Westward Ho

All trails do not lead to Kansas City, but they do lead from it. The Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails all started out in Independence, MO. Twice now I have visited the Frontier Trails Museum in that same city to learn about the journey westward these pioneers had. Surprisingly enough, the days of the wagon trains were pretty short. Perhaps 20 years passed between when the west started to open up and when the transcontinental railroad was completed. When I look at the trail travelers in that light, I really admire them. I mean, they suffered and took months to do what the next generation did in a week. The really did blaze a trail.

It was hard for me to see a direct connection between these trails and my own life. Sure, I live in Kansas, but our state was pioneered by farmers and ranchers. I haven't really heard of a "Kansas Trail." And neither did any of my ancestors come here in a covered wagon (that I know of). But the Santa Fe trail did cut right through, which I hadn't realized before.

But more interesting was the brochures we found at the museum, courtesy of the National Park system, that gave us a driving tour of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. These brochures have been made for each state along the trail, and we only had the first brochure! There were some 37 stops, which would have taken us all the way to Topeka. Instead, we went through the first 12.

Stops included sites the pioneers may have seen along the way or popular camp grounds. We went to a graveyard that had once been on the trail and stopped to read some headstones. The graveyward was much newer than the trails, but the headstones still told stories. A man was written to have given up everything for his family - his family which consisted of a child who died young and a wife who died soon after. And the strangest headstone I have ever seen, "The Horse Thief 1898."

Most of the sites were to see the swells of the wagons. The best I can describe this is the space between wagons. The wagon ruts themselves have long since been covered by dirt and grass. But they carved holes so deep, that little miniature hills can be seen all across the metro area. Once you see them, it will be easy to see them again, and perhaps you will mistake any little hill for such a swell.

Going on this tour gave me an odd feeling. I have visited old buildings before, but I never felt so much like I was standing IN history. 150 years ago, THIS was the frontier! And people were embarking on a journey that 1 in 10 would not complete. They were headed into months of misery for something better on the other side. Only three days out from Independence, many were already experiencing incredible difficulties. And this early on, the number of wagons would have been unthinkable. At the trail head, the Oregon trail was a mile wide.

Even now I can't go out my door without recognizing where I stand. My house may not be a historic site, but it is so close! So many buildings and streets cover these trails! We have a Santa Fe Trail Drive that actually was the Santa Fe trail! I always think of history as something that happened back east or in Europe, but it's right here under my nose. And all it takes to discover it is a little bit of gas!