Hell's Half Acre

Wind River Canyon with train tunnel through the rocks
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We were on the road about 7:15 this morning.  As soon as we left Ogallala, we ran into a heavy fog that lasted for 40 miles.  We continued to travel along the North Platte River.

The day was off to a slow start.  It all worked out though, because we arrived at Chimney Rock Visitors Center at 9 am as they were opening.  Chimney Rock is about 100 miles northwest of Ogallala.  Chimney Rock was a significant landmark on the Oregon Trail, The Mormon Trail, and the Oregon Trail.  It could be seen for miles and it was the most written about landmark on the journey.  It now is the Nebraska state symbol and appears on the Nebraska quarter.

North end of Wind River Canyon looking back toward the Canyon
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At Chimney Rock Visitors Center, we watched a well-produced video and toured their small museum.  We learned that the Indians in the Platte Valley were generally very helpful to the early travelers.  However, as the wagon trains grew to 5 or 6 abreast, their buffalo were killed for food and sport, and diseases ravaged them, they became more hostile.  Life was also very difficult for those moving west and many perished. 

Chimney Rock
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About 11:15 am we stopped at a rest area on US 26 before Guernsey, WY.  There we found several informational plaques, each accompanied by a post with a ½” pipe placed in the post at eye level.  The pipe was positioned so that when you looked through the pipe you were looking at that particular landmark.  One of these landmarks was “Register Cliff”.  Register Cliff is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a sandstone cliff that many early travelers stopped to carve their names on.  You could also drive up to Register Cliff, but we decided to move on.  

Paula looking at a landmark
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About 40 miles past Casper, WY, on US 20, we stopped at Hell’s Half Acre.  The restaurant and gift shop had long been abandoned.  But the landmark was quite unusual and worth the time to stop.

As we moved along US 20, we traveled through Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway between Shoshoni and Thermopolis.  IT WAS AWESOME!! The scenes are breathtaking and the Wind River/Big Horn River flows along the highway.  Some of the oldest rock formations in the world, over 2.9 billion years old, are visible.  Some of the canyon walls are 2,500 feet tall.

Hell's Half Acre
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At the north end of the Scenic Byway sits Thermopolis, WY, home of the world’s largest mineral hot springs.  After a good night’s rest, we’ll try the hot springs in the morning.