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.