On to Wyoming (08-11-20)

We've left Colorado and have begun our short meander through Wyoming .

We have a week booked in Buffalo, with 3 days to get there. About halfway between
Loveland CO, and Buffalo, is Glendo Lake- it looked like a nice place so we booked two nights at the state park.

That left us only one day to explore, so we tried to cram in as much as we could. We started the day with a hike, no surprise. Unfortunately we still can’t seem to outrun the heat, and our 3.5 mile hike became 2 miles. As it was, it was 97 degrees when we got back to the truck, around noon.

After lunch we made the trip to Fort Laramie, about an hour away.

This fort started as a trading post, and was taken over by the government when the number of pioneers trekking west swelled to the point where a military presence along the route became necessary.

We chatted with the volunteer ranger, who decided he liked us enough to show us his favorite tree on the property. It was an enormous willow tree.

He explained that the fort was more of a truck stop along the “highway” from East to west. Pioneers on the Mormon, California, and Oregon trail would stop here to rest, and resupply. It was the primary hub for transportation and communication in the Rocky Mountain area, until it was abandoned in 1890.




Although both the Oregon and Mormon trails follow the North Platte River for much of the way, The Mormon trail is slightly different than the Oregon trail, largely due to the fact that the Mormons didn’t want to associate with outsiders, so they usually traveled on opposite sides of the river.

Some of the buildings are still ruins, and some have been restored.

By the time we were done with Fort Laramie, it was getting late in the day and we still had an hour drive home- but we couldn’t resist a stop at nearby Oregon Trail Ruts. This small park is well done, with a paved walking path leading to the ruts, complete with signs explaining the history of the area.

The ruts can be as deep as 4 feet in the sandstone, and were usually made by the wagon wheels, but sometimes they were deliberately made, to make the trail smoother.
It is amazing to me to look at these and think about the tens of thousands of pioneers who passed this way, headed west, looking for a better life.








Just a little further down the road is the Pioneer Registry, where people passing by carved their names into the limestone cliffs- we would have like to see it- but we were tired and hungry, so we called it a day.

The Mormon Trail and Beyond (07-02-19)

After leaving Fort Robinson, (and Mike and Julie) Paul and I needed to figure out our game plan for getting to Michigan, and more importantly, for the Fourth of July.

We are planning on touring the factory  in Michigan that made our pontoon boat, but of course they would be closed for the holiday.











After much searching, we found a county park near Muskegon MI that had sites available (It always makes you wonder how bad a park is if it has sites available for the holidays). Nevertheless, we booked it, so all we had to do now is get there.





We had plenty of time, so we meandered across Nebraska, and decided to loosely follow the Mormon Trail- backwards.

We mostly stayed off the highways and stopped at any of the historical markers that looked interesting.

I had downloaded an app that has all the Nebraska Historical Markers, which was nice, because it also had the verbiage, in an easier to read format.

With temperatures in the high 90s, we traveled a little differently than usual. We were slow to move in the morning, took our time, didn't hike,  stopped at a Planet Fitness when we found one..
















and re-planned our dinner menus to accommodate the fact that it was too hot to cook.  Aldi is a favorite grocery store of ours, and yeah, they have some weird stuff (I did NOT eat any of those).

Paul's 3rd great grandfather started his walking trek in Iowa City Iowa, and walked with his family, pulling a hand cart, all the way to Salt Lake City Utah.

Unfortunately they were part of a well known handcart company. The Willie Company (led by James Willie) was delayed in their departure from England, which of course meant that they left Iowa City later than they had planned.  A little too late.

They made it as far as Wyoming, but at that point their food rations were exhausted, and they were caught in an early snowstorm. Two people were sent ahead to look for help.

 A rescue party did finally reach them, but by then quite a few of the members had perished. Luckily, all of Paul's family made it to Salt Lake City.

One of towns we passed through along the way was the small town of Gothenburg NE, a town that was one of the stops for the Pony Express.

 We've all heard of it, and realize the importance of it in our history, but what flabbergasted me was that the Pony Express only existed for 18 months.

Formed in 1860, by the end of 1861,the telegraph came in to play, making the system obsolete.   Riders that could ride from Missouri to California in 10 days, were no longer needed.

The museum, although small,  was actually interesting because it told their story...In early days, they would carry some personal belongings, several guns, etc.  but they soon realized that those things slowed them down, so they started traveling lighter, and with only one gun.










Once we arrived in Iowa City, the Mormon starting point, there were two things we were interested in seeing.

The first was a historical Society Museum.  We didn't realize that the building also housed an antique car museum- more bang for our buck!

This particular car was a precursor to the modern RV, with a fold out bed and complete kitchen, what more could you ask for?

The other place we wanted to see was Mormon Handcart Park.  This is where the Mormon groups, including Paul's family, camped while making their preparations for their journey. Although the park is overgrown, at least it doesn't have a skyscraper built on it!

From Iowa City it was just a hop skip and a jump to West Branch, home to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
Paul and I went back and forth on whether we wanted to visit it.  In the end we decided, since we were there, and had the time, it was silly not to do it. Well, karma got us.
We got to the site, which actually sits on 186 acres, and is set up to resemble a small town.








There is a school, meeting house, Hoover's father's blacksmith shop, and the actual cottage, built by Hoover's father and grandfather, that Herbert Hoover was born in, in 1874.

Once we got to the main library, the doors were locked. They had an electrical problem and it blew out everything, including the air conditioning. Oh well, at least there was a visitor center too.











We have visited a few presidential libraries and one of the things I like is that, regardless of how a president was perceived while in office, the libraries showcase the positive things they accomplished.  In Herbert Hoover's case, one of his accomplishments was the establishment of UNICEF.

Of course, we haven't been to Nixon's yet.