Road Trip to Casper and Hikes to Devil's Gate and Independence Rock

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Sweetwater River at the Sixth Crossing (on the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express trails, Wyoming  
Sweetwater River at the Sixth Crossing (on the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express trails.

We headed out this morning towards Casper. We wanted to revisit the sites/displays, the Sixth Crossing (Willie Handcart Company) and Martin's Cove (Martin Handcart Company) where two Mormon handcart companies had ran into a blizzard and were heroically rescued. It is a really remarkable story. 

Part of the exhibit describing the Willy Handcart Company and their saga. Sixth Crossing of the Sweetwater RIver, Wyoming 
Part of the exhibit describing the Willy Handcart Company and their saga. The photographs used in the displays were a bit eerie- it really looked like all eyes were on the viewer!

Our plan was to make a short stop at the Sixth Crossing. We watched a short video about the rescue of the Willy Handcart Company, looked at the interpretive exhibits, and talked with the volunteers.

 
Reproduction of a Mormon handcart. The Willy and Martin companies had started late and there were no available carts or building supplies. They had to cut and use green wood for the carts and wheels and rawhide, instead of iron, as rims for the wheels.

On our way to Martin's Cove, er stopped at historical markers for Ice Slough and Split Rock. Ice Slough used to old ice, a few feet down, well into summer. The ice was insulated by an overlying layer of peat. Split Rock was another feature used as a marker along the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express trails.

At Martin's Cove, we walked around the site, watched their video, and then hiked to Devils Gate, about 0.5 mile each way, which looks a lot larger from a distance. 

 

Sweetwater River looking downstream through Devils Gate, Wyoming 
Sweetwater River looking downstream through Devils Gate.
 
 
Connie standing in front of Devils Gate, Wyoming
Connie in front of Devils Gate wondering what kind of smart comment I am going to make. 

We had visited these sites in the past, but had our dog with us and we didn't want to leave him in the truck for too long. We had time to make more leisurely stops. 

 A bit down the road we saw the turn off for Independence Rock. It supposedly got its name from a traveler who stopped here on July 4th back in the 1800s. It became an important landmark because travelers who reached the site by July 4th were likely to make it through  the remaining mountains and passes before winter storms arrived. We hiked around the rock, advertised as a 1.3 mile hike, and looked at the names of travelers etched into the rock.

Independence Rock, Wyoming, looking east. 
Independence Rock looking east.
 

Fence along the north edge of Independence Rock, Wyoming, to keep yahoos from destroying pioneer names etched into the rock or adding their own names.
Fence along the north edge of Independence Rock to keep yahoos from destroying pioneer names etched into the rock or adding their own names.

Next, we traveled on to Casper, where we had rented a room in the C'mon Inn. The room and Inn were comfortable and well done.

We saw only nine pronghorn antelope on the way to Casper, but we also saw a herd of 12 as we hiked around Independence Rock. We saw one sandhill crane at Ice Slough. 

For dinner, ate at Fire Rock, a large, super noisy, but excellent restaurant. Well, maybe. We have really enjoyed a couple of our visits. The first time through, I splurged for the bone-in bison ribeye. It was excellent. A year later, we were back and I tried it again, the steak was some kind of cross cut or something and was not as good. The next time through, I had a different entree. Throwing caution to the wind, I risked it and ordered the bison ribeye tonight. It was a nice cut of meat and had good flavor except for the overly aggressive char which flavored every bite with the taste of charcoal. Connie has orders to never let me try this here again. Oh, well, back to the C'mon Inn. 


 

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