Independence Rock, Wy

Our drive out of Casper, Wy, took us by Independence Rock. Independence Rock is a large, hump of a rock that sits along the old Oregon Trail and California Trail, and served as a half way point from the jump off point along the Missouri and the west coast. Emigrants would hope to reach the points by Independence Day signaling that they would probably make it over all mountains before the winter snows.

Around the rock some settlers carved their names and dates in the rock. You can walk around the rock or climb up the rock and find names etched in the granite.

"Texting" in the mid-1800.s

Only a history nerd might be excited about this; but it was neat to think about the tens of thousands of emigrants who moved along the Oregon and California Trails over 150 years ago. The depression in the ground where the trail went is visible. Some travelers needed to record their passing for whatever reason and we can still see that record of their passing today.

The next day we drove through the salt flats west of Salt Lake City and then again west of Reno, NV. Interestingly, many people used black rocks and wrote out their initials in the white salt basins. Don't think those will last 150 years, but the need to leave a mark on the natural world is still alive.