We left our wonderful camping spot and area in Guernsey State Park today (October 1) and I will give you an update on what we did yesterday and today. Our internet service was so poor in the last place, so we opted for doing it today. Yesterday was a geo-caching and historic day. We mainly, wanted to stay in this area to take in Fort Laramie, just south of us, and we were surprised there was no fort there! They are surrounded by the Laramie River on three side, and it snakes around that area, so they only had to protect the one side. Many of the buildings have been restored and it was quite nice. The Fort was originally a trading post from 1834 to 1849, and then the army acquired it. It was then used as a supply and military outpost along the Oregon Trail. Other major trails passed through here. The California Trail and Mormon Trail also went through here. The Pony Express ran through here from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA from 1860 - 1861. Telegraph and stagecoach lines passed through here, also. With the end of the Indian Wars, Fort Laramie's importance diminished and it closed in 1890. It was sold at public auction. Geo-caching took us to some places of interest and importance in the area. One was to an area where the Oregon Trail Ruts were very visible. Another was the Register Cliff, where people crossing this area, etched their names and date in the soft sandstone, that was proof they were here. Another geo-cache took us to the Army Bridge, that crossed the Laramie River and connected the area to the fort. We arrived at our campground in Loveland, CO and will stay a week here. They had 16 inches of snow in the Rockies yesterday and we are under a winter advisory through Tuesday. What happened to that High System that came in from the west coast and all those 70 degree temperatures? It is mild here and they haven't had a frost yet, but if we are to get rain tomorrow, that means the mountains are going to get snow! We don't have a reservation after this week, so we may be staying a while longer. I don't mind the snow in the mountains, as it will make our pictures much prettier! As long as Loveland doesn't get any! We are at 5200 feet elevation, so we don't think we'll get snow here. Things will all work out. I'll post a few pictures from yesterday, as I wasn't able to do that in Guernsey. If you read the blog from Friday, I have just posted pictures of that day. The structures at Guernsey State Park are a must see.
These are the grooves in the sandstone from the iron wheels on the carts transporting goods and people across the Oregon Trail. Oxen were used at first and then they used mules to pull the wagons.
This is one of about 350 etchings on the sandstone cliff, that people placed their name and the date they were here. It reminded us of El Morro in New Mexico, near Grants. It is basically, the same concept, only the earliest here is 1852 and El Morro had dates back to the early 1600's. That was due to the Spanish invasion, looking for gold.
This 140 foot bridge was built in 1875 to connect the town to Fort Laramie. They replaced the wooden planks in 1990 and it is very stable. It was used until 1958.
This is Boot Hill Cemetery in Hartville, Wyoming. I think every little town in the West has a Boot Hill. The grave site that is fenced in says, 'Baby Pinkerton' 1897.
Jo-Ann Fabrics is next door to our campground, so we went for a walk tonight and I stocked up on my baby yarn, and will have something to do in my spare time. How convenient was that? Good planning, I'd say! Our grandson, Cam, in Virginia turned 21 yesterday! Due to the poor internet service, we are a day late, but we hope you had a great day, Cam!
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