The Road Back to Iowa!

July 14-20, 2025

This has been such an amazing trip – and we still have one last leg to go!  We left Salt Lake City and made our first overnight stop at Fort Bridger RV Camp in Wyoming.  This was only a couple of hours away, which gave us plenty of time to explore Fort Bridger once we arrived.

Some months ago, we watched the television series American Primeval, which piqued our interest in the fort.  The series really is based on history, although in true media style, it sounds like a lot of liberty was taken in a very dramatic fashion.

Fort Bridger just happens to be located on another popular route – the Lincoln Highway.  These were well- used cabins for travelers on taking Hwy. 30 west to Oregon or east to New Jersey!

During our history lesson there, we learned Fort Bridger has gone through several eras.  Move on over Taylor Swift! The first was the Mountain Men Era.  This era consisted of a trading post built by Jim Bridger and his partner, Louis Vasquez in 1843. Jim had unsuccessfully tried opening trading posts in several locations, but had finally found the perfect spot.  Location, location, location!  It was right at the intersection of routes used by the Pony Express, fur traders, Native Americans, and emigrants who were finding their way west!  Currently, there is a replica built near where the original trading post stood.

Brigham Young purchased the fort from Bridger and Vasquez in 1855 after what sounds like a lot of disagreements between Bridger and the Mormon Militia. Thus began the Mormon Era.   It was a short-lived era, as only two years later the Mormons burned the fort down. The Utah War was underway!  In this war, the Mormons adopted a strategy of not leaving anything to aid the US Army and the army was quickly advancing upon them. 

Fort Bridger was re-established in 1858 by the military after enduring a harsh winter in tents. This was the beginning of the Military Era.  The fort expanded a smidgin at this time, as it encompassed a 500 square mile territory!  During this time, William Alexander Carter acted as a sutler (storekeeper) for the fort.  He was there with his family, rebuilding and restocking the store at the fort.  He eventually became known as “Mr. Fort Bridger”!  

The punishment horse!  Unruly soldiers began to be too comfortable in the stockade, enjoying the time for rest and freedom from chores.  Thus, the punishment horse was created!  The sword really does give you a good workout, plus the embarrassment of it all turned out to be quite the deterrent.  

The Military Era came to an end in 1890.  Between the Indian Wars having ended, the expansion of railroads and Wyoming gaining statehood, there was no need for a military presence in the area any longer.  

The Ice House, filled with ice from Black's Fork of the Green River during the winter.

The commercial side of the fort was then turned over to “Mr. Fort Bridger”. Carter oversaw the transition of a portion of the military buildings and surrounding grounds to use for cattle grazing and dairy operations.  This began the Milk Era of Fort Bridger.  Carter was successful and became Wyoming’s first millionaire.  His ambitious work ethics found him also acting as justice of the peace for the area.  Most interesting to me was the school house he had built for his children and the other children in the community.  This school was the beginning of the public schools for the state of Wyoming!  

In 1928, the site was sold to the Wyoming Historical Commission for preservation.  The site remains in its Museum Era, operating as a Wyoming state park.  If you visit the park over Labor Day, you are in for quite the treat!  You will find the place packed, looking very much like it might have looked during its fur trading years.  Teepees surround the area, the blacksmith shop is busy repairing wagons for the emigrants, and fur traders abound.  Everyone is dressed in time period costumes, so you might think you have somehow slipped through a time warp!  History lesson is officially over.  Class dismissed!

This is an 100-year-old ham left from the General Store when it operated.  

Note the saddle cover used by the Pony Express.  Only the cover was moved from horse to horse.

The next morning, we got a rather late start.  In fact, it was nearly 2:00pm before we pulled away from the campground.  The good news was we weren’t stranded on the side of the road waiting for a repair service to help us.  We had been having trouble with the trailer breakaway cable switch.  It kept giving us a message to “check trailer wiring”.  Dick figured out a workaround that was doing the trick for us, with the intention of getting it fixed the right way once we got home.  The problem was, that morning, the switch was officially fried and the workaround was no longer an option.  It was a good reminder that “real life” still exists, even if we are on vacation! 

We ran into our second setback shortly after we were on the road.  Traffic was backed up and barely creeping along on the interstate due to the time of day combined with construction.  BTW, the westbound side of the tunnel near Green River is STILL closed following a fatal accident in February. 

This day’s target was Curt Gowdy State Park near Cheyenne, WY.  We managed to arrive and get set up before the sun set, so we considered that a “win”!  We had reservations in Tumbleweeds Campground – site T-20 – quite possibly the best site in this loop! T-17 was a hot contender, though!  RV campsites in the park offer water and electricity hookups.  The fact that the park does not have a dump station is really NBD - especially when you are only there for a few days.  We had stayed at the state park four years earlier, so we were excited for the treat that lay before us!

For our one full day in the park, we started out with a paved, accessible trail (Katie’s Trail) located near the Visitor Center.  There, we managed to not only see some beautiful scenery, but also spotted a juvenile mountain bluebird!  

With thunderstorms forecasted for the midafternoon, we headed promptly to our second trail for the day.  We had decided to hike for a second time the most popular trail in the park – Hidden Falls Trail!  We had no regrets on the repeat!  Wildflowers abounded – not to the extent of Cecret Lake Trail, but still a good show.  In addition to the flowers, this trail offers so much in terms of variety of scenery.  The trail begins along the shores of the reservoir. Then, you follow Crow Creek and, before long, it begins its gentle climb into the rocky boulders the area is known for.  Once again, the trail meets up with Crow Creek, where you change out of your hiking shoes and into your water shoes and begin the short wade up the creek, around the bend and into the canyon where Hidden Falls finally reveals itself!  It’s so refreshing to wade through the brisk water.  Some hikers even brought their swim suit and went for a dip underneath the falls.

Trails – my "Happy Place"!

By the time we were leaving, the clouds in the sky were taking on a new look.  Nothing too ominous yet, but definitely hints of a storm were beginning to brew.  When we finishing the hike down, we headed for the Visitor Center to ride out the storm.  We weren’t worried about safety in the camper, but thought as long as we were going to be inside, we might as well be somewhere with wi-fi!

Our next stop was a night in Gothenburg, NE, where we stayed at Blue Heron Campground.  The $1.50 washing machines and 75¢ dryers may tell you something about the age of this place!  It was a fine spot to stop for the day and catch up with some chores, but there is really nothing around the area of interest that we found!  Post-dinner, we did walk down to the convenience store located at the intersection of the campground entrance and Hwy. 47 for an ice-cream treat and as an attempt to at least get a few steps in.  I do have to say, you do meet the nicest people in campgrounds.  On both sides of us were other “over-night guests” of the park.  Both of them happened to be from Arkansas.  Both of them had also taken their RV to Alaska.  I really do need to get a plan put together for us to get there!  It sounds so beautiful!

You can spot the campground on the shore of the other side of the lake.

Our final stop before home was Lake Manawa State Park located in Council Bluffs, IA.  I love staying at state parks and this one was no exception.  We were blessed to have Maggie, Luke, Norah, Owen and Elliot join us for our stay there! 

During our time together, we ate breakfast outside, but the weather was so hot and humid, we caved and ate dinners inside the camper.  It seemed almost wrong to light a campfire in the sweltering heat, but s’mores were calling.  It’s amazing what one does for fun!

Our full day in the area was spent at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.  Once again, it was hot, but the zoo has plenty of indoor activities, so we still managed to have a ton of fun.  I think the pictures pretty much tell the story!

Oh, how I love looking at the world thru the eyes of a child.

I'd say Norah is happy with the results!

The silverback gorilla tried his hardest to ignore us

We were happy to have found some shade to enjoy our lunch in.

Just "Monkeying Around"!

Norah almost jumped out of her pants when the tiger appeared from around the corner!

It was early afternoon on July 20th when we pulled up in front of our home in Waukee.  Aside from two nights at home following our trip to Iceland, we had been gone since June 6th.  It was an amazing trip and one I’ll certainly treasure the memories from for the rest of my life!

On a side note, we just learned Everett, our neighbor from when we lived in Hastings, MN, has brain cancer.  Everett is 13 years old.  They were able to remove the brain tumor during surgery, but he is going to be undergoing a “marathon” of ongoing treatments.  Doctors are optimistic of Everett’s prognosis, but please keep Everett and his family in your prayers.  You can follow Everett’s journey at CaringBridge.