Serene Wandering

Yesterday we visited the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historical Park and learned some interesting facts about the infamous prison which was in use from 1876 to 1909.

One of the things we learned was that most of the 3069 prisoners were pardoned (instead of being paroled) before their term was completed, allowing former prisoners  to vote when released.   The territory of Arizona needed voters.

Thirty nine prisoners were women and they were often released early because, without good separate facilities,  the women were more trouble than they were worth. Some were released with the provision that they leave the territory.

The visitor center highlights a few of the more notorious prisoners including RL McDonald who, as superintendent of the Phoenix School District, embezzled funds.  Because of his money savvy, he was put in charge of the prisoners’ monies.  Upon his release, it was discovered that he once again embezzled funds.   Duh?

Prisoners were incarcerated for a variety of crimes including burglary, murder, robbery, adultery, selling liquor to the Indians, obstructing the railroad, seduction, polygamy, and prize fighting. Very few prisoners escaped (28) because of the isolation with the desert on one side and a much more vigorous Colorado River on the other. No prisoners were executed on site.

Prisoners worked 48 hours per week on the prison grounds and learned a variety of trades. The prison was mostly self sufficient and there were many opportunities to learn skills which could benefit a prisoner when released. During off hours prisoners were able to make crafts, including the knitted lace below,  which were sold at a public bazaar on Sunday afternoons.   If a prisoner took advantage of the opportunities, he or she could leave prison with marketable skills and a small nest egg.

Although infamous, the prison was really quite progressive in its operation. Prisoners had opportunities to learn to read, write and do arithmetic. They had opportunity to learn English, Spanish and to play a musical instrument. Classes were taught by guards or by prisoners with those skills.

There was an onsite library, also available to the public, that was one of the first in the territory. Visitors paid a 25 cent fee to the prison for musical programs, tours or to borrow books and the monies were used to buy more books.

There was a well maintained onsite hospital and dental care was also available. One hundred eleven prisoners died while in prison, most from consumption (tuberculosis).

Yuma residents sometimes thought prisoners lived better than they did because the prison had gravity running water, telephone service and a basic ventilation system. It also had lighting due to one of the first power generation systems in the area. The prison sold electricity to the town of Yuma after 9:00 pm.

Although this all sounds pretty good, it was not a club med prison!

There were six inmates housed in each small cell.  There was also the dreaded “dark cell” for those who didn’t behave. We were able to go into each and have a brief experience.  Neither were anywhere we would want to spend any time!

From its beginnings in 1876, the prison had an interesting run. Seven prisoners built the first two cells and moved in. Prisoners continued to build cells to allow for increased population. In 1878, the first escape occurred and the first female was imprisoned. The prison closed due to over-crowding in 1909 and the prisoners were moved to the new prison in Florence.

After their school burned, Yuma High School moved onto the site from 1910 to 1914.  Former and current students are called the “Criminals” or “Crims”.

The county hospital used the site for a number of years and hobos stayed in the cells during the 1920’s.   Depression era families moved in during the 1930’s and Yuma locals  used the site to obtain free building supplies.

In 1939 local residents evicted the squatters and made the first efforts to protect the site for its historical value. Yuma residents raised monies to restore some of the buildings, beginning with this guard tower. The city operated the park until the site became Arizona’s third state park in 1961.

The rounded area under the guard tower was for water storage.

In 2010 the state of Arizona resolved to close the park due to the budget crisis. Once again the residents of Yuma raised awareness and monies to save the Yuma Territorial Prison Historical Park and keep it open.

Although few buildings remain (original or reconstructions), the prison park was very interesting and worth the time we spent there.

Now that we have seen it, we are interested in watching some of the movies filmed at the prison.  The most famous movie about the prison, “3:10 to Yuma” (both the original and the remake) contain no scenes from the site!  Movies filmed at the prison are To Kill a Memory (2012),  Riot (1969), Badlands (1958 – a cell entrance was lowered for this movie to make Alan Ladd look taller), Red River Valley (1936), Three Mousketeers (1933) and three silent films, one each in 1919, 1917 and 1914.    Popcorn?

Yesterday we were happy to see friends from Boise, Andy and his wife Julie, who were spending several weeks in Yuma. We were glad they made contact! We have been so busy enjoying all the activities in the RV resort (line dancing, biking, zumba, golf, happy hour, bocci ball, pickle ball, hot tub, visiting etc.) that we have hardly left the park.

Today we decided it was time to get out and explore a bit. What better destination than the Center of the World!

We fueled up in Yuma (happily at $1.85 per gallon) and headed west on I-8 into California. Along the way we saw other RVers who chose to forgo all the RV park activities, conveniences and expense to just hang out in the desert.

Fortunately, Randy and I agree that this form of RVing is of no interest to us whatsoever!

You may remember that last July we saw the the Center of the Universe plaque in Wallace, Idaho.

Just 1345.9 miles south of there, we came to the Center of the World Plaza in the very small town of Felicity, California.

Based on the children’s book Coe the Good Dragon at the Center of the World published in French and English in 1985, the Supervisors of Imperial County, California designated this site, by law, as The Center of the World.

Inside this pyramid is the marker.

We were given a certificate acknowledging our presence at the Center of the World.

There are a variety of other interesting things at the plaza.

First we came upon a sundial depicting the “Arm of God” from “The Creation” painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

The Arm of God points to the Chapel on the Hill, used for special events and services.

These stairs were part of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built in 1869. Over the years the weight of iron stairs caused the tower to sway and five hundred feet of stairs, from the second level to the top, were replaced with lighter stairs in 1983. Twenty sections were removed. This was section twelve and was climbed by many millions of visitors to the tower from 1869 to 1983.

The History in Granite Museum is also on the same site! This is a work in progress but it is amazing.

There are large granite panels formed into long presentations depicting many aspects of history including  the histories of California, Arizona, the United States and the French Foreign Legion (The owners are French).

There is a Korean War Memorial – We hadn’t known that over 4000 US Marines were killed in the Korean War.  Their names are all inscribed here – similar to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.

The work in progress is The History of Humanity. All of the granite walls are in place – it is the carvings that still need to be completed.

We didn’t expect anything this cool at the Center of the World!

A few more miles into California we came to Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. This is an off road vehicle paradise but we just used our 4 feet and our 4 paws to climb a few dunes.

It was a fun day – maybe we can drag ourself away from the park again sometime soon.

It is also a sad day because cousin Audrey, the person who invited us to come have fun in her park, passed away today in Washington state.   We know why you enjoyed spending your winters here, Audrey.  Your Yuma friends, and we, will miss you.

“The last person to leave Canada left the door open.” That is one person’s assessment as to why the weather in Yuma is much colder, and wetter than it should be. Yuma is supposed to be the sunniest city in America with 330 days of sunshine a year.  So far we’ve had way more clouds and rain than is typical. We laugh because 10 days ago (while still in Boise) we would have thought low 60s with rain and/or overcast skies would be just fine. How quickly our perspective changes – and we know that none of you are going to feel sorry for us at all! Nor should you.

We are pretty sure the Canadians aren’t really to blame and it would be hard to find the one who was responsible anyway because there are lots of Canadians here. We heard one estimate that 65% of park residents are Canadian.  We have met people from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. In fact, in our visit to the hot tub last evening, we were the only Americans there amongst a dozen Canadians.

We had a fun conversation with a couple from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Apparently the combination of Simplot potatoes from Idaho and canola oil, supplied exclusively out of Saskatchewan, is the secret for McDonald’s excellent French Fries.

Our truck and trailer have been so dirty for the last few months and we were glad to have the opportunity to have them washed and waxed between raindrops. The park does not allow washing vehicles ourselves but does allow professionals to come in. At a cost of $135 for both – we were delighted to let someone else do the work! It is so nice to live in a clean trailer again.

There are many activities here in the park and we have been partaking in a variety of them. The only time this week that the Sports Complex schedule and the weather matched up nicely for us was the afternoon they were teaching Bocci ball. We really enjoyed learning the basics of the game and liked that the rules are quite simple. There is lots to learn regarding technique and strategy, but the rules are simple!

One rainy evening we enjoyed a Savor Yuma Food Tour with our next door neighbors from Wisconsin, Myron and Peggy.  

We began with appetizers at a restaurant called Yuma Landing. It is so named because the first plane ever to land in the state of Arizona came to Yuma on October 25, 1911. Piloted by Robert G.Fowler, the Wright Model B biplane, weighing 800 pounds and capable of reaching a top speed of 45 MPH, stopped here for a few days on its successful route from Santa Monica, California to Miami, Florida.

We then had a salad course at a local hotel restaurant – the salad was good but the destination was unremarkable.

However, the destination for our main course, Old St Paul’s Church, was quite remarkable. The church was built in 1909 in the style of an English chapel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The stained glass was imported from an even older church in Europe but the details are lost. Old St. Paul’s is considered to be the finest Gothic building in the southwest and is now a cultural events center.

It was raining quite hard the night we were there and there were buckets inside the church collecting rainwater. I’m glad to say they were able to find an area where we could eat without getting wet and are happy they are already scheduled to get a new roof next month.

Continuing the water theme, the tap water in Yuma is really not drinkable. It tastes very salty so buying drinking water is the norm. We have a dispenser very close to where we are parked and a gallon costs 25 cents. Elko and I walk over and buy water nearly everyday.

I took this picture of Randy and Elko on our first day here and it hasn’t been that warm and dry since. However, the skies seem to be clearing up so we are encouraged that the weather, and the choice of outdoor activities,  will be better soon!

The sunrise out of our back window.

Randy told me that being at Lake Mead is good for his soul. Having grown up in Tucson, he loves the blue skies and landscapes of the desert southwest. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in North America, has both.

He certainly had to work to get us here! Because of repeated snow and rain in Boise, we had two inches of ice on the top of each of our four slide-outs. He spent hours on Sunday chipping and washing the ice away so that our slides could close Monday morning. We left Boise at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in St. George, Utah 12 hours later. He drove the entire way. (Yes, I offered.) That is 3 times the length of our typical driving day but we had to go that far south to get out of frigid temperatures.

The following day we had just a three hour drive  to get to Lake Mead RV Resort, 25 miles from Las Vegas. Dedicated in 1964, Lake Mead National Recreation Area is our nation’s first national park dedicated to recreation. Thirteen percent of the recreation area is water with the rest being portions of the Mohave Desert.

Lake Mead provides drinking water for 25 million people, yet is designated for recreation. It makes us marvel at the lake we visited in California where there were signs indicating No Body Contact With the Water to avoid contamination of the drinking water.  That blog post is here:    https://serenewandering.com/2015/01/20/no-body-contact-with-the-water/“

The Lake Mead RV Resort is operated by a concessionaire and our site is magnificent! We are paying a discounted rate of $45 per night for our lake view site (about 50% more than typical) and it is worth every penny. We have a wonderful view of Lake Mead through 8 of or our 11 windows.

The resort is very well done in other ways too. There are utility hook-ups on both sides of the lake view sites! A motor home has a big window in the front and a trailer’s big window is likely in the back and with hook-ups on both sides, either RV can be accommodated, while preserving the great view. We have never seen this before.  The resort even supports recycling – something we don’t see nearly as often as we’d like.

Because we view campgrounds through the lens of “would we want to volunteer here?” we spoke with Jerry, the camp host. He served 5 deployments in Iraq and is now spending time volunteering here at Lake Mead and going to culinary school on the GI bill. He says that camp host commitments here are for a full year. There are many people interested in volunteering here in the winter, but not so much in the summer heat!

$8000, or make an offer

This campground also includes a “vacation home” mobile home park, begun in days past. Owners can live on-site for 180 days per year. The National Park Service is trying to transition away from having mobile home parks within the national parks. Those who already own mobile homes are allowed to keep them as long as they maintain their homes and site leases. These mobile homes may be bought and sold but no new mobile homes may be moved in. Currently there are three homes (vintage 1969, 1971 and 1991) for sale, five abandoned homes set for demolition, and a few vacant lots. These lots, and future ones that become available, will be repurposed for regular recreational vehicles like ours. There will be even more magnificent sites at Lake Mead!

We have enjoyed walking around the RV resort and adjacent campground. One afternoon, we walked the long way down to the water’s edge but only Elko felt like wading in.

Although boating activity is huge in the warmer seasons, we saw very few boats in use during our stay.

Our big event was to bike to, and along, the Historic Railroad Trail at Lake Mead, part of the National Trails System. This 3.7 mile trail is part of the 30 mile railroad grade used during the construction of Hoover Dam. The trail connects the Visitor Center at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Visitor Center at Hoover Dam and is open for hikers and bikers.

Along the way we saw an area  in the desert where the workers and  families lived in the make shift community of Ragtown in the 1930s while working to build Hoover Dam. We learned that Hoover Dam workers came from every state in the country with the most from Nevada and the least from Delaware.

The Historic Railroad Trail goes through five tunnels. These tunnels were blasted/built in six months.  They were built to be exceptionally large, 18 feet wide and 27 feet tall, to allow for the transport of construction materials to the dam site. The original supporting timbers were destroyed by fire in 1990 but have since been replaced by the park service.

Copper roofed building is the new visitor center.

We have driven and walked over Hoover Dam several times in the past.   We even went inside the dam on a tour many years ago. With the new bridge in place, most traffic avoids the dam itself but the area was still very busy with visitors. There is a parking structure, a large gift shop, a restaurant, and a new visitor center. Tours are still available. Since we still had the trek back home we just enjoyed the view for a while and saved more exploration for another someday.

Although the Historic Railroad Trail itself is fairly level, the hard parts (for me anyway) were the elevation changes in and out of the visitor centers on each end. From our site, we had a 3 mile incline to begin the ride and I didn’t enjoy that part of the trip at all.   As encouragement, Randy reminded me that we’d have that same 3 mile decline on the way back.  As a reward for our efforts, we were hoping to go the entire 3 miles down without having to pedal at all but had the misfortune to meet a vehicle at one of only two crossroads.  Bummer – we had to pedal about 4 times to get going again!  All together we rode  11-12  miles – and had the aching body parts to remind us that we really should ease into these things!

As our friend Cindy said, we needed a get out of jail free card!   Boise has been like a jail for us the last month – somewhere we didn’t want to be, at a time we didn’t want to be here. But, today we are free!

Randy got the all clear on his medical tests and we can leave! Thanks to those of you who have prayed on our behalf! We feel blessed by your support and by these better than expected results. Praise God!!

We aren’t usually so glad to leave Boise but, “Baby, its cold outside!” Lows will be in the single digits over the weekend with highs in the twenties.

We are so appreciative of the many people who invited us to stay in their homes if our time here was extended for more tests or treatment.

Even though it has been nice to see more of our family, friends and BSU basketball games, our hearts were not in it. It has been hard to be confined to our small space in winter weather.

We are looking forward to including the outdoors in our living space again! It will be nice  to go out and explore!

We are now able to fully rejoice in Christmas and will enjoy Archer’s second birthday before we leave.

We will head towards Lake Mead (near Las Vegas) on Monday, 28th and then on to Yuma for the month of January.

Whoo-hoo! We are free!

When we left you last, we were on our way into Boise, planning on enjoying most of a month there. We did that! We spent lots of time with Natasha, Seth and grandson Archer.  Archer was Elvis for Halloween – he was so cute!

We spent time with friends and went to Boise State football and basketball games.

We enjoyed being back at our church. We walked the greenbelt along the Boise River several times daily. We re-licensed the trailer and the truck and Randy got a 50 gallon fuel tank installed.  All three of us did the dreaded annual doctor visits.

The snow started falling in mid-November and it was time to move on! This far north… in the snow… This is no place to be if you live in a trailer!

Our plans were to head to Vancouver to spend a week with my parents and then have a family Thanksgiving in eastern Washington.  Then we planned to head south, see some friends on the way, eventually catching up with the Boise State football team for their bowl game before settling in Arizona for the winter.

We made it to Vancouver and had a fine time with my parents. We enjoyed watching the Seahawks – 49ers football game with cousins Connie and Michael. (Randy was in the other room watching the Packers and who-ever they were playing.)

One afternoon, Mom and I decided we would make lefse – a family tradition from my paternal grandmother.  Although we took a short cut using mashed potatoes – the end result was just fine!

Another afternoon we went to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. This is a very expansive property and we were there a on a very cold, late afternoon. We committed to returning another warmer someday and only ventured into the visitor center and the Marshall House.

The Marshall House is one of 22 fully restored homes on Officer’s Row. Two of them are open to the public. The Grant House was home for post commanders and is now a restaurant. The Marshall house is named for General George C Marshall  who served as commander of Vancouver Barracks from 1936 – 38.

And who was General George C. Marshall?  In addition to being the Barracks commander, he served in both World Wars and rose to be US Army Chief of Staff. He was responsible for taking an army of less than 200,000 soldiers when WWII started and building it into a well trained, well equipped force of 8,300,000 four years later. After WWII, he became Secretary of State and created the Marshall Plan for European Recovery. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

Remember the dreaded annual doctor visits I mentioned earlier? While we were still in Vancouver, one week out of Boise, Randy got the call from one of his doctors that she didn’t like his test results and we needed to come back to Boise.

En-route, we were  able to go to our family Thanksgiving in the Tri-Cities, home of Aunt Bonnie and Cousin Lisa and her family. We had a nice time visiting, playing cards and watching football.  Though they did almost all of the work for Thanksgiving dinner, Randy did carve the turkey.

Over the last year and a half we’ve always been so happy to return to Boise.   It felt very strange to be so unhappy about it this time- of course, we had the medical stuff to be concerned about and we’d only been gone for 10 days.

We came back on November 28 to frigid temperatures. Randy had his first tests on November 30 and the temps were still frigid. We were using and refilling a seven gallon tank of propane every other day to keep the waterlines in the enclosed underside of the trailer from freezing. Thankfully the deep freeze broke up after a week or so and unseasonably warm weather came in.

We are again seeing Natasha, Seth and Archer. I joined the Christmas Choir at church and we are again enjoying time with friends. We are going to Boise State basketball games and seeing lots of matinee movies (4 this week).

On the medical side, things are moving frustratingly slowly.   Randy’s doctor was on vacation this week (of course) and his next set of tests (surgical) are on December 18th.  Because of Christmas, we won’t get results, or have an idea where we go from here,  until December 28th.

We don’t know if we’ll be heading south (as we had planned over a month ago) the very next day, the next month, or at all this winter. Prayers are most welcome.

The RV park manager has been terrific. We didn’t pay for our site at all while we were waiting to see if we were going to be here for just days, or for a week, or for a month (rates are less expensive by the month).  She said we could have our favorite site until April if needed- but then someone else had it reserved.  Oh wait – we are the ones who have it reserved in April!

By far the most gratifying part of being back during this difficult time, is the number of friends who have invited us to winterize our trailer and move in with them. There have been at least a dozen offers. We hope to be able to live in our trailer but if we end up staying in Boise into January and beyond, we may very well take someone up on the offer.

Even though our plans went south, when we did not, what a wonderful place it is that we call home.

We were very content to spend the last few days with good friends, Kent and Pam. We have traveled with them for many years and knew when we left Boise that they, who travel a lot anyway, would be willing and able to meet us occasionally along our way.

In the last year they have caught up with us in Delta Utah, Pahrump Nevada and now Logan Utah. The reason to meet in Logan, Utah?  For the Boise State – Utah State Football game. We’ve done this trip to Logan for football games before and it felt like old times – until the game was actually played…..

Unfortunately the game was a disaster for Boise State, something we don’t usually have to deal with. The Utah State coach said winning this game was the biggest win in school history – good for them.
The next day we left Logan and mixed up the driving pairings heading north.

Pam and I watched our trailer from behind as we came back into Idaho.  Pam is usually a speed demon but she did well slowing down to Randy’s trailer pace.
We headed to Ketchum – or Sun Valley for those of you who aren’t from Idaho. When the four of us were in Ketchum last (summer of 2013), they were experiencing terrible fires.

Dense smoke from nearby fires in 2013!

We enjoyed a walk along Adam’s Gulch and fire scars are visible but the forest’s recovery will come.

As we came back to our RV park, we saw these recently sheared sheep being driven along the highway.

There were a couple of men on horseback, a couple of men walking and 4-5 dogs that were doing most of the work. It was fun to watch.

Kent and Pam stayed in a cute guest house they rented on one of the many $2-million ish properties in the area. It was tucked way back from the highway and it was a beautiful drive back into their place.
It was very comfortable to wander around past haunts and eat in some familiar restaurants.

The next day was rainy and we opted for a drive up into the mountains.

Elko had to share his usually spacious backseat with Pam and me. He tolerated it pretty well as it was better than staying home!

Along the way we saw a few deer, lots of hunters, and a beaver dam.

Our truck ended up being the dirtiest it has ever been but between the rain and a little effort on Randy’s part when we got back – it got back into normal form.

After enjoying our time with Kent and Pam, we separated today. They headed back to Boise and we stopped along the way at one of our favorite, and most frequently visited southern Idaho State Parks – Three Island Crossing.

Three Island Crossing was one place Oregon Trail emigrants crossed the Snake River.

Although we have been here MANY times it just seemed perfectly nostalgic to stop one more time for a beautiful fall visit on our way back to Boise on Thursday.

As we said, familiarity breeds contentment!

We spent a quick couple of days in the Utah section of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. We have always thought Utah, with such varied and dramatic scenery, is one of the most beautiful states in our country and Flaming Gorge just strengthened that belief.

The area has a rich history in geologic and fossil terms and these types of signs are fairly common and  interesting to see!

One of the highlight drives is the Sheep Creek Geological Loop.

Supposedly there are bighorn sheep living in these rock cliffs but we didn’t see any. It was hard to feel disappointed though when the rock cliffs and formations were so stunningly beautiful.

We liked it so much that one day we went one direction, and the next we went the opposite because sometimes the best view can be behind you!
We also went to Red Canyon, a canyon that is 1700 feet deep and 4000 feet across. The Green River runs through it and although the pictures don’t show it, the water definitely has a green tint.

Although not the first white men to explore the area, both Red Canyon and Flaming Gorge were named by Wesley Powell in 1869 because of the beauty and red tint of the walls along the river. The area also has a “colorful” past with outlaws such as Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch spending time in the area.

At the south end of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area is the Flaming Gorge Dam. Access is restricted on the dam but we were fortunate to be able to take a free tour the day before they were discontinued for the season.

Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon Dams were the last large concrete dams built in our country and completed in 1964 and 1965 respectively. The concrete in a dam this large takes 100 years to fully cure.  This one should be “done” in 2064 and Randy says he probably won’t live to see it!

The white shaft in the center is hollow and has fully cured.

The Flaming Gorge Dam serves several purposes. It was primarily built for flood control with a secondary purpose to provide water for agriculture.  Those goals are represented in the Bureau of Reclamation’s past logo.

Power, supplied by three turbines, was a third benefit with each turbine providing power for 32,000 homes in the western grid. We have three power grids in the United States – the western, eastern and Texas. (I thought the Texas individuality was interesting!)

Recreation is an additional benefit. There are miles of boating and fishing opportunities above the dam in addition to marinas, campgrounds and lodges.

Given a cliff edge, Randy is compelled to stand by it!

Below the dam, the Green River is famous for rafting and trout fishing. The river’s water temperature below the dam is modified (depending on the depth of the water released) to assist in habitat needs for fish and other wildlife.

Although the area supposedly has rich wildlife variety, we saw very little. We saw reference to bear, elk, deer, moose, and big horn sheep. The native big horn sheep died off years ago after exposure to domesticated sheep but have been re-restablished and are doing well. We were slightly disappointed not to see more, but we did see these mountain goats in a field outside of town!

There were hunters all over the area outside the recreation area so maybe these sheep, and all the other animals, were just taking cover in unusual places.

Sometimes we felt as though we had Flaming Gorge all to ourselves, but  that isolation came at the cost of reduced opportunities.

Some visitor centers and activities were closed such as the Ute Fire Lookout, built by the CCC in 1937.  Although no longer actively used in fire detection, it is seasonally open for viewing and tours.

You would expect a place called Flaming Gorge to be beautiful and it is.  Seeing it in the fall was just made it more so!

When I target a campground for us to visit, I look mostly at the location and reviews. Usually the campgrounds are nice enough but every once in a while we stay in a place that we aren’t likely to ever visit again.  And other times we SCORE!

Horsetooth Resevoir County Park is a gem. I chose it mostly because it was close to Hughes Stadium for the Boise State – Colorado State football game but it ended up being so much more.   We had full hook-ups and were close to the reservoir for an off season rate of $20 per night. It would still be a great place at the full seasonal price of $30 per night.

We have experienced some very nice county park campgrounds in Oregon, Arizona and now, Colorado. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for more county parks.

After our first night we added another sticker on our map! At least the west is filled up nicely.

We arrived a couple of days prior to the game so Randy was able to do some minor fix-it stuff. He painted a vent that had yellowed and it looks much better now. I washed windows and Elko supervised. We completed our work and rewarded ourselves with an afternoon matinee of The Martian which we enjoyed a lot.

Game day finally arrived and we made the short drive to the stadium and anticipated enjoying the game. Leaving our season tickets behind when we left Boise was hard for me so I was very happy to be able to schedule a couple “away games” on our route.

It was a pink game for Colorado State (Breast Cancer Awareness) and I thought it was nice that even the sky cooperated.

The game was very successful from our perspective with Boise State  winning 41-10.  I was even able to talk to a couple of people I knew from Boise that had come to Colorado for the game. Fun times!

The next day was a driving day through 200 miles of windy Wyoming. We saw warnings of gusts up to 50 miles per hour and advisories against “small trailers” on the roads.   Randy didn’t think we would be classified as a small trailer, so we trekked on.  Part of the time the wind hit us broadside and partly we headed straight into it.  Our regular 12-13 mpg while towing was reduced to about 7 mpg.

Unfortunately, we committed an act of littering along the way. Of course, we didn’t mean to lose a rubber tote (and all of its contents) out of the back of our truck in the high winds – but we did. We were not aware of it happening but when we got to a fuel stop – they were gone. The contents lost were our grill accessories, table cloths etc. so not a big deal from any perspective other than littering. We just don’t litter – but we did.  So sorry Wyoming!

We arrived in Rock Springs to spend some time with family – my cousin Marilyn and her husband, Lynn. They were gracious enough to gather their clan – son Shawn and daughter in-law Amber, their boys Wesley and Colby, and daughter Tracy with sons Cole, Ian and Toby. Unfortunately, Tracy’s husband was home with a sick son, Shane. We enjoyed our evening with them very much.

We spent the next day with Marilyn and Lynn –  eating out and touring Rock Springs. We went to Western Wyoming College to see the dinosaur exhibit – life size replicas of dinosaurs who roamed the area. I was pleased that my past kindergarten dinosaur projects enabled me to name almost all of the dinosaur models!  Of course, this one is tyrannosaurus rex – easy!

We also went to the Wild Horse corrals. Horses are available for adoption for $185.

We had a fun time visiting with our cousins in Rock Springs and thank them for being such gracious hosts. We enjoy that we are able to connect with family and friends around the country as we wander.

After leaving Devils Tower, we headed south to Guernsey State Park. The trip involved a fair amount of concern on my part because Wyoming parks do not take reservations after September 15.   This park has only a small number of water and electric sites. Would one be available?  Would water even still be running this late in the season? From the website, I knew one section of the park was closed for road construction but couldn’t tell if that was the area with hookups. My phone calls to the park went unanswered and unreturned.  All of that angst explains why we almost always have reservations. If the reservations end up needing to be changed, so be it, but we like knowing we have a place that will meet our needs.

As it turned out, we didn’t have a problem finding a site! We weren’t always the only ones in the campground but usually so.

We really enjoyed the trains that went by continuously, a sound that is appealing to both of us. Coal mining and transport is huge in this area.

There are a number of Civilian Conservation Corps (1930s) buildings on site. We saw several including this small storage building and The Castle, the nicest picnic shelter we’ve ever seen.

In Guernsey there are two significant Oregon Trail sites.

Register Cliff is one of the places along the trail where emigrants would carve their names in the sandstone,  letting others know they had made it that far.

Along a couple hundred yards, there were thousands of names, some in the Oregon Trail timeframe, some current, and every year in between.

We also saw ruts cut into the rock by thousands of wagons going through this area on the California, Oregon, and Mormon Pioneer Trails. We are fortunate to have seen southern Idaho Oregon Trail ruts (thanks Jerry!) but the depth of these ruts in the rock is impressive.

Elko and Randy are walking in the ruts to give perspective.

Fort Laramie was our next destination. There are a collection of buildings and ruins at the site. Some have been restored and furnished to reflect what they would have looked like during the fort’s active duty.

Commander’s House – Furnished and open for viewing!

Enlisted men’s barracks.

Old Bedlam – Bachelor Office Quarters

Among them is “Old Bedlam,” so named because of the boisterous sounds coming from within. It was built in 1849 and is the oldest building in Wyoming.

Additionally, Wyoming’s first public school began here in1852 and served children living at Fort Laramie.

Fort Laramie began as Fort William in 1834 as a gathering place for trappers and traders.  In 1841, circumstances changed the role to serving westward bound emigrants.   In 1849 the US Army purchased the fort, renamed it Fort Laramie, intending to establish a presence in the northern plains. Stage lines, the Pony Express, and transcontinental telegraph all went through Fort Laramie.

Several treaty negotiations with Northern Plains Indians were held at the fort, notably those in 1851 and 1868. Relations with the Indians were generally good until an event in August 1854.

A cow, belonging to Mormon emigrants, wandered into a Sioux village near the fort and was killed by a visiting brave. Although the Brule-Sioux offered to make reparations, the brash young Lieutenant John Gratten from Fort Laramie mishandled the situation.  He insisted on arresting the responsible brave. The end result was that John Gratten, all 29 members of the army detail, and the Chief of the Brule-Sioux were killed in what became known as the Gratten Massacre. Even though Gratten’s detail had been the aggressors, government and public opinion began to turn against the Indians. Historians believe this event triggered three decades of Indian Wars.

A young Indian brave, later named Crazy Horse, was there and ever more saw the white man as an enemy.  And the rest is history…

Our next stop was the Terry Bison Ranch (and RV park) south of Cheyenne. The ranch is home to the second largest bison herd (approximately 3000) in the United States. (Ted Turner owns the largest herd at 51,000 animals.) There is a small herd of 40 bison available for guests at the ranch to view and feed. A small train takes you out to the herd. This is Randy’s hand feeding  two eager bison.

The ranch train is the only privately owned interstate railway.  The train crosses in to Colorado for about 200 yards and then goes back into Wyoming!

Bison meat is leaner and contains more protein than beef. Their restaurant serves bison and we decided to a bison burger and bison chicken fried steak. Both were delicious. We also enjoyed some local music while we were eating.

We are not done exploring Wyoming but, like the train, we are taking a brief detour into Colorado. We will be at the Boise State vs Colorado State football game on Saturday. Go Broncos!