Author: jaywally

Hello all! My journey along The Oregon Trail has ended, at least for a time. I hope to continue the journey at a later date. Giving you an epilogue in the form of a prologue. Before I left on this journey, I visited the graves of Amos and Mary Mendenhall Barnett, the parents that took…

June 27, 2023 The Guernsey Ruts. So called because of their proximity to Guernsey, Wyoming which is just west of Fort Laramie.  I have been looking for wagon ruts throughout this trip, and have not found any until now. Many guidebooks and websites stated that you could see ruts here and there, and I would…

June 27, 2023 Register Cliff. This a bluff that travelers and soldiers in the 19th century carved their initials or names in the side of the cliff. For posterity, I suppose. This was not mentioned in the book, but I wanted to check it out just in case, possibly, maybe, I might see the name…

June 27, 2023 Next activity: Fort Laramie, Wyoming, my final destination that is named in the book. Fort Laramie is huge and I could spend hours there. The only lines in the book: “After traveling several miles, we came to Fort Laramie which is on the opposite side of the Platte River from where we…

June 27, 2023 A very large landmark: Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska. The traveling party stopped here for a few days and rested and let the oxen pulling the wagons rest as well. Several of them had become lame because they had lost their shoes. The blacksmith was very busy re-shodding the oxen. An ox’s hoof is…

June 27, 2023 Chimney Rock: It could be seen for miles on a clear day. It pretty much pops up out of the desert. They had a (lame) museum there which I paid $8.00 for. I decided to swear off any more museums for the rest of the day. It was a very cool sight.…

June 27, 2023 At this point we get to landmarks that all travelers were told to look for. Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock are very recognizable geologic features. Joel stated that they camped very near these and could see Chimney Rock in the distance. I could not get a vantage point to see Chimney Rock…

June 27, 2023 I decided to stay in Ogallala, Nebraska because it was a good jumping off point to see many sites along The Oregon Trail.  The end of the day will be Fort Laramie and a little beyond that. First activity of the day: California Hill. This hill was not mentioned in the book,…

June 27, 2023 This was the Platte River this morning. There was simply no place to stop and take a photo of it so a photo from the car would have to suffice. If it looks high and muddy, it was. There was a flood warning in the town I was staying, Ogallala, Nebraska, because…

This is map image of Grand Island. In the book, Joel states “it is said to extend eighty or ninety miles down the river”.  It may have been that large in the 19th century, but things change over time. It looks to be only about thirty miles long today.