Wyoming is not what I expected it to be like. I thought it was lush with forests and mountains. The northwest part of it is. But the rest of the state is flat grazing fields full of cattle ranches. You drive through lots of empty space with fields of grass and shrubs, some green rolling hills and snow capped mountains way in the distance. It is truly “cowboy country” and quite beautiful. I can see why the state’s population is so low. Towns and cities are far apart with lots of open space in between.
Day 105-106, June 14-15: RAWLINS, WY
Rawlins is a small town that straddles the continental divide which has a population of around 8,500. There is a historical penitentiary downtown that is now a museum. The current, modern penitentiary is just outside the city near the KOA we are staying at. We will be staying here for two nights with plans on visiting the Mormon Handcart Historic Site nearby in Alcova (about 40 miles from Rawlins).
After five hours and 216 miles we arrived at Rawlins KOA in Rawlins, Wyoming.
RAWLINS KOA
This is an okay RV park that is nicely laid out with spacious sites. There is the highway on one side and a main road going into Rawlins on another side. A few blocks behind us going into Rawlins, there are railroad tracks and an industrial area. So there is lots of traffic and train noise. But it is quieter at night. The cable TV with lots of channels is nice, but the free WiFi has a bad connection.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under WYOMING to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
MORMON HANDCART HISTORIC SITE
We visited the Mormon Handcart Historic Site – Martin’s Cove in Alcova, WY (about 40 miles from Rawlins). The Mormon handcart disaster of 1856 resulted in the greatest loss of life from any single event during the entire Westward migration period. Over a period of 2 to 3 years, 9 handcart companies crossed the country. These emigrants joined the Mormon church and came to America looking for a better life. These were poor people who could not afford wagons and the oxen to pull them. So the all built handcarts that would carry 17 pounds (per person) of possessions, and they would pull the carts themselves.
In July 28, 1856 the Martin Handcart Company began its ill-fated journey with nearly 600 emigrants, most of whom have come to America from England. They started their journey way too late. By October 19, they were low on food and were hit with a snowstorm (the worst in Wyoming history). The first of the rescuers arrived October 31st with some food and supplies. On November 4th they resumed the journey but only traveled 2 miles when they were forced to take shelter against the wind and snow. They moved everyone to a protected area against the rocks to what is now called Martins Cove. They remained here for several days struggling to survive, waiting for the weather to improve. On November 9th they continued on their journey by walking, leaving behind most of the handcarts. They soon met up with the rest of the rescuers and those that could no longer walk were put into wagons that the rescuers had brought. The Martin Company finally arrived in Salt Lake City on November 30th. Out of the 600 that started the trip, 150 lives were lost.
We were very interested in visiting this Historic Site because Dave’s great, great grandmother, Eliza Gill Hartley and her five children, were with the Martin Handcart Company. One of Eliza’s daughters, Matilda ,is Dave’s great grandmother. Eliza joined the Mormon church in England. She left behind her abusive and alcoholic husband (who did not join the church) and traveled to America to find a better life. Eliza and her children all survived, including Matilda, Dave’s great grandmother. Or else Dave would not be here. One of her sons did loose one leg to frostbite.
We visited the visitor center and walked around the grounds. We saw the Sweetwater River where this company had to walk across several times in the freezing weather. Dave did the 5 mile round trip walk to Martin’s Cove. I stayed behind. There were handcarts that the visitors could pull on this walk to get the experience of those courageous people.
The next day we headed for Jackson, Wyoming where we will spend three nights visiting Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton National Park.
Day 107-109, June 16-18: JACKSON, WY
Jackson is often called Jackson Hole. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along relatively steep slopes, giving the sensation of entering a hole. The valley is thought to be named after Davey Edward Jackson, a mountain man who trapped the area for beaver in the early nineteenth century. The history of Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton area is a fascinating adventure containing Native American tribes, fur trappers, enterprising businessmen, caring preservationists and die-hard nature lovers. The city has a population of around 8,650 and an elevation of 6,209 feet.
After 7.25 hours and 298 miles we arrived at Snake River KOA in Jackson, Wyoming.
SNAKE RIVER KOA
Snake River KOA is right along the Snake River. This RV park is not a nice park. It has dirt interior roads and dirt and grassy sites. With the rain, it is very, very muddy. There are about 60 sites and they are very small. No way can a big rig fit in these sites. They are mostly back to back and they are really squeezed together. You get the feeling of chaos. The comfort station looked old and has junk piled up around it. There is no cable TV and you cannot get any channels with the antenna. The free WiFi is okay but not a strong connection.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under WYOMING to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/JACKSON HOLE
Jackson Hole or Jackson is a resort town with shopping and restaurants. It is also very artsy with lots of nice art galleries. There are lots of awesome bronze sculptures of wildlife, cowboy life, and Indian life in these galleries.
It was so cold on our first morning in Jackson, the light drizzle outside had turned to snow! But it never touched the ground. Late morning the sun finally came out and it turned into a very nice day. There were dark clouds and breezy, but the sun was out and the views were clear. We went downtown to Jackson Hole and checked out the shops. The art galleries were nice to stroll through, but the rest of the shops had tacky tourist stuff. Oh, we did find a candy shop with 'barrel candy'. I could not resist that and filled up my little bucket with almost a pound of different kinds of 'sweets'. We actually ended up going there a second time the next day. I'll start my diet when I get home.
We spent the rest of the afternoon and the next day visiting and exploring Grand Teton National Park.
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
The original Grand Teton National Park, established by Congress on February 29, 1929, included only the Teton Range and eight glacial lakes at the base of the mountains.
The birth of present-day Grand Teton National Park involved controversy and a struggle that lasted several decades. Animosity toward expanding governmental control and a perceived loss of individual freedoms fueled anti-park sentiments in Jackson Hole that nearly derailed establishment of the park. By contrast, Yellowstone National Park benefited from an expedient and near universal agreement for its creation in 1872. The world's first national park took only two years from idea to reality; however Grand Teton National Park evolved through a burdensome process requiring three separate governmental acts and a series of compromises.
The Jackson Hole National Monument, decreed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt through presidential proclamation in 1943, combined Teton National Forest acreage, other federal properties including Jackson Lake and a generous 35,000-acre donation by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. On September 14, 1950, the original 1929 Park and the 1943 National Monument (including Rockefeller's donation) were united into a "New" Grand Teton National Park, creating present-day boundaries. The highest peak in the National Park is Grand Teton with an elevation of 13,770 feet. There are twelve other peaks over 12,000 feet.
We visited this National Park both days that we were in the area. We just drove around and looked at the gorgeous scenery this park has. We almost drove as far as Yellowstone National Park which borders Grand Teton. Wish we had more time to visit Yellowstone. But it is “Home Sweet Home” in five days and we are anxious to get home.
The first day we visited the National Park it was cloudy and the dark clouds added to the dramatic effect of picture taking.
The next day we drove through the NP again. This time it was clear and sunny which also made beautiful pictures. We saw lots of elk and bison. We had a wonderful visit at Grand Teton.
We saw an interesting sight at one of the view points. Some very friendly birds where pecking away at the ground in the parking lot. As soon as we parked they gathered at our car door looking for food. These birds are called YELLOWHEADED BLACKBIRDS. I've never seen or heard of them before, but we sure enjoyed their visit.
When we got back to the trailer we found all of our 4 legged children asleep on the couch (well almost all of them were asleep). It was such a KODAK moment, I had to share.
We changed our return plans slightly. We will be going through Nevada to get to California instead of Idaho and Oregon. We have a family event going on in Ely, Nevada and wanted to participate. It is over 500 miles from Jackson to Ely, so we did make an overnight stop at Twin Falls, Idaho.
So sorry not to have seen your comments sooner, we have not re-looked at this for some time. Yes, if you are interested I have much information on my Great and Great, Great Grandmothers who were both handcart pioneers. My Mother, still living (100 this year) has lots of stories and records on Eliza and Matilda Jane and their descendants.
ReplyDelete