Ft. Laramie--Part 1

The plan was to head out to Ft. Laramie, Register Cliffs, and the Oregon Trail ruts in Guernsey, WY.  As always, life is what happens while making plans...

We traveled from Cheyenne to Torrington, where we spied the Cold Springs marker.

We also stopped at a Rock Shop on the outskirts of Torrington, WY where we picked up some petrified Wyoming Palm Wood (if I heard him correctly it was found around Rock Springs, WY), and a small chunk of fossilized snails and shellfish.

Our error was in not also stopping for an early lunch....

As we approached Ft. Laramie we also spied markers for Ft. Platte:

and "The Greatest Ride in History" during the Red Cloud War:

Can you imagine trying to pack your prized earthly possessions AND several months worth of supplies in this cramped little space??





Ft. Laramie played a major role in diplomatic and military operations, as well as resupplying pioneers heading west.  The building behind the prairie schooner could house two regiments of cavalry.  And in the field to the right (and slightly behind) this display of mobility is what is left of the canon:

There's a stream or two that meander near the site of the storeowner's home and the cavalry barracks; it also meanders along the path the picture of the canon was taken from.  While strolling, DH spied a fish swimming in the too-shallow water (at least one third of its back was exposed and that branch of the creek ended in a mushy bit of grass), so he caught it to transport it to the deeper section of the creek.



We poked about the Visitor Center a bit, asked about the Junior Rangers program, and watched their overview movie about the fort and its many incarnations.  Then we realized it was 2pm, we were all famished and what was left of their Junior Ranger booklets was going to take awhile.  We decided we would come back to Ft. Laramie at another time, and instead continue on to Guernsey for lunch and the sites we were going to visit there.  To our dismay, we didn't locate anything viable to eat so we cut our field trip short and hightailed it back to Cheyenne for an early dinner.

So, at some point in the next few weeks the boys and I will be heading back--better prepared.  In the meantime, I leave you with a picture of the map of Ft. Laramie.