Day 7: June 19, 2019 Bus Tour One Comment via blog

Prev Next

The buses were rolling at 8:00 with an initial destination far enough away that we stopped at a rest area to... rest. That destination was the Fort Steele Historic Site over a hundred miles east of Rock Springs. Ranger Horn greeted us and warned that we probably wouldn't be able to walk all of the old LH alignment because of recent rains. Sure enough, somewhat faded signs marked the road but it was a little damp. It was much more accessible away from the river. That's it beyond the Fort Steele marker and also, though less visible, beyond the Lincoln Highway plaque. The LH can also be seen faintly to the right of what is to be remnants of a filling station, and it's clear as can be heading back toward the site's main entrance. This was quite the educational stop for me. I knew of the fort's existence but had no idea at all of the Lincoln Highway connection.

Technically it would have been US-30 that first crossed this 1930 bridge, but Google Maps calls it Lincoln Highway and probably many of those crossing it eighty-nine years ago did too.

What is now called Sinclair, was built as a company town named Parco, which was the commonly used name of the company that built it, Producers and Refiners Oil Company. The name change came in 1942. The inn, quite elegant at the time, kept its original name. No longer elegant, it now houses a Baptist church. When the room it is in was a restaurant, the fountain in the second picture held trout for selection by patrons as well as a statue deemed unsuitable for display in a Baptist church. The big "credenza" was originally the lounge's back bar. Some of the history is told by a sign across the street.

The big buses couldn't manage the last bit of dirt road to the original site of the Henry B. Joy Monument so anyone wanting to see it had to climb the little rise on foot. Having seen the spot previously, I had already decided that wasn't going to exit the bus to see it again and this extra twist clinched it. Here's a picture of the Joy sign from 2013 and the much touted view from there from the same year.

I snapped pictures of the structures at Point of Rocks from the bus as we pulled up. Off the bus, I got a picture of the actual Point of Rocks and and some more of the buildings that once served as a stagecoach station. I also grabbed a picture of the letters high above the station but got something more readable from the bus after we returned to the expressway.

I don't mean to put pressure on future conference organizers, but Gregory Hasman's Mom did make cookies.

I managed this shot shortly before the crowd arrived for a group photo beneath the arch. Bill Von Tegan's 1965 Mustang and Brian Suen's 1958 Silver Hawk are there to add some class.

[Prev] [Site Home] [Trip Home] [Contact] [Next]

democrat