Wyoming, Part 2

Looking ahead to the Rockies


A map of the Oregon, Mormon, and oterh trails. (They all traveled together to South Pass and then went difefrent directions after that.)



Gold mine near South Pass City, WY.

Independence Rock

Sunrise over Casper, WY.

Yesterday was a beautiful day! Not being able to sleep we were packed and in the car at 6:30, in time to see the sunrise over Casper. We drove around the city till 8, when the National Trails Interpretive Center opened. From thatpoint on we jumped 40-50 years ahead of Lewis and Clark and spent the day w/ the westward pioneers.

The Trails Interpretive Center is an INCREDIBLE museum run by the National Park Service, and I recommend everyone go there. It provides detail and context to the great pioneer movement west that started in the 1840s. Think back to high school history...covered wagons, Oregon trail, etc. I hadn't thought about the westward pioneers in years and am in awe of their courage and tenacity to pick up house and home and move to a wilderness that few had explored. Later in the morning, I went to the Fort Casper museum, and Daisy and I took a walk around the partially restored fort and down to the Platte.

The rest of our day was spent following along (more or less) the Oregon Trail to the Continental Divide (South Pass). This was the elusive "easy" way to get to the other side of the Continental Divide and until it was found, travel West was very limited. On the way we passed Independence Rock, where the pioneers engraved their names as they passed by. Sight of this rock meant they were within a few days of South Pass and the "downhill" slide to the Pacific. No one knows exactly how the rock got its name, but one theory is that the settlers knew if they reached the rock by July 4 (having set out from Independence, MO, in April), they would be able to cross the Rockies and get to Oregon (or elsewhere) before the winter snows.

We stopped at nearly every historical marker between Casper and Lander and took a side trip down to the South Pass. I have always wanted to be able to travel like this, so yesterday was nearly perfect! So much history and so much beauty--and I only covered 250 miles (in 9 hours)!

Today I'll spend in Lander with friends; it's a beautiful day! More pictures are posted on Facebook from yesterday.