September 2, 2013.. Today we left Hot Springs, SD and went south to the Oregon Trail Wagon Ruts State Historic site near Guernsey, WY. The Oregon Trail began in Independence, MO and went to Olympia, WA. The trail was used by people going west during the gold rush and also to settle the west. It was really interesting to see how the wear of the wagon wheels had cut down into the rock. As you can see by the photos below, the ruts were deep.
Not far from the wagon rut site was another state historic site called Register Cliff. This is where travelers on the Oregon Trial would cut their names and dates into the rocks. There was also a small cemetery near the cliffs. According to the information there it was common to have graves near a river crossing since so many people were killed while crossing the rivers. The river beside the cliffs was the North Platte.
We had planned to go to Fort Laramie today but due to a mistake I made putting in the information into the GPS, we had to skip that stop. I was disappointed that we didn't get to go because I goofed.

Photos of  Hot Springs, SD and a park walkway that has a waterfall beside it.

 Photos of the Oregon Trail wagon ruts

The Register Cliff was where people traveling the Oregon Trail carved their names in the rock.

The hole in the cliff (in the photo above) was a tunnel that had been blasted out of the rock where they could store their food in the summer.

We are spending the night in Casper, WY.