Trails

We were reminded that we are now at higher elevations.  It was 37 degrees when we got up this morning.  Two days ago the heat made it difficult to sleep, this morning I had the heat on to warm up the RV, as it was down to 49 inside.

It was 20 miles or so to Casper, where our first stop was the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  Right in this area, on the North Platte River, four historic trails converged as they all had to cross the river at the easiest place.  These trails are the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the Pony Express.  The Pony Express only lasted 19 months or so, as the telegraph and the railroad replaced it.  The railroad eventually replaced all the other trails as well, as it could travel in a week what formerly took six months on the trails.

The Interpretive Center contained descriptions and stories from all four of these trails.  Using dioramas with video, static displays, hands-on stuff (like a simulated covered wagon ride across the river), it had a lot of information about life on the trail.  It’s probably one of the largest visitor center type buildings I have ever seen.  I’m not much for museums as I will forget all the information as soon as I leave the building, but this one was well done.  Deb, of course, could have stayed all day.

So we stayed half the day.

It was fascinating to see the hardships that people endured to travel west.  Disease, drownings, and accidents claimed many people, but many more made the arduous journey successfully, often traveling the entire distance on foot.

One enterprising person, in order to measure the distance, created a wagon wheel odometer which ran from one of the wagon wheels.  Distance was measured by the rotation of cogwheels.  Distance was formerly measured by tying a rag to one of the spokes and having the children count the revolutions, which often proved unreliable.

My next RV, in the spirit of the Oregon Trail.

Deb getting the stagecoach ride she’s always wanted.

After lunch, we took a bike ride on the Platte River Parkway, a bike trail that follows the North Platte River through nearly all of Casper.  We were stymied by road construction which closed the bike trail so we had to return and drive to a different parking lot on the other side of the construction but we did bike most of the 10-mile length.

On the trail we met a couple from Canada who do a lot of biking.  They were fixing a tire and we stopped to offer any help we could.  They have been on bike trails all over the US and even the world.  The guy told us he was closer to 90 than he was to 80.  If he was telling the truth, he was doing something right.

We headed north on I-25 and pulled off the road in Kaycee, Wyoming, a town known to be a hideout for outlaws, including Butch Cassidy.  Very tiny town, but the city park allows free camping so we’re settled in for the night.

We took a walk through the town after dinner.  It’s all of five blocks from end to end.  The Invasion Bar and a restaurant appear to be the only open establishments, with about two cars in front of each.  Two hotels, the Cassidy Inn and the Siesta Motel appear to be completely devoid of customers.  I think all the visitors in town are boondocking here in the city park.

We found the rules for the park somewhat amusing.  Only in a small town like this would you find rules governing gutting game in the park.

Miles traveled today: 114.  Miles per day are getting less now that we are in Wyoming.  We are officially in slow-travel mode.  So far, the route looks like this:

1600 miles.  Pretty direct other than a few detours.  We’ll start to wander a bit more from here on out.  A lot of that wandering may take us far from the interstate or from any sort of recognizable town, so we may go dark for a day or two or three as we will probably lose cell service.  We will update as opportunity allows.