Summer Journey Pt. 4 - Fort Laramie to Rocky Mountain National Park.

After an early departure from the Badlands, we stopped for gas and ice in Wall, the headed west again.  We did not realize it when we planned our trip that it was over 70 miles from Rapid City to the Badlands National Park, and there would be quite a bit of backtracking as we lit out for Colorado.  While the Badlands were awesome, we have seen it, and decided that we might see it while passing through again, but probably would not camp.

Stephanie found several sites that she wanted to see today.  Among them was Fort Laramie.  It was a little out of the way, but not by much.  I talked to dad on the phone and he asked if I remembered seeing Fort Laramie when I was a kid.  I vaguely did, but that was over 30 years ago.

The landscape as we passed into Wyoming was wide open grasslands and ranchlands, and there were many pickups on the road obviously meant for working the farms.  There is a stark beauty here that I am drawn to.

We arrived at Fort Laramie around lunchtime, and we unpacked our cooler and sandwich fixins at the little picnic area surrounded by cottonwood trees.  A large group was in the main part of the picnic area, so we chose a secluded little corner where we could eat in peace.

One view of the parade grounds.

Fort Laramie was much larger than I remembered, and the visitor's center was tucked away in one of the old buildings near the parade grounds.  We visited with one of the rangers, got Sadie her Junior Ranger book, watched the educational film (very good, by the way!) and set out to tour the fort.  The Junior Ranger book was, without a doubt, the most comprehensive one we have seen yet, and it took all of our effort to answer the questions on a scavenger hunt that took us to just about every building on site.  We had planned to stay no more than an hour, but we were there for two.  It was hot, but the fort was fascinating to see.  The ranger checked the answers in the Junior Ranger book (he laughed at Sadie's answer to the question, "Why would people choose to go West?" - her reply: "There are too many people back east!") and she took her Junior Ranger oath.  Sadie also got a nice collectible National Park Passport binder which can be added to as long as she cares to keep up with it.

Another view of the parade grounds

Recreated barracks, demonstrating how the troopers would have lodged

Graffiti on the wall of an officer's quarters.  This is original and painstakingly preserved by the Park Service.

Recreated camp store.  The ranger showed us a painting that had been done here by Currier and Ives, I believe, and they set it up to look just like the image.

One claim to fame for Fort Laramie was that it was a stop on the Oregon Trail.  The Trail continued west from here, and much of the roads that we traveled for a while followed the path taken by the pioneers.  At Guernsey, we turned off the road to find the wagon ruts cut by the thousands of Conestogas that carried families to the Willamette Valley.  We did not have time to hike to Register Cliff where settlers carved their names in the limestone as they went by.  That would be another stop on another trip.

There are several places where ruts can be seen, but this is one of the best preserved I am told.

The thousands of wagons that came through here certainly left their mark.

Stephanie drove for a while as we headed south for Colorado.  South of Cheyenne I took over, and the traffic picked up heavily north of Fort Collins, and remained so until we got on the road to Estes Park.  The canyon that we traveled through was deep and the road was crooked, and Stephanie commented that she was glad that she was no longer driving.  

The visitor's center that we passed by in Rocky Mountain National Park was closed by the time we go there so we decided to check that out tomorrow.  We found out campground at Glacier Basin fairly quickly, and the ranger at the entrance booth was very kind.  When we asked when the visitor's center opened so Sadie could get her Junior Ranger book, he offered to bring one to camp in just a while.  Fishing was good near the camp, he said, and he told us a story about a mountain lion that had been in the area just before the season began.  He also explained the use of the bear boxes in camp and promised to come by later.

Camp was set up quickly, and we admired the beautiful vistas from our site.  This was the loveliest place that we visited on our entire trip.  The continental divide rose above our campground, and at one point the sunset made the clouds over the mountains look like they were on fire.  

Ranger Trout came by soon after, got Sadie her book, and flipped through it with her and worked a few of the activities with her as well.  After a few minutes, he bid us a good night and rode off on his golf cart.  We settled into a cool evening, had a camp-stove supper, and turned in for more adventures the following day.

Our little camp in Glacier Basin!