Day 2

My husband Glen, our sweet dog, Chloe, and I are off on our “big trip” as our granddaughter, Lily, describes it.  We often take off for a week on Passport In Time Archaeology projects or for several days working on the trails but a month is something we haven’t done in years.  Our plan is to follow the Oregon-California Trail West to East from Placerville, California to Independence, Missouri. 

We started from Placerville on Friday, Sept. 27^th and spent the day traveling to Elko, Nevada. 

 The California Trail Interpretive Center just west of Elko was our first stop on Sat.  

Several new exhibits have been added since we were there last.  I liked the 40 Mile Desert exhibit.  The people in the exhibit were realistically really dirty and looking very discouraged.  The ox was huge.

  

Another exhibit we hadn't seen was about the Donner Party.  The video explaining their ordeal was projected behind a gauzy screen creating an interesting effect.  

Wells, Nevada is the exit for Twin Falls, Idaho.    The Parting of the Ways for the Oregon Trail and the California Trail is east of Twin Falls so we headed north.   At lunch time we pulled off at Willow Creek where the Bishop Cutoff left the California trail and headed over low hills to meet the main trail near Wells.  There was a carsonite marker indicating the California Trail but we couldn't see any visible sign of the trail. 

Rock Creek Station and the Stricker Home Site was our next stop. It includes the Sticker House, Rock Creek Store, a pioneer cemetery, and numerous outbuildings.  This historic site was an early transportation center serving the Oregon Trail, Overland mail stage route, and the Kelton Freight Road.  

 It is off the main roads, southeast of Twin Falls near Hanson,  but it is well worth the time and distance. The Oregon Trail goes right through it.   We pulled in there after three o’clock and hoped to just be able to look around at the grounds as the buildings are only open on Sunday afternoon.  

Looking west on the Oregon Trail to the RockCreek Store

My great grandfather rode a big, white horse on the Oregon Trail from Iowa to Walla Walla, Washington in 1864 when he was eight years old and would certainly have stopped there as it was the only store on the trail for miles in either direction.   His family was with him of course.  As we were walking around a man motioned us to come over to a building that turned out to be a new interpretive center.  Gary Guy is the Site Coordinator and Care Taker of the site and he very graciously offered to let us into the center.  After spending some time there he also gave us a tour of the Stricker Home built in 1900.  It was really interesting as it hasn’t been extensively restored and looks much as it did when Lucy Stricker passed away in 1949 including much of the original furniture.  

Stricker Home

We pushed on to camp at Massacre Rocks State Park on Saturday night.  More on that later.

Dee