June 17, 2026
In addition to our route to Omaha following a portion of the Transcontinental railroad, we will also be generally following the routes of the emigrant pioneers used including Oregon, Mormon and California Trails (except in the opposite direction). These trails were the same trail westward from Omaha but the Mormon trail diverged from the Oregon Trail at Fr. Bridger (between Salt Lake and Rock Springs) and the California Traild in Soda Springs, ID. Our first site is known at The Archway in...
June 16, 2026
Our day began with a two hour drive to the Scotts Bluff National Monument. The bluff served as an important landmark on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. Over 250,000 westward emigrants passed by Scotts Bluff between 1843 and 1869. It was the second-most referred to landmark on the emigrant trails in pioneer journals and diaries. In the 1930s, a road was developed to the top of Bluff. Matt drove to the top while I walked the 1.6 mile Saddle Rock trail which gains 435’ of elevation...
June 15, 2026
Our day began with a triple-2 breakfast at the Chicago Pizza included with our stay at the Holiday Inn - two eggs, 2 pieces of bacon or sausage and 2 pancakes or pieces of toast. After that was a quick stop at Walmart for some provisioning (but for the Walmart app listing what aisle to find something we would have been wandering around for hours) we continued our journey that began in Salt Lake along the Union Pacific section of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was...
June 14, 2026
We left bright and early at 6:30 with a lot of ground to cover in our first day. I had purchased an Italian made Wingamm 18’ long mini-RV to complete the balance of the Trip Across America that we suspended heading west from Milwaukee on August 31, 2012. We put completion on hold when Timi and I bought the first of three yachts and backtracked over the next dozen years by sea from Chicago to Miami, then Pacific Northwest then Southern California. The RV is new to the US so I ordered it sight...