Travel
America ’ s best road trip is a history lesson
Travel
OREGON TRAIL
America ’ s best road trip is a history lesson
Chimney Rock in western Nebraska was the most frequently noted trail landmark in pioneer journals . Story & Photos by David and Kay Scott , CNHI Travel Columnists
After several dozen summers wandering the country in a series of VW vans , in 2010 we embarked on a refresher course in American history by following the route of pioneers on the Oregon Trail and returning east via the path taken by Lewis and Clark on their return to St Louis .
The trip proved to be one of the best travel experiences of our lives . The westbound leg from Independence , Missouri , to Oregon was such an exceptional road trip we repeated it in 2017 and again in 2021 .
The pioneer journey to a new life in the West is one of America ’ s great narratives . During the mid-1800s upwards of 350,000 men , women and children traveled the Oregon
Trail following a series of paths initially forged by Native Americans and , later , by fur trappers .
Pioneers required approximately six months to complete the 2,100- mile journey across prairies , deserts and mountains . Both the length and time required decreased as shortcuts were discovered and ferries and bridges constructed . Even with improvements the journey remained difficult and dangerous with many pioneers losing their lives to disease and accidents .
During the trail ’ s early years emigrants converged in Independence , Missouri , to set out in wagon trains across the northeast corner of Kansas toward the Platte River that spans present-day Nebraska . The trail split from a Platte River tributary near present-day Casper , Wyoming , to cross the high desert and meet the Sweetwater River .
The Continental Divide was crossed at famed South Pass in southwestern Wyoming on the way to Fort Bridger before pioneers headed to Oregon by turning north into present-day Idaho . Reaching the largely inaccessible Snake River , they followed the south rim of the river ’ s deep canyons onto northwest Oregon ’ s Columbia Plateau to meet the mighty Columbia River that flowed to the Pacific Ocean .
It was quite a trip and with wagons bursting of supplies and personal possessions . Most emigrants walked the entire distance .
With the Oregon Trail being one of 20 national historic trails
34 • MERIDIAN LIFE