Official State Guns

Idaho has introduced a bill in their legislature calling for a vote in November on designating a "state gun."

One of the firearms listed in the proposal is the venerable Winchester 1894 .30-30. 

This got me checking to see if other states have adopted official state guns. As things turn out, 10 have.

According to NRA Family:

Did you know that seven U.S. states have officially designated state rifles, and that three more have officially designated handguns? Read on for 10 states that showcase their Second Amendment pride!

The Idaho Statesman wrote:

For example, Alaska’s state gun is the pre-1964 Winchester Model 70, adopted in 2014; Arizona’s is the Colt Single Action Army revolver; Texas’ is the Colt Walker revolver; and Utah’s is the M1911 pistol.

To read more, go here. 

Flood and Closure Contributed To Decline In Yellowstone Visitation

Above, Lower Yellowstone Fall. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The following really should not come as a surprise to anyone paying attention.

The June 13 flooding of Yellowstone National Park and the resulting closure led to a decrrease in overall visitation to the park.

According to the Idaho Statesman:

Historic flooding and park closures have contributed to a 20% decrease in visitors to Yellowstone National Park through the first seven months of 2022. 

In June, 536,601 people visited Yellowstone National Park, which represents a 43% decrease from the record 938,845 people who visited during June 2021, according to a press release from Yellowstone National Park. June 2021 was the busiest June on record in terms of visitors, Yellowstone officials said.

Overall, year-to-date park visitation for 2022 was also down compared to 2021. Through the end of June, 1,268,053 people visited Yellowstone National Park, which is a decrease of 20% compared to the corresponding time period from 2021, park officials said.

Could it be that the excessively high gasoline prices had something to do with the overall decline?

To read more, go here.

Gas Prices: Rethinking Vacationing Close To Home

Above, the Durango train gets ready to leave the station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Unless gasoline prices make a drastic drop, it appears that any vacation road trips I'll do this summer will be relatively close to home. I was thinking of heading up to Wyoming and South Dakota.

My immediate thoughts are going up to Durango, Colorado or Monument Valley, Utah. Both are within a day's drive and won't break the bank (too much).

Above, Goulding's Lodge Campground near Monument Valley. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to the Idaho Statesman:

For anyone west of Nebraska, it’s no surprise that gasoline prices are highest in the West. Unless you’re in Wyoming, Colorado or New Mexico.

Skyrocketing crude oil prices and the deteriorating political situation in Ukraine are soon expected to send prices soaring. On Tuesday, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil sold for $92.94, a jump of $1.87 from Friday and $33.90 from a year ago. Oil rose to its highest level since 2014 after Russia sent troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

Idaho’s price equaled the national average, but was significantly higher than the $3.40 charged in neighboring Wyoming, 5 cents more than Colorado. New Mexico had gas for $3.49, while the average price in Utah was $3.41.

GasBuddy predicts gas prices could reach $4 a gallon by this spring. That’s based on predictions for coronavirus recovery and increased demand before additional oil supplies arrive later in the year.

His Fraudulency Joe Biden is not off the hook when it comes to oil prices.

Above, a sticker on a Flying J gas pump. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Bryan Bashur wrote in The Hill:

The Biden administration exacerbated the inflation of gas prices by both restricting the supply of oil and pressuring banks and asset managers to divest from traditional energy projects. The result of these flawed policies is weakened purchasing power for consumers and more reliance on foreign countries to keep the United States powered. 

President Biden is restricting America’s ability to produce its own oil and is instead relying on foreign countries, some of which have governments run by totalitarian regimes, to produce more oil to lower gas prices. Biden’s decision to cut off avenues for more domestic supply of oil by canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and limiting exploration on federal lands and waters gives the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) significant leverage over American energy consumption. 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) hit the nail on the head by stating that, “begging the Saudis to increase production while the White House ties one hand behind the backs of American energy companies is pathetic and embarrassing.”

As my motorhome's gas tank has a capacity of 55 gallons, vacationing closer to home seems to be the more prudent thing to do.

To read more, go here. 

Seeing Wolves In Yellowstone National Park

Above, somewhere in Lamar Valley of Yellowstone are wolves. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Lucky people who visit Yellowstone National Park are the ones who get to see wolves. Unfortunately, despite two trips to Yellowstone, I haven't seen any.

According to an article in the Idaho Statesman, winter and the early spring are the best times to see wolves.

They wrote:

Three dark-colored wolves loped in single file on a stark, snowy, wind-swept bench along Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar River after feeding on the eerie-looking skeletal remains of a bull elk. 

“There they are,” a photographer whispered on a February day in a highway turnout, about 40 miles deep into the northern part of the park at Lamar Valley. 

The tight parking area was spilling over with vehicles and excited onlookers with spotting scopes and cameras with 2-foot-long telephoto lenses mounted on tripods.

“This is addicting,” said Don Andrews of Vancouver, Wash., as he peered into his scope. Right next to him was his wife, Gail, with her eyes glued to another scope watching the wolves romp silhouetted against the snow. The Andrewses were spending 12 days in the park in February searching for, photographing and watching the storied Yellowstone predator.

For them, seeing Yellowstone wolves doesn’t get old. They keep coming back year after year in winter.

To read more, go here.