Busy Little Wheatland

Lewis Park County Campground, Wheatland, Wyoming – June 29 through July 8, 2013

Upon leaving Loveland Colorado we weren’t real sure where we wanted to go. Since we had put a major dent in the the budget due to air conditioning and gas pipe repairs, we even considered turning around and heading back to Frisco for the summer.

But we haven’t seen EJ’s big brother in years and as fragile and fickle as life is, we didn’t want to let any more time go by before we took care of that. So we decide to continue our journey to the northwest. We’ll just have to cut down on the number of Mocha Lattes we consume. Weather looks hot most places, but we decide to head to WY and the Grand Teton NP.

As we passed into Wyoming the landscape began to change from the mountains we had gotten so used to. Now its buttes and plateaus. (Remember you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge it and see more detail)

We stopped at the Wyoming Visitor Center to gather more information to help us make our directional decisions We even got to find out more information about the elusive Marmot.

We knew it was going to be warm, not as warm as Loveland, but still warm enough to be uncomfortable during the day.  So we focused our attention on going north and finding a low cost electric hookup so we could run our newly fixed AC to combat the heat. WWW.uscampgrounds.info indicated there was a county park in Wheatland,WY  that might just fit our requirements. We figured we could stay there a few days and continue on.

And there was space for us. And shade. And a 50 amp connection. Life is Good!!

The area is rich with history about the settlers that passed through going to Oregon, California, or Salt Lake and the Army outposts that sought to protect them. Fort Laramie just outside of Guernsey, WY  was one such outpost and on the trail, it is located at the one third point. The wagon trains had traveled over difficult land to get this far, but it the next two thirds was much worse.

The enlisted men’s quarters.

The camp commander’s home (complete with running water, the only home in camp so equipped) and the remains of the some of the officer’s quarters.

And after a hard day in camp, we repair to the local watering hole for some Sarsaparilla and stories. In fact, the bartender was kind enough to point us to some sights that we might have otherwise missed.

Thanks to him we took an off the beaten path road and found the grave headstone of Mary Elizabeth Homsley. In 1852 she and her family were on the Oregon Trail when their wagon over turned and she was killed. Her family buried her over looking the Platte river. Her grave and marker went unnoticed until 1925 when 2 cowboys discovered it. A year later a concrete marker was built encasing the original headstone and preserving it.

He also described how to find a site where the original Oregon, Mormon, California and Pony Express Trails were preserved. The trail had so many wagons pass over it that an indentation often a foot or two deep was worn into the ground. There is a trail preservation society that is currently trying to mark and preserve as much of the original trails as possible.

Here’s another example of the wagon train indentation, only this time they are carved in rock. At the peak of the Trail’s use, 70,000 wagons a year passed this way.

And to round out this days adventure, we stopped at Register Cliff. This is about the one third mark of the total distance most wagon trains would travel. They’ve just left Ft. Laramie and the most difficult part of the journey is about to begin. Now these pioneers must pass through the mountains before the first snowfall or most likely they will perish. They carved their names in this cliff to let those yet to come know that they had made it this far.

Also Swifts, little birds that are so fast we could never get a clear picture of them, liked this cliff too. But since the nests weren’t moving we were able to photograph them.

On the way back to Wheatland from Guernsey we spotted some coal trains traveling through the switching yard. We read that the typical coal train in these parts is one mile long. That’s a lotta coal.

EJ has a soft heart for little critters and the squirrels around our campsite were no exception. They were well fed during our stay.

 

While at Wheatland we discovered Geocaching. This is where someone hides a small container or patch in a deviously clever place and then notes the location on the Geocaching website with a set of Lat Long coordinates and maybe a clue. Then using these coordinates you try to find the object. There were 5 hidden in Wheatland and we found three of them. Not bad for first timers.

July Fourth has arrived and we are still here. The linger longer approach has taken hold. We decided to stay through the Holiday weekend to avoid traffic and trying to find another place to stay.

For the last 2 or 3 nights, Lewis Park, the park we’re staying in, has been a focal point for young folks setting off their fireworks. When we inquired at the visitor center, we were told all the 4th festivities, including fireworks, took place in Guernsey and that Wheatland would have no fireworks displays. We really expected Lewis Park to be crowded and noisy on the 4th, but we were surprised. It was oddly quiet. Maybe everybody went to Guernsey.

Our plan today is to go where the festivities were and soak in the local culture. We arrived in Guernsey just in time to miss the parade, but the car show was in full swing.

There was even a bagpipe band.

We had heard that there was some old silver mining ruins around here so we went exploring. Our journey ended at Hartville a tiny little town that is the oldest incorporated continuously inhabited town in Wyoming. And we found the remains of a mining operation.

Once back in Wheatland we decided to sit outside and enjoy the evening. There was the occasional firework going off, but obviously local individual efforts. Then at 8:30, about a mile away, somebody started shooting off the big stuff. I mean the kinda stuff that rattles your shirt when it explodes. The fireworks display was pretty impressive and it lasted one and a half hours. It turns out the county fairgrounds put on this display and it seemed like hardly anyone knew about it. Anyway, it was a great way to end the day.

The next morning we decided to drive to Douglas, Wyoming. It’s around sixty miles away and we had considered moving our camp there since it’s in the direction we’ll eventually be moving. But we couldn’t find any campgrounds that met our criteria. So the Element gets the nod and off we go.

Our first stop was the Fairgrounds in Douglas to check out their campground, but it was all out in the open, no shade or trees. In other words there was nothing there that would make us want to hang out for a few days.

So we moved on the the visitors center where we got introduced to the Jackalope legend.

The visitors center was also home to a railroad museum. Over the years the State of Wyoming came into possession of these units and  between 1962 and 1993 transferred ownership to the city of Douglas. The workmanship in some of these units is amazing. We liked the leather bar in the dining car.

EJ also found a museum in Douglas that dealt with Pioneer living. Out front was a bronze statue of a jack rabbit running with a pair of elk.

And some early forms of transportation.

And Frank thinks he found an early RV.

Sometimes EJ thinks Frank relies on the GPS too much. His opinion is it will always get you were you’re going, maybe just not in the most efficient method. Besides that’s what makes traveling an adventure, right?

For our next destination, EJ had plotted a route involving interstates and paved roads. Frank decided to follow the GPS. After thirty miles or so of gorgeous countryside and not so smooth dirt roads, we arrived at Ayers Natural Bridge.

This is a rock formation that has been worn away by water until it forms a span over the water, in this case the La Prele Creek. This park is considered to be one of Wyoming’s first tourist attractions. There is also the remains of an old power house which generated electricity from the La Prele to pump water from the North Platte River which is 12 miles away as the crow flies. (Why didn’t they just use the North Platte to generate the electricity they needed for the water pumps?).

We took EJ’s route back.

Sorry for the long post, but for such a small town (population 3,248), there was a lot to see and do around Wheatland, Wyoming. We did lots of walking while here. Town was only a mile and we found a bakery/deli we visited twice and a coffee shop we made daily trips to. Not doing real well at weaning ourselves off of the lattés.

We have however gotten really good at the linger longer effect !!