After Mr M finished his drill duties, we headed home. We usually end up just driving straight through on our road trips, as quickly as possible, but on this trip we made time for a couple detours.
The plan was to drive north-eastish up to Mt Rushmore, but as we were traveling the endless roads of Wyoming, we saw a sign for Martin's Cove. Neither of us had realized it was right on our way, but knowing we wouldn't be back that way for quite awhile, we pulled over to see what there was to see.
We took the tour through the Visitor's Center, which was quite interesting. We have an ancestor who traveled with the Willie Handcart Company on his way home from a mission in England. He'd made the trip before and counseled them against leaving so late in the season, but accompanied them when they insisted on going anyway. There were several quotes of his in the narrative pieces on the walls. That was pretty cool to see. I grew up hearing the story, but wasn't really aware of how well known it was. A pretty interesting movie about some of the experiences he had was made a few years ago.
LMS outside the visitor's center
They had a corral with carts of various sizes that you could try out.
LMS found one her size.
Groups of youth from various wards and stakes come out every summer and make the trek, using handcarts. Right about when I graduated from high school was when going on "pioneer treks" for youth conference started gaining popularity, and I never got to do one, which is unfortunate. I think it's a great opportunity though, and hopefully our kiddos will get the chance to participate in one.
This is the trail that leads to the cove, which is actually about a mile and a half away. The location of the visitor's center was a small fort (I think, the details are getting a little fuzzy now), but there was no space or food for the handcart companies, so they went a mile and half further to a sheltered area. We didn't make the trek out there because we didn't have time (the schedule just wouldn't allow that long of an unscheduled stop), and my hips weren't up to it (sitting in the truck all day doesn't make pregnant hips feel great). We'd love to go back sometime though, and make the trek out there and back.
Once we got on the road again, we passed Independence Rock a bit further up the road. Apparently it was so called because if you reached it by Independence Day, you could make it to Salt Lake without any problems (winter weather and such).
It was definitely worth our time to stop and explore a little- if you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend it. On the other hand, since we'd just driven from the Salt Lake area, we definitely had a greater appreciation of the distance traveled by the rescuers, as well as how far the pioneers still had to go. It was further than I'd thought, and they made the trip without the benefit of paved roads. We're definitely blessed!
Have you been to Martin's Cove?
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