Driving Dist/ Time: 179mi./ 3h 18min. (to Ft. Laramie NHS); 76mi./ 1h 32 min. (to Chimney Rock NHS); 23mi./ 35min. (to Scotts Bluff NM)
Sights seen: Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Scotts Bluff National Monument
'I tried to ford the river, but my friggin' oxen died!' Ah yes, we all know that phrase, and I don't know how many times I said it during the self-proclaimed, "Oregon Trail Day!" Yes, this day was dedicated to honoring the over 250,000 people who crossed the "Great American Desert" to resettle in the far-off lands of Oregon, California, and the Salt Lake Basin. First stop on this homage was Ft. Laramie, Wyoming (yes, there's something to do in Wyoming). This fort was the preeminent military installation for the northern and central Great Plains. It was a primary stop on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails; it was site of two major Indian treaties, one which established safe passage for all American emigrants travelling westward; and it was one of the most important locations on the Pony Express and transcontinental telegraph routes. A very amazing site considering all the history that passed through its environs.
Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff are two major landmarks along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. These enormous and unique landmarks located along the North Platte River in the plains of the panhandle of Nebraska were welcome sites to the travellers who had seen nothing but flat, barren land for two months after they left the civilization of the East. Anyone who played the Oregon Trail game(s) knows the importance of these icons along the route and just seeing them in person, just like hundreds of thousands of emigrants had seen before, really put the history of the growth and formation of this nation in perspective. Oregon Trail day cannot be missed!
States visited to date: 10
National Park Passport cancellations to date: 10
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