Traveling East on the Oregon Trail

In Medicine Bow, WY, we stopped by The Virginian Hotel, built in the early 1900s. The hotel is thought to be named for the novel, The Virginian, which was written in Medicine Bow.  The novel was the basis of a popular tv show of the 1960s.

From Medicine Bow, we headed to the site of Ft. Laramie, and along the way stopped by the Oregon Trail ruts.  Between 1840 and 1870, 1000s of wagons rolled across the prairie headed west.  The wagons carved 4' ruts into the sandstone which are still visible today.  

At Ft. Laramie, local wagon train "re-enactors" were setting up camp for a program later that night.  We got an up close look at how residents and transients in Ft. Laramie lived and worked.

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Ft. Laramie and Oregon Trail