A western history lesson

So it seems that a few people were more interested in the 'weird, strange, or odd' structures in the photos from my last blog, than they were in the bears in the photos. As you all know I love to entertain and enlighten, so here's a little history lesson for all of you interested.

Those structures are Coke Ovens. 'Coking' is a term used for the carbonizing of coal. This process would burn off much of the volitale material found in coal, which would produce a much cleaner fuel source for the use in railroad steam engines and other machinary. Here are a two different types of coke ovens in the area.

These are the ones behind my mom's house. They are now being reconstructed that's why one is covered in a big teepee tent. You can't really go inside them now, but I remember venturing in as a kid, and I'm sure that the teenagers in town met there on occasion for a little you know what.

These ovens are built into a hillside and are up in a town called Redstone which is about 30 miles from Basalt. These have also been deemed Historical Structures.