The Oregon Trail Journal

June 20 – We traveled to the National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, situated on a bluff overlooking Casper. I enjoyed the show, found several names on the wall in the lobby, rode a covered wagon in a simulated crossing of the North Platte River and a stagecoach, and looked at the exhibits. I purchased a book in the gift shop--“In Tar and Paint and Stone” by Levida Hileman about the inscriptions at Independence Rock and Devil’s Gate.

We saw tan pronghorns, the antelope-like animals, with little white rumps several times on the side of the road.

The emigrants had traveled within sight of the Platte River for more than 400 miles--past Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Fort Laramie. Now they were about to leave it behind for the final dusty approach to South Pass. Most emigrants crossed the North Platte at the site of present-day Casper and took the northern route. Others waited a few more miles to make the crossing. In either case, the North Platte crossing marked the beginning of some miserable travel, with a lack of good water and good grazing until they reached the Sweetwater River in four days of hard travel.

We traveled to Independence Rock “The Register of the Desert,” a massive dome of granite, a submerge mountaintop protruding more than 100 feet above the ground. Hundreds of names have been carved or chipped into the stone, among them a number of famous people. I walked half way around the rock so I could locate the signature for Option #2 of the Virtual Cache (waypoint: GC5E1D). I came across a small fenced-in graveyard near the path. I took several photographs of the graveyard, Independence Rock and the historical signboard.

We traveled west to Devil’s Gate, a 330-foot high fissure carved through solid granite by the Sweetwater River. Since the river gorge is impassable to wagons, the Oregon Trail passed over the ridge (Rattlesnake Pass) south of Devil’s Gate but some of the emigrants hiked over to see it up close. Two miles to the northwest, nestled at the foot of Sweetwater Rocks lay Martin’s Cove (National Register of Historic Places), a popular emigrant camping site. It was a pleasant change for the weary emigrants on the four day trek across the rough, dry country from the North Platte River. Here they found good forage for livestock, adequate fuel wood, excellent water from the river and shelter from the prevailing winds. From here, the emigrants followed the Sweetwater River to South Pass, an easy passage through the Rocky Mountains.

We visited the Handcart Visitor Center at the Old Sun Ranch west of Devil’s Gate. We ate a picnic lunch at tables under the shaded trees. Afterwards we saw a film and looked at the interpretive exhibits in the museum. I wandered the grounds where I found three historical markers: “The Pioneer Women Graves,” “The Oregon Trail 1841,” and “The Pioneer Graves.” Besides the historical markers there were deep trail ruts.

I took several photographs of the historical signs on the ridge, Devil’s Gate, museum exhibits, and historical markers. Twenty miles northwest was Split Rock. Its summit elevation is 7,305 feet. The notch resembles a gun sight when viewed from either the east or west and it is visible for more than 50 miles. I took a photograph of it from the tour bus window.

Continuing westward, we entered the Wind River Country. We rode to Lander, Wyoming. I left the tour bus to explore part of Main Street in downtown Lander. I met James Walker who was holding a bird at the Wind River Pet Shop. Next door at Radio Shack I purchased another 1.0 GB Sun Disk. I inquired about a historical book--“Woman with a Sword”--at a used book store. I photographed a very large bronze statue “The Bronco Buster”--a Frederick Remington Replica. I photographed and got coordinates of a stain glass clock (Waymark Code: WM1TAC). We had a delicious BBQ dinner at Cowfish, Coalter Square. We rode the bus to the hotel. I left the tour bus while several others traveled on to the beautiful Popo Agie River in the Sinks Canyon State Park. The Popo Agie suddenly disappears into a large cavern before reappearing about a half-mile down the river canyon. I wrote in my journal before going to sleep.