For just a day we followed the Platte River to where the Laramie joined it. This was along the Oregon Trail route and we squinted hard to try and visualize this area as the travelers did.
The trail followed the river to be close to drinking water but travel needed to be up the banks on stable soil. We visited an area where the banks were soft sandstone and the wagons wore deep ruts. Imagine! Imagine how many wagons came through here. Did the wagon train travel single file at this point? Many a story.
Imagine walking. No comfy tennis shoes. If you were lucky, you had boots and weren't barefoot. But you walked. There was cactus and rocks and snakes! Yikes!
This is Buford, the bull snake, recently relocated from Fort Laramie because he had acquired a taste for baby rabbits. He joined us on the trail. I was glad he had no rattles.
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For many on the Oregon Trail the first overnight stop west of Fort Laramie was at a field next to a soft sandstone rock outcropping. Many who passed by this rock have carved their names. We found a few – very few left from the 1800's but lots of familiar names from today.
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| 1864 |
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| 1872 |
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| 185? |
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| Today? |
And a snapshot of what the Oregon Trail looks like today.
If these folks had just waited, it would have been a lot easier on them ;o)
