Oregon Trail Last week & the Mid 1800s

 January 17, 2022

Wyoming Fact & Fiction

We are back from a quick trip to visit family in southeast Nebraska. My two hometowns, where I grew up in Fairbury, Nebraska, and now in Guernsey, Wyoming, are Oregon Trail towns.

Traveling the Oregon Trail - Every time we go back to visit, I think about those Prairie Schooners rumbling along at 10 to 15 miles per day. My, growing up, home town, sits near one of the first difficult river crossings – the Little Blue. The crossing was treacherous if the wagons got there early in the year.

Little Blue looked peaceful when I snapped this last July.

By the time they reached Guernsey, most wagons were following the south side of the North Platte River. The Mormon Trail runs along the north side of the river, only a few miles from the Oregon Trail on the south by the time it gets here.

North Platte in mid-June in Guernsey, Wy. 

The driving distance from here in Wyoming to where I grew up in Fairbury is 485 miles, about eight to nine hours for us oldsters who stop several times along the way. The wagons would have taken more than a month, likely closer to six weeks. But hundreds of thousands made the trip, with about 20,000 who died along the way. Cholera and other sickness and disease killed most of the thousands who died along the way. Indians, who have killed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions on TV, old-time radio, and movies, actually killed about 400. 

Most who traveled walked instead of overtaxing their animals, primarily Oxen, with extra weight.

Not an Oxen but good looking Longhorn

The wagon itself was only about 4X10. Even in our tiny house world, forty square feet is not much.

A landmark of the trail - Chimney Rock in western Nebraska

One Book You Might Need in Your Library – Patrick T. Holscher’s – On This Day In Wyoming History.

So what happened in Wyoming History today from the book? Kendall Wyoming had a low temperature of -52. Now that is cold! Thanks for the info, Patrick.

Shout Out for this Blog - It is always nice to be noticed, and this week I received word that this blog is now listed in FeedSpot as one of the Top 15 Wyoming Blogs & Websites. Click the link to see the list. I read several of these sites – good stuff, no cost! 

Wyoming Trivia – two questions today

Q1 - What are Oxen?

Q2 - Where did emigrants on the Oregon Trail hope to be by the 4^th of July

Trail Ruts near Guernsey - about a 1/2 mile south of our house.

Answers

Q1 - Oxen are no different in origin than other cattle. They are simply neutered bulls trained to pull.

Q2 - Independence Rock

 

See you next week!

 

Bad Weather and Heading West on the Oregon Trail

Bad Weather and Heading West on the Oregon Trail

Spring snowstorms are not uncommon in Wyoming, but all of us seem surprised each time we get one.

Today in Guernsey State Park

We were so dry in March I was afraid that we would dry up by the middle of June – not now.

When pioneers headed west they had to very careful of the weather and spring storms. They weren’t this far, not yet.

Along the Trail about a half mile south of our house - before the snow

The early wagons would have reached Nebraska around this time of May. One of the crossings on the Oregon Trail in southeast Nebraska was the Little Blue River near present day Fairbury, Nebraska, and that river has been out of its banks for several days.

When I hear sportscasters talking about how courageous some athlete was for: hitting some shot, taking the big shot or scoring the winning points, I think about these people. Now they were courageous, these travelers of the trail, fighting the weather, often all the way west.

We are blessed to get all of this rain and snow this time of year. My part of Wyoming only receives about 12 inches of total moisture each year. So far in the month of May over 5 inches.

Nope, no golf for me today

Lovin’ it! 

Did a bit of sweeping on the truck before going for afternoon drive