A Visit to Pinedale and the Museum of the Mountain Man

 

 

Museum of the Mountain Man.

We had a slightly slow morning, ate breakfast, and headed for Pinedale- about a 90 minute drive.

Heading out,we saw seven pronghorn antelope on the way out to Highway 28, four along the highway, 12 between Farson and New Fork, and 20 on a pasture outside Pinedale. Apart from the pronghorn antelope we didn't see much wildlife, but between South Pass City and Farson we encountered 6-8 common nighthawks along one short stretch of the highway. I had not seen these birds in Wyoming before.

Most of the drive from SPC to Pinedale was dominated by sagebrush. However, from Boulder, about 10 miles south of Pinedale and into Pinedale itself, several creeks and rivers from westward from the Wind River Mountains. The smaller of these streams flow into the New Fork River, which is the northernmost tributary of the Green River. These streams and the lush grass and other vegetation they support are very pretty.

We arrived at the Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the history and artifacts associated with, well, mountain men who made a living trapping for pelts, primarily beaver, for top hats worn by the British fancies in the 1820's to 1840s. The museum runs a 20-minute video that gives an overview of the life and times of the mountain men, a lot of freedom, but a hard life.

There are a number of text panels, some with an overly small font size, with a bit too much text, there are displays of artifacts, and dioramas. I think the museum did a really good job staying on topic, rather than telling extraneous stories because they might be interesting, and the dioramas and other displays were effective.

 

Diorama showing mountain man and his native wife, such marriages were not uncommon.

 

 

Diorama depicting trading at the Rendezvous- an important annual logistical and social event for fur trappers and traders.

 

 

Exhibit that showed the cost of various supplies at Rendezvous.

 

  One exhibit I thought was kind of fun, showed a various literary depictions of mountain men. This, of course, included The Revenant and a separate diorama showed the attack of Hugh Glass by a female (saw) grizzly bear. The description of the diorama indicates that the bear is at the maximum size for female grizzlies.

 

 

Diorama showing the bear attack on Hugh Glass.

 The museum had several displays of old-timey guns. Here are a couple that I thought were particularly interesting.

 

Rifle that was owned by Jim Bridger.

 

 

Display showing three rifles and describing their firing mechanisms. From top to bottom: modern (Winchester, cartridge firing) rifle; flint-lock muzzle-loading rifle; and percussion-firing rifle.

 In the lower floor of the museum, they had offices, a research library, a gallery of paintings of mountain men, rendezvous, etc., and a few exhibits of artifacts. Tucked away, beneath the stairs was a children's area- with recorded children sounds coming out of it- called Fort Nonsense.

These items were all hands on. The cubbies to the left had various items in them for children to feel. In contrast to the ubiquitous request (demand) to not touch displays, the small sign on top of the cabinet states, "Please touch." Very nice.

We were told there were a few cabins and teepees outside, so we walked around and looked briefly at them. I would advise friends and family to give this a miss.

Lunch time! So, off to the Wind River Brewing Company, beer and pub food, How can you go wrong? 

 

 

Wind River Brewing Company, Pinedale, Wyoming.

We started with brisket nachos. A couple of weeks ago, we ate at the El Jalscience restaurant in Kemmerer and I stated they had the best nachos I've had in Wyoming. The brisket nachos were better.

I then had the fire burger and Connie had a salad with chicken on top. While enjoying the food and my beer, I also enjoyed the sign over the dining area door:

 

 

Sign in the Wind River Brewing Company dining area.

 After lunch, we headed back to South Pass City, with a short stop at a roadside historical marker, which discussed the passing of the Lander Cutoff/ Oregon Trail in this area. We read the interpretive signs, took a few photographs, and headed home.

 

Lander Cutoff/Oregon Trail between Farson and Boulder, Wyoming. There is a ranch road running from the foreground into the background. In the midground, to the left of the road is a fence, to the left of the fence in the background is the trail. (Zoom in.) 

 We saw relatively few pronghorn antelope on the way back. About ten in total. Once home, we relaxed, read, watched a bit of rain- hoping for more- and did a little computer work and writing. A nice relaxing day trip.