Running the Roads July 24-25

Running the Roads is a good title…we left Fort Bridger Saturday morn and traveled as far as far as Enid, Idaho staying at a good “overnighter” campground.  Along the way we toured Fossil Butte National Monument on US 30.  What a neat place!  Most of WY was part of an inland sea at one time and then the sediment trapped the living material, plant and animal.  The federal government may not do much that pleases any of us, but one thing they do well is manage that land which they have set aside for posterity.  The fossils of Fossil Lake are remarkable for their variety. The number of fossils displayed at the Visitor’s Center kept us busy for an hour or so.  On the walkway around the building was a time line showing what scientists have decided is the timeframe of our world.  I learned that the Appalachian Chain was formed in three different phases….and they are much older than the Rockies. The weather of the area was tropical based on the plant and animal findings.  Crocs just don’t normally come to mind when thinking of WY critters!(photos to follow in another blog)  Sunday was another travel day.  We listened to Kathy and Brenda’s CD until it started skipping so Curt will clean it tonight.  Then there was a sermonette on the radio.  Ask me about the carrot, the egg and the handful of coffee beans.  It was something to ponder for a while after it was over.  We spent time on I-84 which follows the roadbed of US 30 and much of the Oregon Trail(why reinvent the wheel??).  At Baker City, OR there is a Bureau of Land Management(another federal department)and a Visitor’s Center about the Oregon Trail.  It is a 500 acre facility of both indoor and outdoor exhibits and remnants.  One could go see some of the actual ruts, but it was too hot for the mile or so hike (100 degrees).  They have a wagon at the place that can be seen from the exhibit hall and I hope it comes out. The pix that has a wagon in the center(microscopic) shows a couple of "pathways"; they are pathways made by wagons 100+ years ago!! The life sized exhibits which include “taxidermied” oxen, donkeys and sheep, used real wagons and equipment for it.  Diaries were kept by many of the women travelers.  How they had time to make notes is a tribute to women’s diary keeping.  From them, and other oral histories the feds have put together this exhibit complete with paintings and short videos. One person out of 10 starting out at either Independence or St. Joseph, MO did not make it to the end of the trail. I KNOW I would not have had enough gumption to make the trip, but the information given was that most of the women did not desire to make the trip, but went where their husbands went.  I look at our 32’ RV with its three slides and my every 2 or 3 days at WalMart(or reasonable facsimile)and then look at an example of covered wagon, knowing they ended up getting rid of lots of their possessions along the way to lighten up the wagons for the long pulls, I wonder how they managed.  Of course, they didn’t know that 150 or so years later there would be 4 lane paved roads and air conditioned RVs. They couldn’t miss what they never knew of.   I was suitable humbled after visiting this museum.  We went to a local eatery since I felt it was too hot to cook!