Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Today I took a drive west into Wyoming for a visit to Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Along the way I stopped at the Grattan Massacre Monument.

It marks the site of a skirmish where 29 US soldiers, Lt. John Grattan and their civilian interpreter were killed. It all stemmed from a misunderstanding about a cow and set off the Sioux Wars.

After my short side trip I moved on to Fort Laramie, stopping first at the Old Army Bridge over the North Platte River.

I bundled up in my coat, hat and mittens and went for a short walk across the frosty bridge.

Then I made the short drive over to the fort proper.

I parked the car and walked into the fort, passing a concrete monument.

Then I made a quick stop inside the visitor center before heading back outside to explore the grounds a bit.
I followed the pleasant Laramie River for a bit,

and then headed over to the Old Guardhouse to check it out.

From the Guardhouse, I headed past the ruins of the Administration Building.

I then checked out the Fort John site before heading over to Old Bedlam, the oldest documented building in the state of Wyoming.

From Old Bedlam, I traveled to the Cavalry Barracks

and looked at the accommodations inside. Pretty cramped quarters. 

I ended my visit to the fort proper with a visit to the very interesting hospital ruins

and the final resting place of an unknown soldier.

To end my visit to the historic site, I walked the Confluence Trail. It was a pleasant walk along North Platte and Laramie Rivers. I enjoyed seeing some larger cottonwood trees.

After my walk along the Confluence Trail, I left Fort Laramie proper and headed over to the nearby Mary Homsley grave.

Mary was an emigrant on the Oregon Trail who was originally from Lexington, Kentucky. She died of measles on June 10, 1852 and was buried at this location near to where she had passed, wrapped in a feather bed. From the Homsley grave I made the short drive to the Old Bedlam Oregon Trail Ruts, managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The ruts themselves were interesting,

but perhaps even more interesting was what I found at an unofficial overlook.

I'm curious about the hole drilled into the point, but it seems legitimate.

Scotts Bluff National Monument: Along the North Platte River

I've been pretty busy lately in my quest to find a home for Noelle, Sierra and myself. I'm currently living in a temporary efficiency apartment that is not nearly big enough for the three of us and all our stuff. Still, I decided I needed to get out for at least a short walk and so this morning I headed over to the section of the monument between the Union Pacific railroad tracks and the North Platte River.

To get to the start of the hike, I drove down Owl Road. I parked at the gate and the monument boundary

and walked in. There are some pretty big cottonwood trees along the river, and some great views of Scotts Bluff.

Soon enough, there was a small bridge crossing a canal. I decided to see what was on the other side. I found a small section of eroded badland formations that looked nice in the early morning sunlight.

As I explored, I found some railroad spikes,

crystals,

and some bones.

One was a large bone eroding out of the hillside.

Maybe a bison bone?

As I approached the train tracks, I was treated to an amazing view of Scotts Bluff!

After admiring the view I headed back across the canal and then walked the rest of the canal road within the monument. It ended at a dam on the North Platte River.

From there I retraced the road, back to my car.

Scotts Bluff National Monument: South Bluff Hike

With a blue sky and warm October temperatures, today seemed like a good day to explore South Bluff in Scotts Bluff National Monument. South Bluff is the one area in the monument where you are allowed to hike up a bluff formation off of a maintained trail. I parked my car at the visitor center parking lot, crossed the Old Oregon Trail, passed Sentinel Rock,

and started to make my way towards and up the steep hillside to the west side of Crown Rock. As I climbed the views of Mitchell Pass got better and better.

When I had finally crested the ridge just below Crown Rock, the views of Dome Rock were amazing.

I made my way west on the bluff to a large flat area. I traversed the prairie there,

  and found my way to a natural overlook that faced towards the south.

I ate a snack at this "south overlook", then made my way across the bluff to another area looking west across the Wildcat Hills.

I admired the view form that spot also,

then started to make my way down off of South Bluff. The views towards Saddle Rock were pretty great.

I even found a marker that marked the location of the Oregon and California Trails.

Then it was a short walk across the road to my car. It was a great way to spend a beautiful fall day.

Scotts Bluff National Monument: The Badlands

I've started my new job at Scotts Bluff National Monument and am really excited to live and work here in western Nebraska. There's just so much to do in the region and I can't wait for Noelle and Sierra to get out here with me. First things first, I thought today I had a great opportunity to get out and explore a lesser visited part of the monument: the badlands between the canal and the Union Pacific railroad tracks.

I wasn't sure exactly how to get back there and so I drove Country Club Road to the point where it dead-ends at the monument boundary. I didn't see an obvious way to proceed from that point, so I walked Country Club Road to the point where it crosses the canal on a bridge. I turned left onto the canal, and to my surprise, walked past a few homes on a section of canal road that seems to be a public road.

After a short walk, I came to a gate.

I went around the gate and shortly thereafter came to a sign marking the monument boundary.

Immediately, there were great views of the surrounding badlands.

There were also periodic views out towards the bluff.

I continued to walk the canal road west,

stopping every now and then to admire the views.

I saw a few mule deer along the way, but not much else in the way of wildlife. Then, as I made my way towards the western boundary of the monument, I found very large animal tracks, paw prints, in the mud.

At first I thought they might be mountain lion tracks, but I quickly noticed claw marks. I later learned that some one who lives nearby has a Great Dane, and so I think it was the large dog that made them.

I turned around at the monument boundary and started to make my way back to the car under increasing cloud cover. It was an interesting hike and one I am looking forward to do again with Noelle and Sierra.