|
|
Thursday, July 03, 2008 | |
 Oregon Trail - Day 6 - Wheatland, Wy to Rawlins, Wy Dateline - Rawlins, Wyoming The mountains are not the only thing high around Rawlins - the motel rooms in Rawlins are sky-high. Room prices on our trip have ranged from $58 at the Meadowlark Inn in Bridgeport, Neb. to $109 here in Rawlins for a room not as nice as Room #1 at the Meadowlark Inn. And it took some doing to get down to $109. The first place I stopped wanted $135. Too high, so I went across the street and was quoted $144. We got a place near the Penitentiary for $109. We started our day in Guernsey, Wyoming at some trail ruts that are worn 6 feet deep in solid rock in some places. A mile away, at Register Cliff, we saw what was graffiti in the 1800's but is a National Landmark today. Emigrants would walk a short distance from their camp to carve their initials into the face of a large cliff. On June 23, 1850, nineteen year-old Alavah H. Unthank engraved "A.H. UNTHANK 1850 on Register Cliff before continuing his journey. On June 28, his wagon train laid over near present day Glenrock, Wy. - an hour away by car - 5 days in a wagon train - because Alvah got sick. On July 1, 1850, a fellow traveler wrote "Alvah is rapidly sinking." In the early morning hours of July 2, Alvah passed away. We stopped at his grave which is just off I-25 at Exit 160. In 1869, Alvah's nephew, O. N. Unthank, came to Register Cliff and engraved his name below Alvah's. In 1931, Alvah's great-grandson engraved his name and the year below the other two. All three names are still visible amid the thousands of names on the cliff, some very old, some from the last 20 years. As we left Register Cliff, I was singing along with the Eagles song "I'll be doing fine and then some". Which is exactly what I imagine Alvah figured he would be as soon as he reached Oregon. Next stop - Independence Rock, which legend has that it got its name from some Mountain Men who camped there on Independence Day, 1831. The rock, which is visible for nearly 9 miles, resembles a giant turtle. If an Emigrant train made it to Independence Rock by the 4th of July, their chances of reaching Oregon before snow blocked the passes were excellent. We ended at our day at Devil’s Gap where the Sweetwater River has carved a giant crevice through the Rattlesnake Mountain Range. We followed a dirt road exactly over the Oregon Trail to arrive at Martin’s Cove where I hiked a half mile to get some great pictures of Devil’s Gap. Since it was getting late and there are no motels around the Oregon Trail in that part of Wyoming, we ended up here in Rawlins. We also set a record here in Rawlins for the most expensive meal on our trip - $18.99 each for ribeye steaks from a cow I suspect must have walked from Texas to Wyoming before ending up on our plates. Just like Jefferson City, Rawlins has a new Penitentiary and an old Penitentiary which is now a tourist attraction. Maybe Jefferson City Officials could get some tips on making our old Penitentiary a tourist attraction from Rawlins City Officials. In return, we could teach them how to what a real steak tastes like. email: aboomer@embarqmail.com -- A. Boomer (July 2, 2008) 
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click here to find out how you can help 
-day