Eastward Ho!

We were able to do some site-seeing along the way to Illinois. This is Devil's Gate. The Willie-Martin handcart companies were stranded here at Seminoe Post near Devil's Gate in Wyoming. There is an LDS Historic Site called Sun Ranch here that tells the whole story. It's always good to be reminded of the heroic pioneers who made this journey. Their stories are amazing every time I hear them.

This is the Fort Seminoe replica at Sun Ranch.
There is a little ridge behind us in this picture. This is where most of the handcart companies tried to get shelter during the winter because there just was not enough room in the small building of the fort to hold them all. They thought it would protect them, but the wind whipped through that space so fiercely that it actually made the harsh climate a little bit worse. This is Independence Rock-landmark of the pioneers. There are tons of carved in signatures of pioneers all over the top of here (along with some more modern additions). We wanted to climb it, but our flip-flops were not the shoe of choice for this activity. Ellie made it the farthest up. We determined that one loose-shoe slip could lead to a pretty serious fall and changed our minds about heading up too far.

However, the next day we found ourselves at Register Rock in Nebraska. There are tons and tons of carved in signatures on this one. Most of the original ones are protected with a fence now, but there are plenty of modern signatures on this one as well. You just don't get the same feeling reading "J. Simmett 1856" when it's right next to "Kilroy was here 1975."

There were also a bazillion birds here and they made these little mud nests on the rock. It was pretty cool and it made me wonder if the pioneers saw them too.

In this area you could also see the trail as it was coming towards and going away from Register Rock. It is all just flat plain except for this long, shallow gully which is where the wagons eroded the land. It's pretty amazing.

If you look closely at these photos (click on it to enlarge if you need to) you will see the actual ruts in the rocks that the pioneers carved in order to make passage. This is somewhere in Nebraska. Definitely the most dramatic view of the Oregon/Mormon Trail. Ellie is standing above a rut. It runs right along the ???river. It seems to me like it would have been easier to stay close to the river and move along the land rather than up and around this rocky area. But I guess the land was different back then or something. Anyone know? And finally, Chimney Rock. When heading towards it from the west it doesn't seem like much of a landmark, but as soon as I saw the view of it from the east, looking westward, I could see why this was a sight. It is recognizable from a great distance off and has such a unique shape that it can't be mistaken for anything else. It's actually part of a long butte that runs for maybe a mile over this part of the land. That's really all you see from the west. So it was surprising to see how much it seems to stand alone when viewed from the opposite direction.

These sites and swimming at a hotel every night were the highlights of our journey eastward. Other than this it was flat and boring. It's amazing that there is so little in the way of civilization from Salt Lake City to Chicago. There are just a very few big towns in between.

It was strange to drive up to my new home having never seen it before. Richard had made sure that beds were made so that we would be able to go right to bed when we got here. And that's just what we did.