Country Rising Tide, they intend to put themselves into “arrestable” situations in confronting miners and law enforcement officials in the Gillette area.

         Not sure how physically fit these folks are, but most of our coal miners are pretty tough guys and gals. Not sure I would want to put myself into an “arrestable situation” confrontation with any of them. Plus they drive big pickup trucks and out here in the frontier, they may even be packing heat.

         In the big picture the High Country Rising Tide outfit is like a fly crawling up an elephant’s tail with love on his mind. But I digress.

         Obviously, my choice for using more coal is to build power plants here in Wyoming. And we should be considering building some natural gas-powered ones, too. Not sure why this discussion is always off the table in our state. Where is the leadership? It is much easier to close a coal mine than shut down a power plant.

         Some of that leadership, Gov. Matt Mead and State Rep. Tom Lubnau, were in China last week co-hosting a world coal conference. That was an important step for exporting coal to China, we would think.

         The biggest threat to the coal exporting opportunity involves environmentalists in the northwest. They will have the biggest effect on the future of Wyoming coal being exported.

         Some 140 million tons of coal per year would be exported to China and other Asian countries if it could only get to the ports safely. The ports are under construction and under protest by folks in Oregon and Washington who hate smelly coal. And they really hate the idea of mile and a half long trains rolling through their country sides night and day on a never- ending basis.

         It is a nightmare scenario to a place that has weaned itself off coal. The last coal-fired plant in Oregon is scheduled to be shut down in 2020. The city of Bellingham, Washington, for example, has hundreds of homes with lawn signs in their yards proclaiming “NO COAL!”

         They actually have some legitimate complaints in some areas and people of good will are trying to work out some compromises.

         But it will be a tough sell, especially to the folks who really are trying to think globally. They worry that by providing cheap Wyoming coal to Asia, it will encourage those countries to keep building plants and keep polluting the atmosphere, which affects everyone worldwide.

         Two of the biggest coal companies in the country, Peabody Coal and Ambre Energy are busy working on getting the ports built to accommodate those long trainloads of Cowboy State product, according to an article in Time Magazine.

         This really is the future of Wyoming coal. Coal usage in the USA is on the decline but is on the upsurge in China and India, for example.

         China’s coal consumption is expected to go up 50 percent by 2035. Right now, they are relying on their own mines plus coal imported from Indonesia and Australia. But their thirst is exceeding their capacity. Wyoming’s coal at a cheap price is pretty enticing to them.

         Getting coal from Wyoming to China involves two pretty darned long hauls. First involves riding the rails for 1,000 miles to a port in Oregon or Washington. Second is a 4,000-mile trip across the Pacific in a giant tanker-like barge.

         Right in the middle of that trip is a bunch of unhappy folks who see themselves deriving no benefit at all from this transaction. And worse, in their eyes, seeing the world’s climate worsening because of it.

         This is going to be an interesting story. Stay tuned.