Wagon Ruts
Last spring, I had the good fortune to retrace the steps of the Donner Party. This post is part of the story of my journey. If you want to begin at the beginning, go here first. Big thanks to the Indiana Arts Council for helping to make this happen.
Not too far from Ft. Laramie, there is a little dirt road you can meander down to see some well-preserved wagon ruts left over from the emigrant travel.
There is a sciency explanation for how these still stand that involves sandstone and something but honestly that doesn’t hold my interest so you’ll have to google that yourself.
I’m glad we stopped to see them because it felt like a fun little detour. And also because it was amazing to think about the same path being worn over and over by wheels. Wheels that were carrying everything so many people owned. People who were doing this really bold and brazen thing. And being able to look out over the hills they crested and think about how taxing it would have been to climb each and every one.
We left the wagon ruts behind and got back on the road. The landscape began to change:
Up ahead: Something different.