Adventures Along the North Platte

From Laramie, we traveled a short distance to Casper and again camped at River’s Edge RV Park on the banks of the North Platte.  This is a nice park, and if you don't want to stay in your RV, you can rent a tepee for the night. 

In our opinion, its best feature is the lush, green riverside area.  We were told the river is only about 1/3 as wide as it was in the 1800s, but it's still deep and swift.  

The dogs enjoyed their romps here, and Kota even tried a short swim.  You can't trust her for a second.  One minute she is sampling the fresh green grass along the river, and the next instant she is taking a dip.  The swift current quickly discouraged her, thank goodness.  I was not enthusiastic about having to chase her downstream or haul her out if the bank was too steep for her to climb out.

We had a nice hike up the mountain from Rotary Park.  There are lovely views of the valley below, and just a short distance from the trailhead is beautiful Garden Creek Falls.  

We spent an afternoon visiting the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  The Center details the history of the hundreds of thousands of people who traveled west through the area between 1841 and 1869 along the North Platte River toward Oregon, Utah and California.  Within a few miles of Casper are the places where the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail and the Pony Express Trail came together for folks to cross the river and continue west.

Almost life-size dioramas depict life on the trail, and are very well done.  There are audio and video presentations, and areas where children can “play-like” they are crossing the river using toy wagons, people and animals.

Visitors can also take "experiential" rides in a stagecoach

and a conestoga wagon crossing the North Platte.

As our wagon lurched and rocked, a video of the crossing, including the back end of our oxen,  played on a screen as if we were looking out the front of the wagon.  

It was a neat museum and an enjoyable afternoon.