North View From Rt89, Showing the Fossil Butte Monument Landscape. Huge Ancient Lakes Existed In This Region, and Left Behind Lake Sediment Fossils That Turned Into the Whiteish Tan Rock Seen In This Mountain. The layers Are known as the Green River Formation, Which Is Composed of Mud and Picture missing Volcanic Ash.
Fossil Butte National Monument, about 15 miles West of Kemmerer, WY. Well worth a visit!!. The traveler becomes first aware of this whiteish tan rock layers, soon after leaving Idaho and entering Southwest Wyoming on Rt89 at Sage, WY. The formation is noticeable for the next 80 miles to Rock Springs. It is most noticeable along both sides of the Green River, from which this formations naturally gets it's name. The Green River, a major river of the area, runs South into Northeastern Corner of Utah and eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean by way of the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, and the Gulf of California a large "bay" off the North-Western coast of Mexico.
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Small Specimens on View in Fossil Museum at Fossil Butte National Monument.
About 15 miles West of Kemmerer, WY. Located in Southwestern Wyoming, Fossil Butte National Monument is part of the Green River Geologic Formation which dominates the area landscape. The nps.gov website says: “Three ancient great lakes existed in the region of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado 50 million years ago - Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta, and Fossil Lake, the smallest. All are gone today, but they left behind a wealth of fossils in lake sediments that turned into the rock layers known as the Green River Formation, made up of limestone, mudstone, and laminated volcanic ash. The fossils are among the most perfectly preserved remains of ancient life in the world. Some of the most extraordinary of these fossils came from Fossil Lake, represented today in flat-topped hills where Fossil Lake once was. Fossil Butte National Monument preserves a butte at the lake's center and its invaluable, fascinating record of the past.” More information: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.nps.gov/fobu/expanded/fos.htm
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Large Specimens on View in Fossil Museum at Fossil Butte National Monument.
About 15 miles West of Kemmerer, WY. Well worth a visit!!
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Historic Monuments Along Oregon and California Trails in Central Wyoming. Looking East, You Can See "Split Rock" In the Distance.
On Rt287, about 10 miles East of Jeffery City, WY. Traveling On Route 287,( ~90 miles back) I saw the rightly notorious “South Pass”. This was a jagged “forest of rocks” which the Oregon Trail “Emigrants” had to negotiate to get over the high mountains of West Central Wyoming. This was both the Western Continental Divide and the highest altitude elevation of the Oregon Trail. (Donner Pass in California, at 7897 feet, on the California Trail, however, was higher!) This continuous mountain range (barrier to Western Migration) runs practically from Canada to Mexico. There are many web pages that show great photos of the whole South Pass segment. Send me an email if you want me to send Web Addresses of these sites.
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Dusk at Devil’s Rock Near to Martin’s Cove.
On Rt 220, twelve miles East of Muddy Gap, WY. Mormon Church Pioneers here, in winter storms came to much grief and death. Here, they set up a several month starvation & winter survival camp at Martin’s Cove. The Church now has extensive commemorative displays here and their own interpretive centers. For example, Mormon Church Pilgrims come here to pull a "Mormon Handcart" for 20 to 80 miles, going West, along the Oregon Trail
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"Henry, Take This Photo Quickly, Before That Truck Overtakes You and Blocks Your View! No Second Chance!
I-80 near Mile Post 274, several miles East of Kearney, NB. A Unique Science Museum Built Into a Huge Salvaged Bridge. This Science Museum was placed over thin air, and hence “zero cost” land! Evidently plenty of low cost bridges around! The bridge is very long because it once crossed the Platt River. .
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Recreated Oregon Trail Scene At the Location of Historic Rock Creek Overnight Trail Camp Ground. “
Oregon Trail Rock Creek Station ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. The Ox Covered Wagons That Traveled the Historic Oregon Trail, would come down that long hill seen in the distance and then cross a small stream that passed through the low place ahead. Then the trail followed the dirt road off to the left in this photo.
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Oregon Trail Buildings: At Left, a Pony Express Post Office. At Right, Trail Overnight “Motel”.
Rock Creek Station ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. The Ox Covered Wagons that traveled the Historic Oregon Trail would come down a long hill to a stream and watering place in the trees at right. Then they would follow the dirt path (between the two wagons at center), pass by the “Motel”, the Post Office, and then proceed up the long steep hill seen in next photos. Because of the sufficient and reasonably good water here, this was one of the most active overnight camping spots for the wagons, probably in several traditional campfire circles. After several years of this being a principle staging area, more permanent buildings were added such as you see in these photos. Because the Oregon Trail was so well established and provided a road where there were otherwise no roads, the Pony Express came this way. Suffiient water and area activity made this an ideal place for the Pony Express Horses to be housed and fed while resting before the next run. Hence, the name “station”. Later, because of the established O.T. route, the first Transcontinental Telegraph Wires came this way and thus the Post Office became also a telegraph office and place for the electrical relays that regenerated and forwarded the telegraph message to the next station.
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Interior of an Oregon Trail “Motel”.
Oregon Trail Rock Creek Station ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. All the buildings you see in my photos have been recreated since the originals, never having been built to be permanent, have long since rotted away. However, based on extensive archeology, the buildings you see here are authentic in shape & construction, and are situated where archeological artifacts show the original buildings were placed.
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The So-Called, "Oregon Trail Ruts". Look Closely Up Hill At Center, Beyond the More Distant Wagon. These Huge Erosion Gullies, Caused by All the Heavy Ox Drawn Wagons Back in 1840's, Are Still Here! On Left is the “Motel”.
Rock Creek Station ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB.
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Close-up Photo of Historic Oregon Trail “Ruts”. A Semi-Truck Could Get Lost In This Deeply Worn and Eroded Gully Caused by the Wagons, Oxen Hooves and HorseHooves!
Rock Creek Station ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. Looking East In the Distance, You See the Same Two White Wagons Seen In My First Rock Creek Station Photo.
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”Trail Ruts”! In This ~1930’s Photo, Rock Creek Station Was at Left, and the Trail Proceeded Uphill, Northwest, Off the Photo to the Right.
Rock Creek Station Museum ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. A fairly old Arial Photograph of the above mentioned Oregon Trail Ruts. This photograph was on display at the museum of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center located on top of the hill from the Rock Creek Station buildings. The original Oregon Trail Rock Creek Station buildings (rotted away) would have been at the far center left of this photo. The photo here was taken through the glass display case of this very nice museum.
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A Fairly Old Printed Poster Illustrating "The Spirit of the Western Movement".
Rock Creek Station Museum ~25 miles SE of Kearney, NB. This poster illustrates for us ‘moderns’, a very curious and peculiar style of interpreting the world around our forebears 150 years ago! This style of interpretation, which had been widely used for the last 2000 years (or more), is another example of David Gurr's relic theory. Although "foreign" to us, this style must have meant a great deal to our ancestors! Think... …pay attention. What did it mean? Some important messages are here. This photograph, like the previous, was taken through the glass of the display case in this museum. The reflections and the red area come from the problems created by the glass. New Topic: Your Rand-McNally Road Atlas will show a tiny red square, with the name “Rock Creek Station”. This will show you how to get to this exact location and other trail historic sites (& sights) traveling Southeast. New Topic: After I left Rock Creek Station, I followed the Oregon Trail along the valley of the Little Blue River, Southeast into Kansas. Then I followed the O.T. along the Kansas River eventually reaching Kansas City which, because of the Missouri River, was one of the major departure staging points for the Oregon Trail and California Trail “Emigrants”. St. Louis, because of the Mississippi River, was also one of the major departure staging points for the O.T. and the C.T. The “trail” from St. Louis to Kansas City followed the valley of the Missouri. On this section of the “trail”, I found practically no historical sites. So my O.T. and C.T. photos stop here, despite the fact that there were plenty of other interesting sights to see, do, and photograph as I proceeded Southeast into Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina, a selection of which now follow.
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Red Hawk Carved in Tree Stump.
By the Road at Red Hawk Golf Course, Going East on main road from center of Pinckneyvill, IL.
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The New County Road Has Been Moved Over To Save These Trees, and In So Doing Preserved a Bit of the Old Roadway Between the Two Rows of Trees. Notice How Narrow the Roads Were Back Then!
Red Hawk Golf Course, Going East on county road from center of Pinckneyville, IL.
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A Visit With My Cousin Danny Jefferies and His Wife Joan. This is Joan’s Flower Garden. Humming Birds Often Visit These Flowers & a Nearby H.B. Feeder. Beautiful! Such a lovely place!
Carbondale, IL.
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Wow! Look at the Four Humming Birds!! Joan's Flower Garden Is In the Background.
Carbondale, IL. The right bird feeder has a hummingbird sitting on (before) the red area and one perched on the red “stick” left side. Now look closely at the left feeder. One hummingbird is in the air to right of feeder. Study image to see its flapping wings. The fourth humming bird is at immediate left of feeder with wings out wide. Is that yet another hummingbird 5 inches to lower right of the left feeder, or is that a leaf perched on the fence? Click on photo until you get the largest view.
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Flaming Sunset Horizon Over Western Kentucky.
Along I-24 near Kuttawa, KY. Dry weather, Forest fires in Colorado and dust storms (plus volcano?) gave me beautiful sunsets for my camera. Practically every evening great “photo-ops” kept me at my camera for 10 to 30 minutes. I tried to take sunset photos each evening. A few were just a pink glow, but the majority yielded great panoramas!
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