It's been years since I have visited the actual Oregon Trail and it's something that Serena has never done, so off we went today on an expedition to see the actual trail. That's right, it exists in real life beyond the confines of your hard drive. Within miles of my hometown you can actually see wagon ruts from the original settlers.
At the right you can see one of the best-worn sections of the trail. It is tough to see from the picture, but the "road" is more than a foot below the prevailing ground level. Furthermore, the sides are significantly built up from, what the guide says, is the result of years of emigrants moving rocks out of the way and piling them up on the side of the road.
Below you see me wandering down a stretch of the Oregon Trail where they allow folks to walk. You can see actual wheel ruts and can truly visualize the wagons laboring up the hills.
Speaking of laboring, here's your fun fact about the Oregon Trail that I learned today: The wagons tipped over easily. As a result the emigrants had to go straight up and down hills or else they would "crash." In the Blue Mountains, where I live, it was said that sometimes it took 22 head of oxen to get up the steepest hills.
1 comment:
you and serena are so funny... you actually DO things that people talk about doing... makes for a very good blog!
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