Lingle, Wyoming - June 7 and 8, 2005
We had mixed feelings as we headed north on I-15 out of Denver. We had a wonderful month long stay with Susan's sister, and were sad to leave family and friends. As we left the city behind we both suddenly realized there was nowhere we had to be. We could go anywhere we wanted. We had no obligations until our October fishing date with Richard in Melrose, Montana. We actually giggled like kids let out of school for holiday.
Our destination was Rapid City, South Dakota, but planned to overnight at a halfway point in Lingle, Wyoming. Susan selected the Pony Soldier RV Park for its location near the Fort Laramie National Historical Site on the Platte River. The friendly RV park operator was very informative and recommended additional historical sites in the area. So exercising our newfound sense of freedom, we decided to stay two nights. We settled in just before some major winds came up and nearly blew us over.
The next day was beautiful and we proceeded to immerse ourselves in the great 19th Century westward migration. Our first stop was Fort Laramie. The fort was originally established by fur trappers and traders in the 1830s, and was purchased by the Army in 1849 to protect the emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. We arrived just in time to join a guided tour of the fort. The costumed guide described the recruitment process in the slums and ghettos of eastern cities, the recruit's march west, and then the life of a soldier at the fort in the 1840s and 50s. It was grim, the desertion rate high and punishment severe. The term "branded a deserter" was literal. According to our guide, the soldiers received very little training - a cavalryman may not know how to ride a horse, and infantryman may not be trained to use his rifle. Fortunately they didn't see much action.
After leaving Fort Laramie, we drove to the town of Guernsey, and crossed the Platte River to Register Cliff. As the overlanders crossed the continent, they often carved their names in rocks along the way. Maybe this was a form of bragging, proving to others that they've made it this far (many didn't), or maybe, in the face of the uncertainties that lie ahead, they just wanted to leave their mark. Of course, Register Cliff, like the Pioneer Register at Capitol Reef, had been somewhat defaced by newer graffiti artists making their mark like those before them.
We then stopped at the nearby Guernsey Ruts created by thousands of wagons moving west. In some places the ruts worn into the rock are five feet deep. We reflected on the difficulties of packing up all of ones belongings and moving the family west in hope of a brighter future.
Thursday morning, like the pioneers, we too packed up all our belongings in our humble wagon and moved northeast toward Hermosa, South Dakota on the eastern edge of the Black Hills.
