Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Chimney Rock From Visitor Center

Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014

http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: Day of Several Photos - July 20, 2016

This National Historic Site, designated in 1956, is administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society, who operates the Visitor Center.  According to Wikipedia, this is "a National Park Service affiliated area."

Of course, Chimney Rock was considered to be "one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks for pioneer travelers on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails," and a study of 300 emigrant journals suggests that "Chimney Rock was by far the most mentioned landmark." (NPS)

Like Independence Rock and some other notable locations along the emigrant trails, travelers carved their names into the stone here, but due to the nature of the rock, here the names have mostly faded.

Visitor Center Display

We did not have an opportunity to walk out to the rock itself, but we did get to spend some time in the Visitor Center.

Comparing old drawings and photos to the rock today, it is apparent that it was once taller than it is now, and that a sizable section of the top has since fallen.

"Chimney Rock, Nebraska." (1904)
Photograph from Volume One of a series of photo albums documenting the construction of Pathfinder Dam and other units on the North Platte Project in Wyoming and Nebraska
National Archives and Records Administration(National Archives Identifier) 294354
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AChimney_Rock%2C_Nebraska_-_NARA_-_294354.tif

Chimney Rock: Sagebrush and Rock
Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014
http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Chimney Rock From the South
Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014
http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Chimney Rock and Marsh
Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014
http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Chimney Rock: History and Snakes
Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014
http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Chimney Rock: Rock and Snake Sign
Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014
http://www.aflitt.com/chimneyrocknhs
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Links

NPS - Chimney Rock National Historic Site
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/scotts_bluff/chimney_rock.html

Nebraska State Historical Society

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/rock/

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_Rock_National_Historic_Site

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff and the Mitchell and Gering Canal
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: Day of Several Photos - July 20, 2016

Scotts Bluff rises some 800 feet above the North Platte River and represents the level of the ancestral high plains before they were lowered to the current level of the modern Great Plains by four to five millions of years of erosion.

While the bluff is scenic and impressive, this monument was created in 1919 as much to honor the western migration, the pioneers and emigrants who used to pass by the base of the bluff through Mitchell Pass on the Oregon Trail and to preserve the beauty of the landform itself.  This bluff was one of the major landmarks on the Oregon Trail marking the completion of the passage west over the Great Plains.

The Summit Road was took many years to complete.  It was first started in 1932 and was not opened to the public until September 19, 1937.  As a road geek, its tunnels and cliff cuts were one of my favorite parts of the monument.

As for the spelling, I'll defer to Wikipedia:

There has always been some disagreement as to the proper spelling of this geomorphic feature, specifically with regard to the apostrophe. For example, an 1843 map titled Map of an Exploratory Expedition to the Mountains in 1842 by John C. Frémont labeled the feature Scott's Bluff (with an apostrophe). Another early military map of Nebraska and the Dakotas published in 1875 by G.K. Warren dropped the apostrophe and labeled the feature simply as Scotts Bluff. There are numerous other examples in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in which the name has been spelled with or without an apostrophe. In a final decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names rendered on June 11, 1941, the name Scotts Bluff (without an apostrophe) was officially adopted.

We rolled into the park pretty late after driving down from Badlands National Park in South Dakota, so we made two quick visits to the bluff.  One in the evening with a quick run out to the South Overlook just before the Summit Road closed for the evening and another quick visit the next morning to see the North Overlook and to look around the Visitor Center.

Hitting this part of Nebraska was a pretty long detour on our vacation route, but it gave us a chance to visit some places (especially Chimney Rock and Independence Rock in central Wyoming) that I'd wanted to see since first learning about them in old social studies textbooks when I was a kid, and I really could not picture being within reach of Nebraska again at any time in the foreseeable future.  It was also some of the only new-to-me territory that we traveled through on this trip.

Approaching Mitchell Pass From the East
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Second Tunnel (...of Three)
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

South Overlook Trail
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Dome Rock From the South Overlook
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

South Bluff, Visitor Center, and Road From South Overlook
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Saddle Rock and Gering, Nebraska
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Scotts Bluff From Old Oregon Trail Road
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Mitchell Pass From the West
Eagle Rock on Scotts Bluff is to the left and Sentinel Rock on South Bluff is to the right.
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 10, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

The next morning, we returned and checked out the North Overlook and the Visitor Center...

Eagle Rock and Visitor Center
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Pony Express Plaque

Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  

http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

View East From Summit Parking Lot
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

View West From North Overlook Trail
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

View North From North Overlook
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

View East From Scotts Bluff
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.  
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

In the Visitor Center
Scotts Bluff National Monument.  Nebraska.  August 11, 2014.
http://www.aflitt.com/scottsbluffnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Links

NPS - Scotts Bluff National Monument

https://www.nps.gov/scbl/index.htm

NPS - History / Building the Summit Road

https://www.nps.gov/scbl/scblhist.htm

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotts_Bluff_National_Monument

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Clouds and Bakery Ruins

Fort Laramie National Historic Site.  Wyoming.  August 11, 2014.

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs  

Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: Day of Several Photos - July 19, 2016

We were really only at Fort Laramie for a few minutes.  In fact, every photo I took there is in this post.  It was a quick stop on a long day's drive across Wyoming, generally following the route of the Oregon Trail from Chimney Rock in Nebraska on through to southwestern Wyoming.  But we were there, I took these photos, checked out the visitors' center, got our NPS Passports stamped, and rolled on our way.  We were the worst sort of auto tourists that day, but seeing a little was still better than seeing nothing.

Sagebrush and Hospital Ruins

Fort Laramie National Historic Site.  Wyoming.  August 11, 2014.
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved
http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs  

The National Park Service brochure explains that the hospital, pictured above, was built in 1873 had 12 beds, a dispensary, a kitchen, a dining room, isolation rooms, a surgeon's office, and was the first lime-concreted building built at the fort.

"Old Bedlam" at Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie National Historic Site.  Wyoming.  August 11, 2014.

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs  

First established in 1834, the fort was obtained by the U.S. Army in 1849 to provide military support for the emigrant trails.  "Old Bedlam," the largest building in the above photo, was built at this time and is the oldest known building in the State of Wyoming.  According to the National Park Service brochure, "the right side is restored to bachelor offices' quarters in the 1850s; the left side to post headquarters in 1863-1864, when fort commander Lt. Col. William and his wife lived on the second floor."

1875 Fort Laramie Bridge (Platte River)

1876 Fort Laramie Bridge

Fort Laramie, Wyoming.  August 11, 2014. 

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs  

On the National Park Service map for Fort Laramie, a bridge very similar to this one is shown, though I do not think it is the same, since that one is over the Laramie River right at the old fort itself. However, the one shown on the map looks almost identical to this one.

While this location is not within the NHS, its history is so closely tied to that of the fort's, that I feel comfortable including these images in the park's gallery.

Fort Laramie Bridge and Plaques

1876 Fort Laramie Bridge.  Platte River.  Fort Laramie, Wyoming.  August 11, 2014. 

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs 

1876 Fort Laramie Bridge

Fort Laramie, Wyoming.  August 11, 2014.

Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs  

Fort Laramie Bridge and Plaques 

1876 Fort Laramie Bridge.  Platte River.  Fort Laramie, Wyoming.  August 11, 2014.
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved
http://www.aflitt.com/fortlaramienhs 

As I posted earlier, today I planned on burning through several photos, filling in some of the gaps in the National Parks section of the website (http://aflitt.com/NationalParks). I was not sure how many I could get through, but apparently the number of posts I can churn out in one afternoon is three!

Links

NPS - Fort Laramie National Historic Site

https://www.nps.gov/fola/index.htm

National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Fort Laramie National Historic Site (Bad OCR or something going on here...)

http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/66000755.pdf

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Laramie_National_Historic_Site

Bridgehunter: Fort Laramie Bridge 

https://bridgehunter.com/wy/goshen/fort-laramie/

A Rushed Evening Stop at Independence Rock

Independence Rock

Independence Rock State Historic Site. Alcove, Wyoming. August 11, 2014

Copyright © 2015 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: November 16, 2015

Busy and busy with a little sick thrown in, but I aim to get back on track with the POTD this week. Here is one from late in the day on one of the long travel days back in the summer of 2014. I was rushing here, against the daylight and against a van full of cranky family, so I didn't get the shots I'd loved to have captured here, but I got a few I like in spite of the challenges of time and place. It was a great time to be there, but time was just a luxury we did not have that evening.