Today was a rest day waiting for June to arrive tonight 1130pm Salt Lake City time.

The previous two days were very exciting. After looking at the trail ruts at Guernsey
WY, I turned southwest headed for the South Pass. The South Pass was the most
important trail pass in the west. All the early wagon trains headed to Oregon, California Gold fields and the Mormons used it. This pass was the door through the Rocky Mountains. I had
wanted to see it since reading about Jim Bridger in the 5th or 6th grades. Now I have both
seen it and been there. Wow!

This first shot is the Sweetwater River. You can jump it. Was the last
river the wagon trains saw flowing east. The next water they saw was
flowing westward.

The next photos weere taken in and around the Pass. It looked more like a wide valley instead of a narrow pass that we are all use to. It was wide open from tall mountains to the north and steep bluffs to the south.



















This last photo is towards the western end of the pass. It is the exact
spot of the continental divide.





At the first and second photos, when I got out of the car, I could hear nothing but nothing, no cars, no planes, to trucks-nothing. That is a rare spot in the US of A.

Also in the area were two almost goast towns: Atlantic City and South Pass City. These two photos show South Pass City-pop 163 or about.



Trying to travel down that 2 tire trail, I knocked the splash cover off the bottom of the car and
had to go in to the Toyota dealer to get it fixed the next morning.

Then yesterday I headed in to Salt Lake City. Along the way, I took the old road and took these two photos of how the road had been cut into the side of the mountain. In the left photo, the rock is
hanging out over the road.









After getting back on I-80, I had lunch in Kendell (named for former leader of LDS). Not long after that, I got to the top of the Wasatch Mountains. Then at that pass, it was 10 miles down hill. A 10 mile downhill about like Black Mountain. Wish I had a photo of that, but couldn't drive and take photos at 65 downhill with all the traffic.

If June makes her connection in Minneapolis, it is off to Ashton Id tomorrow.

I put a new page on two days ago, but I don't see it now. Operator error
I guess.
The first photo today is Chimney Rock, the second great land mark on the OT.






15 miles or so down the road is Scott's Bluff, which was a giant mesa
type of mountain that was the next land mark on the trail. Now days
they have a road carved into the side of mountain to the top, or you
can take two hours and walk up. Me, I drove. These next two photos
are from the top. I had to hold my breath driving up.













On the nest day I drove towards Crawford NE to see an old Army post Ft. Robinson. About 50 yards in front of this building, berfore it was built the Sioux Indian chief Crazy House was killed by an Indian employed by the army.

This next photo was from along the road leaving
Ft. Robinson.

Along the way, it was cattle country. Steak on
the hoof. I was told that the panhandle of Nebraska was cattle country. The plains must be really poor. The herds were small and some what distant from each other, but there was a lot of them.

Crossing over into Wyoming I dropped south and visited
Ft. Laramie. A famous name along the OT and other trails,
and in the Indian Wars. Right many of the old buildings
have survived, enough at least to make it worth while
going there. For those making the trip west, it meant
resupply.

A few miles down the road were the faouse trail ruts at Guernsey. Here are two photos of the ruts. They are made in solid stone. Looking at the ground before and after the ruts was bumpy and
irregular. They went up and down hills. I learned today that most people walked most of the way to the west. The one time they rode was when they crossed rivers.




The last three photos come from early this morning as I left Douglas, WY.

Oil wells being drilled, and antelope.

Tonight I'm Rock Springs WY and will begin the
day tomorrow at the Toyota dealer. The splash
guard on the front undercarriage has come loose.

I found the missing photos. The first is Eisenhower's home.

This next photo is Buffalo Bill Cody's home in Grand Island
NE. It had all the extras for the times.

This next one is one of the MANY coal trains
coming out of WY. About 10 trains with about 100
cars of coal, all headed east.








These are wheel rims in the tracks left on the ground of the
OT. The tracks were faint here, but there on a bluff over I-80.
These were the first traces of the trail that I actually saw.

I had a very interesting day today seeing a lot of history and a lot of
beautiful country side.

I got up slowly and took off to Abiline KS to see the Eisenhower Library.
Heading down I-70 to the north I could see storm clouds
stretching in the heavens. From high points along the road, you can see
long distances, and cattle started to be seen along the roads.

As you leave the swampy countryside just west of the Mississippi and the
mountains of AR and MO, land flattens out and as you pass Topeka KS it
opens up and the trees become fewer and fewer, and these scenes can be
viewed over and over again. And the roads change also. They become
straight for long distances, seeming as far as you can see.

My first stop for the day was the Eisenhower Museum and Library in
Abilene KS. The photo of the white house is the home of Ike's mother and
father, and the last house Ike lived in as a teenager, before leaving for the
West Point Military Academy. There were three rooms upstairs for the
six boys. Ike had to share a bed with his brother. I also toured the Museum that covered his whole life, from early life through retirement.
It was a great museum.

After leaving Abilene I back tracked to Ft. Riley, KS, the home of the
1st Inf Div. and viewing The Custer Home. I wanted to view the Calvary
Museum, but didn't have time. I had a long way to go. On the way north
along the north side of the post I took this photo, which should give us
another view of how the prairies use to look

In Maryville, KS I visit this rock building that was the
first home station west of St. Joseph for the Pony
Express. It was problably a fine place
in the early 1860's. It was dark and musty
in side.

Then it was on to Nebraska. Along with Kansas
two new states for me.

Tonight I'm staying in Lincoln NE, and
will head out towards Kearney NE.

Friday night and I made it to Lawrence KS. It's a nice town, but
just as hot as Raleigh. The drive from Conway AR was uneventful
thankfully. The western part of AR is mountainous. I missed a couple
of great photos with tractor trailers on my back bumper.

Just before entering MO after going through the AR mountains, I stopped to visit the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield. It was beautiful country side. The Park Service have keep the fields and woods in the
same general configurations that they were in 1863. The second photo
is of a tavern place to stay that was the center of one of the battles within the larger engagement.

From there I, moved into Missouri
and the roads got straighter as the
land got flatter. It was even more
so as we moved over into Kansas. I
stopped at Ft. Scott, both now a
town and and old 1833-1855 and Civil
war post. No outside stockade fence. Most of that is in the movies. Just a collection of buildings that were out on the prairie. The whole
set up was neat.












Sorry about how the photos line up with the story. I haven't figured out how else to do it.

Tomorrow I go to Abilene KS to the Eisenhower Museum and then start following the Oregon Trail and Pony express.

It is Thursday evening and ACC for 2010 is over. Yesterday and today were very hot. Today we had our first heat causualty, but thankfully it wasn't serious. We took one volunteer from TX to the doctor to be checked out. The doc sent him to bed after drinking a lot of Gator Aid.

Tonight I am in Conway AR, which is about 30 miles west of Little Rock on I-40

Tomorrow the trip really begins. After about 100 miles on 1-40, I turn north on I-540 towards Fayetteville AR and Razorback country and then Bentonville, home of Walley Mart. Going north I pass through Joplin MO and then I zig over into Kansas to Ft. Scott and Lawrence KS. The Oregon Trail begins in Lawrence. If I make it all the Lawrence. I will spend the night there.

Tomorrow, I begin trip photos.

Sunday we began the second week of camp. As with all camps they
start with an opening outing. This week it was catared b;y AJ's
Bar-b-cue. AJ is an old friend of ACC who with his brother is in the bar-b-cue catering business. I caught Ben serving in this second shot, and in the third shot are two friends from Sweet Spings waiting
for the meal to begin.

The next show is Miss Mary the cook who
cooks for those workers who are doing
construction, working in library, and other projects. Just as she finished
cooking yesterday's meal, the lights, electricity etc., went out and everybody
ate in the dark. But they didn't mind. Their pork chops covered most of the plate. She always prepares such fine meals

After lunch the Blessing's Ministry group had the task of moving chairs from the basement of the Epicopal Church in HWH to the community center in Ellaine about 20 miles out in the country. Just as we went into the basement of the Epicopal church the lights went out and we had to move the chairs out by weak
flashlight. The next photo was taken by flash. One of
group climbed up on a table to hand the chairs down
to me

After the truck was loaded we took them to Elaine
these next two photos are of the community center
and a little girl helping by taking a chair to the room
where they were to be used.






The last photo is a shot of the "mail" street in Elaine. You can buy
gas, a few staples stamps, and of course alcohol, but
that is about all. The school children all are bussed across the county.
The high school kids are bused about an hour to school.

It's Friday afternoon and quit here in the house I'm staying in. The rest of the team from FBC and St. John's has left to return home.

This morning I took the river road through the St. Francis National Forest to Memphis to get water cups for the kids camp next week. The road crawls through the swamps and lowland between the Mississippi and Crowley's Ridge (a 200 mile sandstone ridge from HWH north to Missouri). The road was as you see, characterized by deep woods and swamps. The butterflies, as seen in the third photo, were everywhere.












Yesterday we had the closing ceremony for the first week of camp. I missed that. We had a problem that David Hawkins (from Hayes Barton BC) and I had to run to the story to buy some items to solve the problem. But here are some photos from the fish fry-great hot Cat Fish.
























These are all general photos show friends that I've made over the years. Some are pastors, some are lay volunteers. Most were from NC, but the man in the red shirt talking to the woman in the brown shirt are from HWH. He is a pastor and she was an intern the first year Ann Wall and I went to Helena and then she returned to marry a prof at the local community college.

The volunteers for the camp next week come in tomorrow and camp starts Monday morning.

More after church Sunday.