From Bridgeport our plan was to travel into Wyoming and visit Ft.
Laramie. Our route from there was through central Wyoming. Mother Nature
had other plans in mind for us. We did make our first stop Ft. Laramie, a town of 243.
Bob researched the area and found that they had a city park where we
could spend 2 nights. It was just a short drive from Bridgeport so we
had time to visit Ft.Laramie National Historic Site after we got set up
and ate lunch. The remains of the fort were spread out over a large area.
This house was shared by the families of two officers. The left hand side has been refurnished as it would have looked when it was occupied by one of the families.
This building had the distinction of being known as 'Old Bedlam.' Junior officers lived in it during its heyday. Let your mind wander and you will know why it received its nickname.
Over the years, there were 3 different forts at Ft. Laramie. The first was an outpost to protect fur traders. The last was a stopover for travelers on the Oregon Trail. Eventually, the fort wasn't needed any more and the buildings were sold to the highest bidders. Settlers needed the materials to build their homes in the area. Today most of the buildings are recreations based on the original plans.
The following morning, Bob and I visited the iron bridge over the South Platte River that was built during Ft. Laramie's existence. From the bridge we drove into Guernsey about 14 miles west to visit two other Oregon Trail sites.
The first was Register Cliff. It is amazing to see the old signatures on the cliff.
The original signatures have better 'penmanship' than the more recent ones.
Another amazing site about 2 miles from Register Cliff is the ruts the wagons cut in the rock where the Oregon Trail passed. This groove was made by the heavy wagons traveling along the same route over and over again.
From Guernsey we headed back to Ft. Laramie to pack the RV and move on along our chosen route. But, like I said before, Mother Nature had other ideas.
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