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We Traveled More Of The Pioneer TrailsJul 10, 2008
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Driving north on hwy 287, WY
Driving north on hwy 287, WY
Alkali flats in Wyoming along hwy 287
| July 10...Western Hills Campground---Rawlins, WY Today we had no idea where we might end up. We tried to find something interesting to go to in the area, without going to a local museum. I still like museums :-) But after going to a few in the same area that are "town or area" museums....you start seeing the same things and reading the same information. We got in the truck, picked a road north and left. The scenery was great...from green/red mountains to alkali flats. Then we came to a Visitors Center along the Pioneer trails...Morman, Oregon and California trails. The Visitor Center is run by the Morman Church. This area is important to them. So they bought the ranch from Tom Sun who had owned it for a long time. This is the area were two of the Hand Cart Pioneer groups were caught in a snow storm. Many of the emigrants died. They were rescued by men in wagons from Salt Lake City who had come to help them after a message was sent ahead by the hand cart groups. The area is by Devils Gap, Rattlesnake Pass & Split-Rock (which can be seen from Rattle Snake Pass) is only 20 miles away... LOL OK, it's (kind of) close to Caspar, WY. The Sweetwater River goes through Devils Gap... and Rattlesnake Pass, close by, is the pass used by the pioneers. Split Rock (20 miles away) could be seen from the pass and was the next destination. The Continental Divide isn't far from this area. We drove the Oregon Trail (now paved on this short stretch) through the Rattlesnake Pass for a short way in our truck then got back on the road going north. There was a grave in the Pass from one of the pioneers, it is marked with a granite rock. I had to keep reminding myself what a great thing this was for us, to get to ride on the Oregon Trail. Our next stop was Independence Rock. Have you heard of it? It is another of those place that you hear of when reading about the Pioneer Trails and the Mountain Men. There are a few different stories about how the rock got it's name. One says the Mountain Men were there on July 4th and named it. Another said that Father DeSmit, who worked with the indians, thought it looked independent sitting by itself on the plains, so it showed "Independence". Another was that the Pioneers tried to be there by Independence Day, so they knew they'd be over the Rockies before snow fell. I guess some of all these stories is true. At this point we were an hour from Caspar, WY... and about an hour from Rawlins, WY. We decided to go back to Rawlins at that time because tomorrow is a traveling day. See you in Fort Bridger. |
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