Fort Laramie National Historic Site: Confluence Trail

Today, Noelle, Sierra and I took Mom out to Fort Laramie. After picking up some sandwiches at Which Wich (a tradition when we go to Fort Laramie) we headed west. After lunch in the picnic area, we toured the fort a bit.

After touring the fort, we headed to the Old Army Bridge and the trailhead for the Confluence Trail. We walked the bridge,

looked down into the clear waters of the North Platte,

and then hit the trail.

The Confluence Trail is now a National Recreation Trail and is marked with a new sign.

Sierra grabbed the two Track Trail booklets at the trailhead. I believe this is the only location I've seen those outside of North Carolina. 

The trail was a little bit muddy, but not too bad. There were lots of dog tracks in the hardened mud. 

When we reached the loop portion of the hike, we took the trail in a clockwise direction.

We followed the North Platte to the trail's namesake, the confluence with the Laramie River. 

We stopped at the Confluence to have a look around and rest.

Then, we continued on, following the Laramie River upstream. We stopped a few times to throw rocks in the water

and contemplate the beauty of the river in winter.

We passed some interesting trees in the floodplain on the way back.

Sierra even found a few caterpillars.