Walking the Oregon Trail

Tuesday Evening August 5, 2014
Robidoux RV Park
Gering, Nebraska

 

 

 

First we take the scenic drive to the top of Scott’s Bluff.

 

Although storm clouds are brewing, the haze of this morning is gone and I almost wish we had done the Saddle Rock Trail hike this evening instead for the clearer views.  But we’ll drive up to the top so we’ll see the views from there just not from each level as we we did this morning.  There are no turn outs on this drive unfortunately.

 

 

They close the gate to the drive up at 5:30.  You have to be back down by 6:00 when the entire drive up and down is closed, at least to cars.  We saw a group of bicyclists gathering around the gate for what looked like a trip to the top around 7:30 or so.  It’s a pretty steep climb and by then the weather was seriously iffy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behind me I can see my favorite formation among Scotts Bluffs.  It’s called The Dome.  You can see it in the distance above and closer up below.

 

 

 

Tunnels are so much fun.

 

Tunnel number one.

 

 

Out the other side, we immediately see the second tunnel.

 

 

 

 

 

Out the other side.

 

 

Tunnel number three.

 

 

How did they do these tunnels and sheer cuts

 

 

Much better views this afternoon.

 

We reach the top where the views are much farther than they were this morning.  We can see beyond the developed city of Scottsbluff.

 

 

 

 

But we want to see the Monument‘s undeveloped South side.   We walk over to the South Overlook where we see the drive on the right and the trail we took this morning on the left.

We can see beyond Scotts Bluff to the Wild Cat hills in the distance.

 

 

David uses his binoculars to look for Winnona.  

She’s beyond the red buildings, straight back from the middle of the roof of the second one.   I get out my camera and by george, there she is.

Robidoux RV Park is a perfect location for visiting Scotts Bluff and other nearby natural attractions like Chimney Rock, Castle Rock, Steamboat Rock and several more  which I wish I’d planned time to see.  I had no idea there would be so much to do here.  I didn’t know before we came that it was an important point on the Oregon Trail.  We came because it was a National Monument on our way to Denver.  The same story as Fort Robinson.   I just love surprise discoveries.   Can’t wait until I have no deadline to be somewhere so I can just drift along.

 

 

Recognize anything here?

 

 

 

 

We almost miss what’s happening just at our feet.

 

Down at our feet at the south overlook is a cute little rock wren flitting in and out of various holes in the rocks. We’re so busy looking at the improved views that we almost miss her antics.

 

 

 

 

 

In the distance, on the other side of Mitchell Pass,  we can see the North Platte River which the trails were following.  One on one side and one on the other.

 

 

 

 

The sky is beginning to look even more iffy.

We want to be able to walk the Oregon Trail so we know we’d better head back.

 

 

 

We can see the gate is not closed as we begin our descent.

 

 

 

 

 

Should have taken those kayaks off, they really interfere with the pictures.

 

 

As we pass through the gates, we notice the right hand gate is closed.  No more going up today.  We park the car and head over to the section of the Oregon Trail preserved here in Scotts Bluff National Monument.

 

 

It’s time to walk the Oregon Trail.

 

First a map reminder.  Scotts Bluff is between Chimney Rock and Fort Laramie on this map.  The Oregon Trail and the Pony Express are the green line on the south side of the river.  The Blue line is the Mormon Trail on the North Side of the river and then veering south to Salt Lake City.  The Gold Rush Gang followed the Oregon Trail and then veered down to Sacramento.  Forget the Santa Fe Trail for now, it’s not part of this story.  HA!

 

 

Scott’s Bluff, the dramatic series of clay and sandstone highlands surrounding us, is chiefly known as a landmark on the old Oregon Trail.  Emigrants heading west encountered the bluffs after a 6 to 8 week trek across the monotonously flat grasslands.

 

The dome has the only blue sky above it this evening.

 

 

 

 

Through the 1840’s deep ravines near here forced early wagon trains to bypass this area.  But in 1851 the military opened a wagon route and for more than a decade the Oregon Trail pioneers  drove their teams and wagons through Mitchell Pass in front of us. 

The path with the wagons on it leads to traces of the Old Oregon Trail.  They were very clear as we walked but not so easy to see in the pictures. 

 

 

 

David tries his hand at the Mormon Handcart.  Many Mormons had no livestock or money to buy them or wagons and so they made the entire  1300 mile trip from Nauvoo to what would become Salt Lake City pulling their worldly goods in this little handcart.   A typical handcart was three feet wide by four feet long.  It had a shallow box about 9” high, wheels four feet tall and could carry an approximate load of several hundred pounds. Since carts were usually made entirely of wood, they were often noisy and subject to frequent breakdowns.  I read that during a four year period from 1856 to 1860 over ten different handcart companies provided carts for approximately 3000 Mormons for the trail to Salt Lake City.  He’s not putting much effort into it is he?  And it’s even empty.   Often two women would stand behind the bar and push as they walked along.

 

 

 

Between 250,000 and 500,000 people made their way west from 1841 to 1869. The covered wagon was one of the main methods of transportation, often drawn by oxen or mules. Wagons in the nineteenth century varied widely depending on what they were used for. The wagons utilized by the emigrants heading west also varied. They came from numerous locations and manufacturers. This makes it difficult to ascribe a generic label to an emigrant wagon; enough similarities existed to make comparisons. Among the manufacturers two stood our from the crowd, Murphy and Studebaker.

The wagons here are in absolutely pristine condition. No doubt the wagons did not look like this when they got to Scotts Bluff approximately 850 miles from St. Louis on their 2200 mile journey.

 

 

 

The first wagon we see is the Studebaker wagon at the back of the train.  Yes they are the same brothers who eventually made the Studebaker car.  They began their enterprise in South Bend, Indiana.  As blacksmiths, they provided hardware for many of the early wagon manufacturers.  Nearly every wagon making the journey westward had their components and spare parts.  Within a few years of providing parts, they were making their own wagons. This beauty was purchased by the Monument in 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the details on this wagon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second wagon in the train is a Murphy Wagon.   Joseph Murphy began producing wagons for the traders headed west from Missouri to Santa Fe and later for the overland emigration. His wagons became the best known on the western trails.  Murphy’s wagons consisted of wheels, running gear, a box and a cover. They were usually nine feet high with a twelve foot long bed. The bed of a Murphy wagon had a straight box, unlike its more famous counterpart, the Conestoga,
which had a curved box. A Murphy could comfortably haul between 1,800 to 2,200 pounds. Straying too far from these specifications risked serious problems. 

Oxen were most often used for pulling this type of wagon.  It required at least two yoke of oxen, a yoke consisting of two oxen. A third yoke often trailed behind so the livestock could be rotated and rested.

For those who preferred mules, an equivalent number of yoke could have been used in place of oxen.  Horses were rarely, if ever, used. They lacked the strength and endurance needed to pull a wagon  2,000 miles. They also required costly supplemental feed. This Murphy wagon was purchased from the Dewitts Buggy Works Company in 1979 and donated to the Monument by the Oregon Trail Museum Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably Studebaker parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The head wagon had a dandy of a paint job.  A true large Conestoga pulled by 6 oxen. The Conestoga wagon is the most familiar pioneer wagon to me since it seems to be the one used in films.  Actually I find out this vehicle was the primary choice for freighting companies shipping goods to the western frontier.  It is described as “sleek and angular with graceful curves, attractive to the eye.”  I’ll have to agree, this is a beauty of a wagon.

 

Sometimes a medium sized variation of the Conestoga would be used by families traveling the Oregon Trail.  The name Conestoga came from the Conestoga River Valley in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A Conestoga’s average size was 17 feet long and 11 feet high, reflecting the freighter’s need for space in hauling. In addition to a longer bed, it had a curved box much like that on a boat. This kept freight from moving and shifting, thus keeping the cargo in the center during transit.

 

This wagon required a double cover. The cover was usually made of canvas, cotton sailcloth or
homespun hemp. It angled out slightly more than that of a typical emigrant wagon to help protect
the cargo from the weather.

The front and rear gates angled up higher to help prevent freight from sliding out the back on steep inclines.  A Conestoga could likely haul loads up to three tons.  A load that size would have required eight or more yoke of oxen.

The Oregon Trail Museum Association purchased and donated this Conestoga wagon to the Monument.  This is an exact replica of the one on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and was purchased in 1973 as the first of the wagons, from the Ozark Craftsman at Dollar City, Missouri.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now about those oxen….

 

Even though six-mule teams were preferred for their speed, six out of every ten wagons were pulled by oxen. Mules were strong, quick and tolerated the heat better; but oxen on the other hand were good tempered, strong, could eat native grasses and were a lot cheaper. 

This team of life-size fiberglass oxen was purchased to represent a likeness to the actual animals used during the migration along the Oregon Trail in the middle to late 1800’s.

 

 

 

 

Time to walk the trail. 

 

We start out on a pathway going west and soon the path is running beside the trail which you can only see because of the raised sides where so many wagons, over so many years, wore down almost a trench.   There is a marker at the point that you can see the original trail.

 

 

 

It runs between these two rocks

 

 

Here we can see the raised sides with the trail sign in the middle

 

 

 

 

Heading toward Mitchell Pass.

 

 

 

I wonder how many travelers here were also heading into storm clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

I imagine this is what weeks of their journey looked like.  Prairie as far as you can see.  The trail goes through that notch. A closer picture of it follows.

 

 

 

 

We are at the end of the hike when we hear the thunder.  We look ahead and see that rain is falling on the other side of Mitchell Pass.   Boy I’ll bet they would have hated to see that.  A line of wagons alone on a flat prairie with lightning striking the ground.  How many were injured or killed by lightning?

 

 

 

 

We turn around and head back in the direction of not quite so dark skies.   I photograph the trail from this direction which is actually a bit easier to see although this is not the views those on the trail would have had since I am walking East.   Unless they turned around to give it up and returned that is.   But this far into the journey, I doubt it.

 

 

 

 

David has turned back before me deep in conversation with a man from the Netherlands visiting here.  I cannot remember his name but he was well versed in American history and was appalled at our country’s treatment of the Native Americans citing specifics from letters about the genocide policies of Presidents Washington and Jefferson.   He knew more facts than either one of us, for sure.

 

 

 

Back at the visitor center we see the bicycle group discussing their ride.  It is beginning to rain at this point.  It held off just long enough for us to get in the car.  Thank you very much.

 

 

We’ll be heading out for Denver tomorrow. 
This is the parting shot I took as we drove back to Winnona in the rain.