Area 48 covers the country around Douglas in the Powder River Basin and the Laramie Peak foothill transition to the south. Elevations run from about 4,800 feet on the basin floor to 6,500 feet on the higher foothill benches climbing toward Laramie Peak. The country mixes rolling sage prairie, irrigated hay and alfalfa along the North Platte, dryland farming on the higher benches, and the ponderosa pine breaks that step up toward the Laramie Range to the south. The North Platte cuts through with thick cottonwoods; LaPrele Creek and Box Elder Creek thread south out of the foothills. Coal-bed methane and oil-and-gas development is widespread; the country is one of Wyoming's energy zones. BLM, state trust, and significant private with HMA and Walk-In ranches adding access. I-25 frames the access; county roads handle the rest. Douglas is the full-service town—gas, motels, Walmart, the Wyoming State Fair grounds and the Pioneer Museum. Cell service is fair on I-25 and reasonable through the developed country. Antelope rifle in October is the headline; the open sage prairie holds strong pronghorn numbers and the long benches reward glassing. Mule deer use the breaks and pine-edge country to the south; whitetail concentrate in the cottonwoods. Energy traffic is part of the experience—you'll share roads with crew trucks and water haulers.