The Oregon Trail and Beyond
I’m combining the two days of travel because we spent most of these days
in the car, traveling over the rolling plains of Wyoming from Cheyenne to
Casper and then Casper to Cody. This
land is so reminiscent of Alberta, Canada, just north of Glacier in
Montana. Lots of sage grass to feed the
pronghorn antelopes and sage grouses and little else.
It’s just the wide open spaces!
When we left Cheyenne, we headed for Fort Laramie, originally the trading
post and supply base for all emigration trails into Utah, California, and
Oregon during the 1850s and 1860s.
Later, when emigrants started traveling by train instead of on foot and wagon, it functioned more as a military base for the Indian Wars. We enjoyed a diversion from the steady travel as we saw life as it was back then. We had an interesting talk with the “baker,” who said they baked 1800 loaves of bread a day.
Each enlisted man was required to have 18 ounces of bread a day. We also learned that during the season they would get close to 1,000 customers a day at the “sutler’s,” the merchant who sold supplies to the travelers.
The most expensive item was a saddle for $50. It was an interesting step back in history, as we drove along the Oregon Trail.
Later, when emigrants started traveling by train instead of on foot and wagon, it functioned more as a military base for the Indian Wars. We enjoyed a diversion from the steady travel as we saw life as it was back then. We had an interesting talk with the “baker,” who said they baked 1800 loaves of bread a day.
Each enlisted man was required to have 18 ounces of bread a day. We also learned that during the season they would get close to 1,000 customers a day at the “sutler’s,” the merchant who sold supplies to the travelers.
The most expensive item was a saddle for $50. It was an interesting step back in history, as we drove along the Oregon Trail.
As we traveled along this trail through the prairie, we happened upon a
village of sorts called Shoshoni, a town of about 649. The town was named for the Shoshone tribe of
Native Americans, most of whom live on the nearby Wind River Indian Reservation.
We found one place for lunch—Mimi’s Diner and Malt Shop. What a lesson in local color! The place was fairly crowded with tables of 8
– 10 locals talking about high school football.
The staff was pleasant, and, as Robin says, “The food didn’t kill us.” We ordered hamburgers; unfortunately, mine
was juicy pink inside, so I just ate around the edges.
We continued on and sang “Home on the Range” and “Don’t Fence Me In.” At one point we were so tired of the monotony
of the plains that we took turns coming up with all the songs we could think of
that had either the word “mountain” or “river” in them. As we travel, every so often, we encounter something incredible that breaks up the endless prairie and has us celebrating nature's wonders.
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| Wind River Canyon - between Casper and Cody, WY |
Our blog entries are slowing down because we are moving around a lot and
too busy to write and download pictures.
Also,
as we travel, we are thinking of two of our three daughters and their husbands
as they celebrate their wedding anniversaries this weekend—Pattie and Mark
Pinchbeck on September 5 and Kerry and David Knight on September 6.
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