187 Miles
A lazy day. Got a late start but left Casper about 11:00 a.m. and drove east on I-25 to Route 26. Stopped at The Lunch Box in Guernsey, WY and got a blueberry and marshmallow shake (the daily special). I've never had marshmallow in a shake before, but it was actually quite good.
On Route 26 I saw at least 60 Model T's driving west. They were following the Pony Express Route and heading to Casper for the night. I was able to photograph two of them parked near Fort Laramie - beautiful cars.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site was the highlight of my day and I visited there for nearly 2 hours. It is about 3 miles SW of the town of Fort Laramie, WY off Route 26.
Some of the structures date from 1849. The area was first a fur-trading center and later became a center for "trappers, traders, missionaries, emigrants, Pony Express riders, and miners wending their way west. It was also an important staging point for the U.S. Army in its dealings with the plains tribes displaced by migration and settlement." *
* Official Map and Guide
BAKERY (1876)
Cannon on display in the Guard House.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING RUINS (1885)
BAKERY (1876)
Bread was a staple in the diet and bakers produced up to 700 loaves of bread daily.
Cannon on display in the Guard House.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING RUINS (1885)
It included the post headquarters, had a small theatre, and children attended school here.
CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS (1870)
OLD BEDLAM (1849)
CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS (1870)
OLD BEDLAM (1849)
It housed bachelor officers and was also "the center of social life at the post, where young officers gave parties (hence one of the theories about the name Bedlam". *
*Official Map and Guide
OFFICERS ROW
CAVALRY BARRACKS (1874)
PARADE GROUNDS
OFFICERS ROW
CAVALRY BARRACKS (1874)
It was the largest building at Fort Laramie and was built to "meet the need for more housing during the Indian Wars." *
* Official Map and Guide
PARADE GROUNDS
I left Fort Laramie and drove east on Route 26 to Scottsbluff, NE and checked into my motel.
Tonight I had dinner at Sharis Restaurant. Good meal of pot roast, cornbread, vegetables, and lemonade. For dessert, apple pie! This is the first apple pie I have had since Mel's Diner in San Francisco.
The Lunch Box looks cool - but a blueberry and marshmallow shake? Hmmm. I love blueberries more than most people, but that sounds crazy. Congrats on finding apple pie, finally. I wonder if that Sharis you went to is part of the Portland, OR-based chain by that name.
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