Through Wyoming, Utah, and into Idaho

Last post I neglected to include the picture of Walt and Myra Abel.  These dear friends have been a part of our lives since the mid-1960s and visiting them while we were in Denver was the occasion for many fond memories.

In our last post I mentioned how the North Platte River provided a convenient route west.  From our base in Rawlins, WY we went exploring to see what happened to the Oregon Trail once the North Platte played out.  Since the Platte ends at nearly the edge of the Continental Divide Basin (a large plateau that serves as the divide rather than a sharp ridge like the rest of the Rockies).  As we drove across the basin north of Rawlins we were struck with how flat and majestic the terrain is.  The eye can add a perspective that is impossible (or at least difficult) to capture with a camera lens.  Much of the last few days of this trip fits that description.

But we got to the edge of the Divide Basin before we found the Oregon Trail.  Alas, the pioneers were no fools.  They traded the North Platte River for the Sweetwater River.  Yes, the terrain was more rolling,  but there was water and grass.   Below is a picture of the Sweetwater just up river from Martin's Cove.

About 1/4 mile upriver from this picture the Sweetwater cuts directly through a rock wall at a site known as Devils Gate:

Since this opening was too narrow for passage of more than the river, the pioneers detoured around the edge of this "mountain":

No, The Oregon Trail was not a gravel road!  Travelers since the mid-1800's have used many parts of the trail for modern purposes.  The point here is that this route over the Continental Divide was much like what we would expect on the NY State Thruway or I-70 through eastern Ohio.  And the route provided water and grass.

After the pioneers crossed the great divide they followed the Snake River and other waterways westward.  When you consider how formidable the Rockies are 50 miles north or 50 miles south of this route,  you can understand the wisdom of the mountain men in advising this route.  Incidentally,  this same route was used by the Pony Express and later by the first Transcontinental Railroad.

Enough of the history lesson for the day.  A couple other observations from our recent travels:

We camped near Fort Bridger hoping to learn more about the Oregon Trail in Western Wyoming,  but the Fort was under water from flooding from melting snow in the adjoining mountains.  This is the most water they have seen in more than a century... and we got to see it.  Lucky us.

For those of you who have not traveled where there is open range grazing land, you may be unfamiliar with cattle gates like shown below.  Cattle will not cross a grate of bars which will carry a vehicle.  This gate is on an entrance to I-84 and will keep the cattle off the highway.

For those who are hoping that the US will actually employ alternate sources of energy, there really are parts of the country where NIMBY does not prevail.  Perhaps it is because "back yards" are so much bigger in the west, but we have seen some beautiful wind farms from Iowa through Wyoming.  This farm is in western Wyoming, and you might notice the snow on the mountains in the background.

From Western Wyoming we traveled through the Wasatch Mountains in Utah, then north and west into Idaho where we are camped along the Snake River.  Tomorrow we will reach Eastern Oregon.

Mile High and Dry

We were a day later in leaving Forest City because we found a wet spot on the dashboard of the coach when we were about a mile out of town.  Having just had a new windshield installed and having had a torrential rain the night before... we assumed it had not been sealed entirely.  We returned to the Winnebago service center and after several hours learned the problem was that the running lights above the windshield were leaking.  They were all sealed and survived another rain that evening.  Robin finally got her way, and we did get on the road.

We headed for Omaha, NE just across the Missouri river.  Parts of I29 were closed from flooding and as we proceeded across Nebraska we encountered more storms and more flooding.

While in Omaha we traveled down the road to Lincoln a visited with Larry's cousin, Carol Jean and Leland Swanson.  Leland was a Swedish Nebraska farmer who met cousin Carol Jean at a dance in Lincoln where she had come for training in using Xrays.  He still carries her picture from those early years in his wallet, and they have had a very rich life...  good strong country stock does well.

After Omaha (where we did have some excellent steaks) we traveled to North Platte, NE.  We had hoped to stop in the museum in Kearny where the Oregon Trail joins the Platte River basin.  But, alas, the Indians where having a major Pow-Wow in Kearny that day and we could not get near the museum.

Our luck with flooding continued as one of the sites we wanted to visit was closed because it was sand-bagged right up to the front door.  The museum pictured on the right had placed sandbags around the perimeter of the grounds... with the driveway to fill in at the last minute as the river overflowed its banks.  That evening we did have a terrific storm and we ended up running through the rain to a tornado shelter as severe storms passed just south of our campground.  This was the second time in our motor home travel when we have had to seek shelter.  When you consider what a helpless target a 33 X 10 X 12 box would be in a tornado...  we do not take any chances when the warning sirens go off.

This particular historic house was open for viewing.  This was a Sears Roebuck catalog house,  and it is finely detailed inside and out.  I have been suspicious that my grandparents house in WV was also a Sears house, because I saw a very structure similar to the house on Dodd Street in a reprint of an early Sears catalog.  Looking at the insides of this house....  the Doak home could well have been from Sears.

A quick note about the North Platte River.  The settlers moving west needed a gentle path as well as a ready supply of grazing and water for their animals (and water for themselves).  The Platte River was just such a highway.  It was much too shallow to be a navigation route (as the Missouri River was),  but its broad valley sloped gently almost all the way to the continental divide.  Nearly 400,000 people made their way to Oregon in the 1840's.  We will be retracing part of that route.

But first a detour.  From North Platte, NE we dropped down to Denver, CO to visit with friends from our Pittsburgh days.  Walter and Myra Abel lived near us in Squirrel Hill and had a farm in northern PA where we retreated weekends to hike and do construction on their old farm house.  Much of Larry's first construction skills came from times he and Walt retreated to the farm.  I have a picture of Walt and Myra from the visit, but cannot get to it at this time, so we drop it in later.  We had a nice visit with the Abels and their daughter, Cathy.

From Denver we headed back north, taking to the high country north of Fort Collins and passing directly to Laramie, WY.  Beautiful country with patches of snow still in some of the valleys and complete snow cover on the mountain tops in the distance.  From Laramie we traveled west to Rawlins, WY where we will be camped for the next three days.

More to come later.

Larry



At Winnebago Home in Iowa

We are about a week and a half out on the road, and have arrived at the Winnebago factory for some service on the coach.  For those of you who have not seen our coach, here is a picture (with our Lincoln "toad" parked behind) in the Shady Oaks Campground in Marshaltown, IA.

But I am getting ahead of myself.  Our first stop was a quick overnight in northern Ohio, and then we traveled uneventfully to Zanesville, Ohio where Larry spent his teenage years.  Larry's brother, Jack, lives there now with his family.                      

Zanesville is famous for its Y-Bridge which spans the Licking and Muskingum rivers.  It is joked that one can go all the way across the bridge and still be on the same side of the river... which is true.  The Y-Bridge used to be a key point on the old Route 40.  Just go to the middle of the river and turn right.

The visit with Jack and family was filled with Dee's terrific cooking and blessed by sunny, but hot, weather.

We left Zanesville for a quick stop in Muncie, IN to visit with Larry's second brother, Rodger.  Again, sunny, hot weather was the order of the day... and we even got to enjoy watching a softball game by Ainsley (pictured below on the left).  That is brother Rodger on the right.  Dustin, Rod's son, is in the back left.  Sara, Dustin's wife and Ainsley's mom, is in the back on the right.  Larry, of course, is the shining head on the right.

After Muncie we traveled to East Peoria, IL.  I will have to admit that I viewed this as a quick stop on our way to Iowa,  but we were in for a very pleasant surprise.  The old industrial town of East Peoria has been revitalized and rebuilt.  There are hiking trails, clean waterfront (on the Illinois River), and interesting museums.  But, for those who know us well, the real attraction was a fish market that would easily compete with the best on the east coast.  After picking up fresh fish and stopping at a local farmers' market for fresh produce, we settled into a river front campground for a leisurely evening.  Actually, the riverfront was a little high, so the spot we were expecting to be parking in was under water.  But we found dry, level ground with power, running water, and a sewer connection.

We had one more stop before arriving at the Winnebago factory.  We stopped in Marshalltown, IA to connect with Larry's best friend when he lived in Washington, IA.  Hugh Dougall lived next door.  Through the wonders of the Internet Larry was able to find Hugh after nearly 60 years of separation, and we were delighted to get together.

The stop at the Winnebago factory took two days, but all system have be set right and we are ready to begin our travels again tomorrow.  Just in passing, I must mention that we traveled today to a very small town in Northern Iowa that was supposed to be highly "Norwegian".  We thought lunch at the Norse Hus would probably be charming.  Today the special was spaghetti.  But the best part was the editorial comment by the town mutt.  This place was so boring that he sat on Main street facing a wall rather than the street (maybe an ant would crawl up there)!

 

About to begin 2011 trip west.

The winter is over, we have returned home from Vermont.  After several weeks visiting local friends and attending a family wedding we are ready to hit the road again.  Well...OK...  I am still new at this blogging stuff, and the picture should have gone up with the "winter is over" line.  But the picture is Dot and Larry on our last day skiing at Okemo this year.  You can tell it is warm, because Dot has her gloves off while standing outside.  Thanks to photographer, Bud Kafer, for the shot.

We do have the coach packed and ready to go (Dot actually knows where all the important things are) and we will pull out on Friday after attending the last Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert of the year on Thursday evening.  Our first destination will be to stop in Zanesville, Ohio to visit with Larry's oldest brother, Jack, and his wife and daughter (Dee and Rhonda Kay).

The only complication to our leaving is that Robin (our 23 year old cherry headed conure) has had another stroke-like event.  She is actually recovering more quickly this time... probably because she "understands" what is going on and is busy figuring out how to accommodate to the "new normal".  We are sure she will travel well.

This blog will be an opportanity for our friends to follow our progress as we head west across the country.  We hope you enjoy the trip.

Larry, Dotti, and Robin