We arrived in Casper on Monday, 7/12. It was suggested we take the secondary roads so we could see some wildlife, etc. We were not disappointed! We saw many pronghorn antelopes and some deer and cattle (not exactly wildlife, I know!) The campground is just outside Casper, in a little town called Bar Nunn, population 930 people.
Tuesday we went into Casper to watch the Central Wyoming Rodeo and Fair parade. There were 170 units, but we only stayed through 95! The wind was blowing at a very consistent 20 mph! While the Laramie parade was mainly horses and tractors, this one was pretty heavy on fire trucks, ambulances, sheriff and police cars -- all with sirens blaring! What a din! My favorite unit was the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corp. Note to granddaughter: The dance studios used a flatbed truck and the girls took turns dancing on the truck! After lunch we went to the Fair (free for seniors :-) ). There was only one exhibit building, the tractors from the parade, and a petting zoo as well as a large carnival. The rodeo was starting Wednesday night. By then the wind was gusting at 40 mph, so all high rides were closed down.
Wednesday we drove 100 miles south to see Ft. Laramie and then stopped at the Guernsey wagon ruts (picture at top). These ruts were made by the thousands of wagons crossing the prairies to Oregon, California Gold Rush,and the Mormans on their way to Salt Lake City.
Thursday we toured Ft. Caspar (not a spelling mistake) and visited the National Historic Trails Center. The Park Ranger suggested our trip for Friday as we had expressed an on-going interest in the Oregon and other trails west. He gave us a map and directions to the Mormon ferry and Richard's Bridge and suggested a county road to follow the trails west.
Friday we were successful in finding Richard's Bridge, but didn't find the Mormon ferry site. We followed his suggestion and headed west. If you know my husband, he HATES to have dust on his truck. Forty miles of gravel roads and there was no trace of the the bluegreen hue of the truck! It was a very dusty brown! The second picture is taken from the Oregon trail and is what the pioneers were seeing as they came across from the Platt River area. We drove 15-20 mph, and seemed to take forever to get through the 40 miles. I can't imagine 15 miles IN ONE DAY! I was never so glad to see a highway!!!! Since we were only a few miles from Devil's Gate, the Mormon Handcart Museum, and Independence Rock we decided to continue west on the highway to see them. Pioneers wanted to reach Independence Rock by July 4 to ensure that they would get through the mountains before the weather turned cold and the grasses died.
We were very impressed with the Mormons who walked pulling a handcart containing no more than 17 lbs of goods per person in their group. They had supply wagons carrying food and other supplies, but I can't imagine pulling those wooden carts up over the mountains. It was hard to pull them empty! At the handcart museum Mormon teens come and make the 3 or 7 day treks out into the prairie carrying only 17 lbs of their belongings (no electronics!) to appreciate the sacrifices of their ancestors. One trek group lost their tents in a hail storm and came back into camp at the end of their trek with mud up to their knees.
Tomorrow we leave for Montana. More to come!
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