When I was in grade school and learning American History, I read about how the pioneers crossed the plains and when then got to some very large sandstone formations, they knew they had come 1/3 of the way and still had to cross the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas (if going on to California or Oregon). I had no idea what to expect when we visited the National Monument today. It is dedicated to those early pioneers who traveled across the plains to parts west.
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| Scotts Bluff |
The Bluffs are the remnants of ancestral high plains dating back over 10 million years ago. Erosion by wind, water, and occasional volcanic eruptions have eroded the bluffs to what it is today, sinking down and washing away to the flatland of the today's plains, and the Bluffs are still eroding. For over 10,000 years the formations have been a prairie pathway to native animals and people. The fur trappers, Indians, and then the pioneers, the Bluff became familiar sight for those passing through. In 1828 Hiram Scott, a fur trapper with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, died near the bluff and the named was change to honor him. Before that it was called Me-a-pa-te, meaning "hill that is hard to go around."
The wave of emigrants became a surge after the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and the emigrants felt the original wagon trail was too rugged over the Bluff so that the US Army was called into action and greatly improved the pass and shortened the route by eight miles - a full day's journey. We hiked over this improved pass, today it's called Mitchell Pass, and saw the original ruts and trail of the Oregon/California/Mormon trail as well as the Pony Express route.
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| The different routes of the emigrants |
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| Sentinel of the westward movement |
The park has a paved road that travels up and over Scotts Bluff to lookouts. From different vantage points you can see way in the distance - we saw Chimney Rock about 20 miles away. This Rock was also a landmark for the pioneers. The pioneers typically followed rivers for water needs and from the north side of the Bluff we could see the North Platte River meandering through the town of Scottsbluff. What was cool to us - we saw the North Platte River when we were in Casper, Wyoming a couple of years ago and learned the significance of this important river.
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| Pony Express came through here |
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| That is a lot of people! |
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| Hiked up and over Mitchell's Pass - ruts right by us |
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| How did they do it? |
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| Had to drive thru 3 tunnels to get to top |
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| Actual place of the trails |
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