Day 5 on the trail and today we officially reached over halfway. This morning we woke up at a friend's house in Casper, Wyoming and found it difficult to leave. The bed was soft and warm, the coffee already brewed and ready to drink and plentiful cereal varieties to chose from! It was the perfect night's stay but alas, we had to go on. So Claire, Roy and I (we picked up Roy yesterday in Casper to come along for a bit!) packed up our many bags, suitcases and coolers and headed to the Historic Trails Museum.
Once again, with the military parks pass we all got in free! Another 18 dollars saved! The trails museum was amazing! Each trail (Mormon, Oregon, pony express and California) has its own area dedicated to telling and showing what it was all about. Coolest part was the simulated wagon river crossing! You sit in a wagon and face a movie screen and watch the crossing while the wagon rocks and sways in the water. You even see someone's wagon break and their belongings flow away! We are all 20 something college graduates but we were so into it, I felt like a little kid! Excellent trip made even better by the military pass.
Then we continued on to Independence Rock about an hour drive away. We read that travelers on the trail would try to make it here around the fourth of July to stay on time. It is a GIANT mound of rock in the ground that looks like a turtles back and naturally we had to climb it. It took a while but we found a suitable spot to scale the beast. I was very careful to listen for rattlesnakes on the ascent but it was worth it! Travelers would have picnics on top and we got to see more engravings on top! So cool! I don't know how those ladies scaled that thing in dresses though... I could barely do it in pants! But it was tons of fun and a beautiful view of the Wyoming hills (I call them bluffs but apparently they're not. Maybe that's a Minnesota thing)
Next we headed about 5 miles down the road to Devils gate, this awkward giant slit in the mountain that the river flows through, and the Mormon handcart museum! The highlight of this by far was pulling around replicas of the handcarts and getting a feel for how awful that would have been! This was apparently the cheap alternative, instead of a wagon and oxen, they pulled mini versions of wagons 1,200 miles to salt lake! It was exhausting just pulling it around the parking lot! We took turns pulling each other around and decided we would all die in the wilderness if we had to pull those!
Our next big stop was South Pass about a 2 hour drive from Devil's Gate. This is a relatively flat piece of land about, 20 miles wide between the mountains. Claire told us that before this was discovered they couldn't really bring wagons out because of the mountains! After they found it, westward migration was possible. I was skeptical because it doesn't really look all that pleasant to travel across anyway. Its very hilly and uneven but I guess that beats a mountain! We walked in the actual ruts that the wagons left behind and drove on the actual trail. It was awesome and super beautiful but at 7550 feet up, it was very chilly! We spent a solid half hour just walking the trail and finding cool rocks. I was hoping to find something super cool like a wagon wheel or ox skeleton but rocks will suffice for now... apparently this spot marked just over halfway for the travelers! Good lord!
When we were continuing on, we experienced our first real trail weather. At the false parting of the ways marker we noticed the clouds ahead looked huge and dark and continued on. At this point we had been out of cell service for a solid 6-7 hours so we hadn't looked up weather. As we drove it got darker and more ominous and suddenly it struck! Wind, rain and lightening were intense and it was a little rough but we made it thanks to Roy's driving! We decided to treat ourselves to our Wyoming brewery stop along the way! We stopped at Bitter Creek Brewing Co and enjoyed a Bob! (That's the name of the beer! ) delicious.
We finally headed south to Park City where we are moching for tonight. Getting here through rain and wind, almost hitting 2 deer and almost getting hit by a pack of semi trucks on i80 has exhausted me and I think it's safe to say I hate driving in Utah! But for now we are safe, cozy and enjoying a lovely Murphy bed for the night! Goodnight friends, and back on the trail again tomorrow!
Fun fact- so far we have met two people along our travels ( inn keeper at the bed and breakfast and caretaker of the campsite) that used to be stationed at Malmatrom where Anthony and I are now! Small world!
Tons of pictures to come tomorrow! Horay!
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