August 7th and 8th, we had two great days visiting with Mike’s high school buddy, Joel and his wife, Diana. Joel went all out to provide us with a place to park. He had to seriously trim some trees and had one of his friend help rig 50 amps so we could plug in and keep the air conditioner running. Bear especially enjoyed himself because he could freely roam the property and have some good rolls in the grass.
We had no idea we would be visiting this town during their annual Strasburg Days. On Saturday, there was a fun parade at noon and fireworks at night. For the size of this town, they really put on a good show!
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| Parade |
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| Parade |
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| Parade |
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| Fireworks |
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| Fireworks |
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| Fireworks |
On Sunday, August 9th, we headed to Laramie,
WY. The drive on Hwy 287 that Joel
suggested from Ft. Collins, CO to Laramie was beautifully scenic. I took some pictures from the motor home
while Mike was driving.
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| Wyoming Territorial Prison from inside the walls |
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| Wyoming Territorial Prison from outside the walls |
On Monday we visited the Wyoming Territorial Prison. Built in 1872 and operating until 1902, this
prison held outlaws including Butch Cassidy.
The conditions under which the prisoners were held were
unimaginable. An eighteen thousand two-level
prison with no indoor plumbing, this place could never be heated more than 20
degrees more than the outside temperature.
Considering that the elevation is 7,165 feet and that the winter
temperatures can drop as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit it’s hard to imagine
being incarcerated here. Our guide told
us that in the winter, the worst inmates were on the lower level where it was
coldest and in the summer would be swapped to the higher level where it was
hotter. As well, they only had chamber
pot as latrines so in the summer you can imagine the stench on the upper level
would be the worst. Inmates were only
allowed to be on their beds at night and only had 1 small bench on which to sit
during the day. Each week they were
required to bathe in a wooden tub. The
water wasn’t changed between inmates, so you can imagine the ugly water for the
last inmate. During the years of
operation there were 12 women sentenced here.
The women had their own area on the upper level but were treated the
same as men albeit they weren’t required to shave their heads upon being
processed. All were required to
work. Some of these chores included
kitchen duty, farming, cutting ice blocks from the Laramie River for the
railroad during the winter, brick manufacturing, furniture building, cigar
making, candle dipping, shoe repair, taxidermy and broom making. One particular inmate was quite the wood
worker. He built a beautifully engraved
table all from wood scraps for the prison warden. Below is a picture of just one corner of the
table and the side. It was encased in Plexiglas
so the side picture has some reflection in it.
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| Top corner of the table made by a prisoner |
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| Legs of the table made by a prisoner |
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| Ivinson Mansion |
We attempted to visit the Ivinson Mansion and Museum but
since it was a Monday, it was closed.
For some history on this sight you can visit http://www.laramiemuseum.org/historyofivinsonfamily.html .
On Tuesday, we headed further west to Rock Springs, WY. We picked this spot because it was a good stop over point on our way to Boise. So far, we haven’t seen much to do here, but we may take a drive later this afternoon. There is supposed to be an area just north of us where you can see wild horses.
Tomorrow we stop over in Pocatello, ID. This is just another stopping point on our
way to Boise. Then we head straight to
Bend, OR where we’ll stay until October 1st. We are really looking forward to catching up
with friends while there!
Until later, our best to friends and family!
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