Took a day trip to Fort Laramie, a National Historic Site north of Cheyenne. 340 miles round trip through absoloubtly gorgeous country on a perfect day weatherwise. Very windy in sections on the way up and back, and quite breezy while we were walking around the fort, but of course we were in Wyoming!
We took I-25N to US Hwy 26 E to the fort, then continued east on 26 to Torrington, where we turned south on US Hwy 85 which took us back to Cheyenne and I-25. The scenery was magnificent, it was a great road trip.
Fort Laramie was interesting. We read a bit about the history before visiting so we would have an idea of the significance of what we were seeing, then spent a few minutes looking at the displays in the visitor's center. Enough of the fort's buildings have been restored to allow easy imagining of how things looked there at different times in the past. Most of the buildings were furnished inside as they would have appeared in different years. Plenty of informational signs everywhere, and everything was very well done. Fort Laramie played different roles at different times which just adds to the interest and significance for the visitor. There are also lots of ruins, some with walls, some just foundations, all interesting to see. And of course the surrounding area, the confluence of two rivers, is also very scenic.
This is the "Army Bridge" across the North Platte river a few miles northwest of the fort. Built by the US Army in 1875 to aid stagecoach travel to the Black Hills
View of the N Platte from the bridge
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Some of the buildings at Fort Laramie:
The old guardhouse (1866), confinement on the bottom floor, office and sleeping quarters for the jailers upstairs.
window
a locked door
the same door, seen from the inside
inside the general confinement area, two small solitary cells behind Joe. No furniture, heat or light provided to prisoners
new guardhouse (1876) with much better conditions for prisoners
Captain's quarters (1870)
the most famous building (and oldest military building in WY) "Old Bedlam" (1849) used as a BOQ and other types of quarters over the years
decorative shingles! Note the lightning rod, all the restored buildings had at least one
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Some views of the scenery and rivers surrounding Fort Laramie:
We totally enjoyed the day and our trip, 5 stars! Hope you enjoyed the pictures
Click here to visit NPS Fort Laramie website
