Scotts Bluff

Had breakfast at our table overlooking the mountains in Wind Cave NP, before heading off up through the pass to the plain. Had about 7 hours to drive, and really only stopped for petrol, until we came to Scottsbluff around lunchtime.

This jagged piece of mountain extends from the edge of the river, inland for some miles, and created a natural barrier for people migrating from the east to the west. So a quick lesson on American history. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act, which basically gave a grant of land free to any family who would make the trek out west, and settle on the land. As well as that the Mormons were feeling persecuted, and decided to set out for the west en masse and find some land where they could set up their own community. We know it today as Salt Lake City.

This migration and settlement pitted settlers against native americans in an large scale way for the first time but, leaving that issue aside, over 350,000 people made the 2000 mile trek on foot to find their promised land. They loaded about a ton of their worldly possessions into a covered wagon, harnessed up a team of oxen, and walked beside the wagon for close to 6 months along 2 defined and relatively safe trails - the Oregon Trail and the California Trail. Both of these trails passed through Scottsbluff settlement on their way from Independence Missouri to Oregon or Sacramento respectively.

However at Scottsbluff they encountered this natural barrier called Scotts Bluff after one of the original traders, and they enlisted the help of an army corps to level enough of the trail so that the wagon train could get through Mitchell Pass. Interestingly, there were so many wagons on the trail that, being a single width pass, there was a bottleneck of people passing through, much like a modern day single lane roadworks.

It was at Scottsbluff overlooking Mitchell Pass that we had lunch. They've forged a road through several tunnels up to the top of the bluff, though RVs are too big to get through the tunnels. This is where Doug came in. A volunteer, it was Doug's job to ferry visitors in RVs to the top of the bluff in his car. As we were the only ones there at that particular time, he gave us a private tour, and showed us all the sights from the top.

Then it was back in the RV and on to Cheyenne where we were staying the night, filling the propane (gas) tank on arrival.

The only unfinished business we had in the US was shopping, so we headed off late afternoon to the one and only mall in Cheyenne. Some things are particularly cheaper here than at home - shoes and jeans especially, so basically we filled all of the spare room we had left in the suitcases with those.

Back to the RV park for a dinner of pit cooked BBQ ribs in the RV restaurant. They were really good and had a very distinctive woody taste that we can't get at home.

The rest of the evening was spent packing everything back into our suitcases (sob).