Casper is not a Ghost Town but Ft. Laramie Almost

A Short Observation                          

Most who travel have an interest in the history of the areas they visit.  The study of history is a reflection on the past—decisions made that affected the lives of others, the ideas brought to life, the progress made with cooperation of others, the courage displayed to bring about change, etc.

That has been a big part of the experience of full-time RV travel.  The movement west was a big part of the history of our nation.  Seeing the terrain and the wildlife in the convenience of a motorized vehicle over a paved road gives a great appreciation of the effort it took to face the elements of heat and cold, the lack of convenient food and water sources, and the subsequent dusty, muddy, rough trail across unmarked prairie, with the potential danger of hostile Indians who consider you an invader into their hunting grounds.

The later extension of railroads to the west coast proved to be a huge contribution to the subsequent growth of the west.  The fact that they are still very active is a part of the story of our next move with the RV!

Casper at the base of a Bow

We left Indian Campground, in Buffalo, WY, on the morning of July 31, 2017, Monday.  Our route was to go south on I-25 to Wheatland, WY, then, east on US Hwy 26 to Ft. Laramie and the Chuck Wagon RV Park, our destination.

On the way, the highway took a turn east for a while around a natural barrier, a mountain ridge in the shape of a bow.  At its base, is a valley where Casper, WY is located.  On the opposite ridge is the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  It was closed but we got some nice pictures.

I wanted to call the ridge of mountains Medicine Bow, but this is an actual town about 30 plus miles due south of Casper, which looks like a good stop for a later date!

Chuck Wagon along the Railway

Our new home for two nights was the Chuck Wagon RV Park, which was located at the current town of Ft. Laramie city limits and the exit to the National Parks Old Ft. Laramie, original site. 

The listing for the park noted they were close to railroad tracks.  However, they failed to mention fifty feet away and a hundred feet away from a crossing which required a horn blowing when the train crossed the road.  And, they failed to mention this was a main thoroughfare for coal trains going east!  If you like being woke up by train horns at least twice at night, this is the spot to be.  This might explain why the place was for sale and had only about eight RV sites.

No place to eat in Ft. Laramie

Living in a fairly populated area like the Kansas City Metro Area, you forget that there are some wide-open places in this country, especially out west.  I had decided to take Connie to dinner the night of our arrival.  So, I thought I would take what the map said was WY Hwy 160 past the Old Fort to Wheatland, near the Interstate.  However, just past the Fort, the highway turned into a range road, meaning it went across prairie grazing land on a ranch.  So, I turned around.  Connie said I came very close to the edge of the river bank.  OMG!

About then, I got a call back from the RV Park manager.  She told us of a restaurant in Guernsey, which was about 12 miles back the way we came in, near the Guernsey State Park.  The place was called The Lunch Box and the food was very good.  We, also, found a grocery store for supplies and returned to the RV to watch a movie to finish our day.  As you might expect, there was NO TV reception, either.

Old Ft. Laramie ties to the sites near Buffalo, WY

The next day, we visited the Old Ft. Laramie.  We read many plaques regarding the fort’s structure at its peak and the one we were looking for relating to the messenger who came for help from Fort Phil Kearney, during an Indian uprising.  This was the sight of an important treaty signing, as well.

Near the Fort is the Old Army Iron Bridge over the North Platte River.  It is a very impressive structure for the time it was built.  The Fort and the Bridge had ties to the Pony Express and the Oregon Trail. 

A Mingle in Lingle (WY)

That evening, we decided not to go back to Guernsey for fuel.  That is correct Ft. Laramie did not seem to have a gas station, as well.  Instead, we tried a closer town for fueling for our travel the next day.  And, thankfully, we found a fuel stop. 

While we were there, we had a surprise visitor to the station.  It was a neat old Dodge Travco, an RV of early 60’s vintage!  A young lady was the new owner and very excited about it.  She was only the fourth owner and the unit only had 38k miles on it!  It was in very good condition with period décor both inside and out.  It reminded me of the type you might have seen at the Woodstock concert, which a friend of mine noted the anniversary was only a couple weeks away!

The timing was great for a simple fuel stop to turn into such a memory.  Next, we got our ice and ice cream bars and headed back to the RV Park. 

A Fearful Precaution!

I forgot to mention that we delayed our visit to the Old Fort Laramie due to my fear of spending a week in the Rocky Mountains at a height of 8,500 feet in Diamond RV Park, near Woodland Park, CO.  I cancelled our stay there since we were to make day trips to various sites in the area from there, which meant going down and back up nearly 3,000 feet each day!  (Chicken!)

I had to make many calls to arrange stops for those days in the middle of RV season in Colorado!  It took three parks with available space for those specific days to complete our reservations.  Two of which were KOA’s and one very near Garden of the Gods, which turned out to be not very impressive and very crowded.

From Prairie to the Mountains

Our next stop was to be in Colorado, including a stop in Fort Collins to visit with Connie’s granddaughters and, oh yes, her son, Jason and wife, Gina.  We would meet up with them and their motorhome, in a few days, near The Garden of the Gods, near Colorado Springs, CO.

This time in Colorado was filled with adventure.  We saw a lot of the sites that draw millions to this area each summer.  More on that starting in my next blog.  Until then, safe travels!