Running the Roads-July22-23

Laramie is the home of the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historical Site.  We toured the prison that had been rehab'd with $$ from the History Channel within the last couple of years.  Over its 30 or so years of operation it served 1000 men and 12 women as "temporary residence".  This place was a place before its time with shop work for the inmates. They had a broom factory, woodworking shop, candle making and such. They wanted to rehabilitate the prisoners.  It is the only jail facility that was able to hold Butch Cassidy.  The Frontier town that is on the grounds is full of buildings purchased from around WY and moved so as not to lose them.  Trees are at a premium and the settlers recycled everything.  Old leaky Union Pacific boxcars were turned into shops and storage, much like the trailers of 18 wheelers are today.  Several were turned into dwellings.  The one on the grounds had been used by the University of Wyoming's extention farm as the shepherder's residence with a couple of small additons made in 1907.  On Friday we moved on over I-80 across Wyoming to Fort Bridger.  I-80 follows, pretty well, the tracks of the Union Pacific RR and earlier trails, the Morman's used some of these trails on their way to Utah.  Actually, Fort Bridger was part of the Utah Territory until Wyoming was made a state in 1890.  We have a group of LDS young people camped just down from us.  They are traveling over the trail as part of a summer study.  I-80 climbs through the Snowy Range of the Medicine Bow Mountains and we saw extensive snow fencing.  The road is closed periodically and the WY road map shows many state, county and other local roads that are closed all winter.  It is strange to see crossing arms like we see at rr crossings sitting along the highways.  "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play."  Saw no buffalo, but several herds of antelope(and or prong horn deer). " Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day."  The reason one seldomly hears discouraging words is THERE ARE NO PEOPLE HERE TO SPEAK THEM!  WY population is the lowest in the nation.  Fort Bridger boasts 150 (except during the Mountain Man Encampment when it becomes the 3rd largest population site for 4 days) folks and we passed several "towns" that are smaller than Rock Camp or Wikel.  One town had only an "adult entertainment" building.  Nothing else in sight....360 degrees.  Can't believe where patrons could come from.   We hit Fort Bridger and soaked up that history after we set up the RV for the night.  Only ruins remain of the original fort, which wasn't much of a fort to begin with.  However, the site has been home to a LDS community and then a US military post after they pushed the Mormans out. The military moved out around the turn of the last century as the "frontier was disappearing.".  Now it is a tourist draw.  It was enjoyable to spend some time in the museum, and yes, I read(or at least skimmed) all the labels here, too.