Foto’s

Goodland, Kansas

Topeka, Kansas

Independence, Missouri, the starting point of the trip

National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence

Civil War Expo, Gardner, Kansas

Civil War Expo, Gardner, Kansas

Making mats on a wagon wheel on the Civil War Expo

Demonstration of firing a rifle on the Civil War Expo

Demonstration of firing a canon

Demonstration of firing a canon

Anachronism on the Civil War Expo

Abraham Lincoln likes my pack mule

Vertical bends in Kansas

I think I’m on the right track

So this is it, the prairie

Red Vermillion River

Welcome to America

The stone where James Frazier Reed of the unfortunate Donner Party carved his name in

Illegally parked on a reconstructed ferry

In Holland we have church towers, on the prairie they have water towers to be able to spot a town from the distance

A statue of a Pony Express rider in Marysville, Kansas. A large stretch of this postal route went over the Oregon Trail

Emigrants saw them in herds of thousands of animals; the buffalo, or bison

A musk thistle on the prairie

The Hollenberg Pony Express Station near Hanover, Kansas

Gravel road in Kansas

Oregon Trail marker in Nebraska

Oops…

Pony Express Station in Nebraska

Twix at a 100 degrees (40 graden)

Nebraska

Nebraska

Fort Kearny museum; sometimes even the experts have no idea

Blacksmith shop in museum Fort Kearny, Nebraska

Fort Kearny, Nebraska

James is restoring a ‘house’, that’s previously been a gas station and a souvenir shop

They’re not afraid of cars, but motorcycles they think are weird

Taking a break somewhere in Nebraska

‘Too thick to drink, and too thin to plow’ Platte River, Nebraska

A monument to commemorate the Old Oregon Trail. In the background modern ‘prairie schooners’

Somewhere along the road in Nebraska

Ole’s Big Game Saloon, Paxton, Nebraska

Often seen in the midwest; old cowboy boots on poles

Before the shootout

Not all the roads were nice and smooth

Many children of immigrants wore no shoes on their journey westward. Because of this plant, the prickly pear, they learned to be careful where they walked

An old Oregon Trail marker, abused by cattle for many years

A pageant about the Oregon Trail, Near Ash Hollow, Nebraska

Sunset in Nebraska

Emigrants had to be creative. For the marking of the grave of Rebecca Winters an old wagon wheel was used

Traffic education in Nebraska

Turtle in the desert of Nebraska

Lark sparrow in the desert of of Nebraska. Chimney Rock in the background

Chimney Rock, Nebraska

Grave near Chimney Rock, Nebraska

‘Prairie schooner’ at Scotts Bluff Monument, Nebraska

View from Scotts Bluff National Monument

View from Scotts Bluff National Monument

Natural Bridge, an idyllic spot in the middle of the dry desert of Wyoming. Also a popular camping spot of the emigrants

Natural Bridge, Wyoming

Torrington, Wyoming

Monument to commemorate the Grattan Massacre, 1854, where the loss of a cow of an emigrant ultimately resulted in the death of 29 soldiers and their translator

GPS controlled irrigation on the fields in Wyoming

Somewhere in Wyoming

The River Platte

The jackalope, mythical creature of the western U.S.: a jackrabbit with antlers of an antelope

Bad weather in Wyoming

Leaving the storm behind

Een antilope, of pronghorn, watching me from a safe distance

Swallow nests under a bridge

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

U-haul in 1860, Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie

Yukka country

Black Hills, Wyoming

Register Cliff, Wyoming

Register Cliff

Deep wagon ruts in Guernsey, Wyoming

Statue at National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming

Fort Caspar Museum, Casper, Wyoming

Ferry replica, Fort Caspar Museum, Casper, Wyoming

‘Suttlers store’ in Fort Caspar Museum in Casper, Wyoming

‘Suttlers store’ in Fort Caspar Museum in Casper, Wyoming

We all travel in our own way

Names in Independence Rock, Wyoming

View from Independence Rock, Wyoming. If the emigrants would make it to this landmark before the 4th of July, they were on schedule

Independence Rock, Wyoming

Empty skies in Wyoming

De Wind River Range is coming closer

The Hudson-Atlantic City Road, Wyoming

Subalpine daisy along The Hudson-Atlantic City Road, Wyoming

Marker on South Pass

Stone monument to commemorate the first two white women to cross the continental divide

South Pass, Wyoming, the crossing of the Rocky Mountains at 7,411 feet (2259 meters)

Off road just after South Pass

Pacific Springs, the Wind River Range in the background

View at Pacific Springs and Wind River Range, Wyoming

Just after the town of Farson, Wyoming, it is so empty that even a sign that warns for cattle on the road is a real sight

Lyman, Wyoming

I’ll take the red and white one

Fort Bridger, Wyoming

Fort Bridger store

Kelvin Hoover tells me everything about the Black & Orange Lincoln Highway Motel

Some explanation about the 120 pound (55 kilogram) ox yoke

National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier

Geyser in Soda Springs

Deserted house with bad teeth in Idaho

North of Soda Springs, Idaho

Finally, some flowers! Pontneuf River valley, north of Soda Springs, Idaho

Pontneuf River valley

Pontneuf River valley, Idaho

Pontneuf River valley, Idaho

Not a bad place to live. Chesterfield Reservoir, Pontneuf valley, Idaho

Pontneuf River valley

Fort Hall Indian Reservation

Fort Hall Indian Reservation

Fort Hall, Pocatello, Idaho

In the West, this is how you hang your rifle on the wall. Fort Hall, Pocatello, Oregon

Pelicans in the Snake River at the American Falls dam, Idaho

Pelicans waiting for fish at the narrow passage along the dam at American Falls

In this valley of the Raft River, emigrants had to make a final choice; are we going to Oregon … or California after all?

Caldron Linn, on the north side of the Snake River

A northern blazing star. The Snake River valley in the background

The Snake River

Twin Falls, or Shoshone Falls

Thousands Springs, Idaho

A Bull snake, warming itself on the warm concrete at the end of the day

North of Mountain Home, Idaho

At Mountain Home, Idaho, I expected some cool forest, but all there was waiting for me was hot and dry desert

View at Boise, Idaho

The Snake River

No, behind you!

Stampede!

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon

View a the Blue Mountains from the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon.The white dot on the foreground is a wagon the emigrants traveled in

You see some interesting things on the road

Mount Hood on the horizon

Hay Canyon, Oregon

Hay Canyon, Oregon

First View Monument; this is where the emigrants would have their first view of the Columbia River

Columbia River, Oregon

Mount Doom…uh Hood!

The Old Barlow Road

Barlow Road, Oregon

Small detour on the Barlow Road

Laurel Hill in Oregon was the most difficult descent of the entire trail, the wagons had to be lowered here with ropes

A campsite pole is really useful when you want to lubricate your chain

The end of the Trail, Oregon City, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

On my way home it’s hot

Almost home. Our back yard, Rocky Mountains National Park