Mapping+the+Oregon+Trail

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Mapping the Oregon Trail!!! Independence, Missouri, was the most popular “jumping off” point on the Oregon Trail. Here we stocked up on supplies and prepared our wagons for the journey west. It took about four to five days to get to the Wakarusa River. From there we trudged on for about three weeks and to Fort Kearny. We again stocked up on food and supplies and made any repairs at the fort. The next river we have to cross is the Platte River. It is a tough river to cross. Lots of people and animals drown crossing the rivers. Now we start seeing lots of buffalo. The land is starting to change from the plains to the mountains. That makes it harder on our animals and us. Soon we see Court House Rock. That is the first landmark on the Oregon Trail. A week later we passed Chimney Rock. It looks like a giant tepee reaching way up in the sky. Now we know we are half way there because we passed the land mark called Independence Rock. It is July 1st, so we made it in good time. We want to beat the snow. Now we are at South Pass, it is around mile 913. It is a huge pass that leads to a broad flat plain. Soda Springs or Steam Boat Springs in Idaho is around mile 1,154. There we rest for a day and we bathe in the pools of water. In about six days, we reached Fort Hall. We repaired our wagon there. It is now September and we are at Fort Boise. We are worried about the snows coming early this year. We stocked up on more supplies and headed out for the last 4h00 miles. Finally we reached the Columbia River. It is the final leg of the Oregon Trail, but it is also a very dangerous river because of the currents, waterfalls, and whirlpools. We make it across! It was scary. We have finally reached the Willamette Valley. It is beautiful! I can’t believe we have traveled through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho and finally Oregon. But it was worth it! We have now claimed our land, and now we are starting to build our log cabin. Life is still hard. There are trees to cut down, and I have to clear some fields for planting crops in the spring. Life is also good! Our land is beautiful. The best news is that we made it here alive! Our future looks bright.



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