Steve and I traded in our old camper trailer for a new one. We have such a hard time getting our kids to go camping with us anymore, so we found one that fits the two of us perfectly. Not too big, not too small. Now that we have a new camper, we really wanted to use every opportunity we could to get out into the great outdoors!!
I had a few free days on my work schedule, and Steve had work in Wyoming, so we decided to go on a work, play trip.
Steve reserved a camp spot at Fort Bridger, Wyoming.
About 5 years ago, Steve and I purchased 38 acres of land outside of Evanston Wyoming. When the realtor took us to the property, he said the dirt road we were on continues to Fort Bridger. In the 5 years that we have camped on our property, we never took the road to the East, but while we were camping, we decided to find the road to our property.
What we found was such a surprise to us!!
These are old charcoal kilns that were used in the 1860's. These kilns are walking distance from our property, just to the East. They are just over a small hill, so they can't be seen from our property. I can't believe we had no idea they were there.
Right next to the road, a small distance from the kilns is a ghost town!! The town of Piedmont, Wyoming! Again, we were so surprised that we had never seen this place, it was so close to our property!!
Piedmont was once a stop on the railroad, and in fact, had some significant history right about the same time as the joining of the rails at Promontory point in Utah.
The railroad had just finished, and the big wigs of the railroad were taking a train to Promontory Point for the joining of the rails. But railroad workers had not been paid for their work. They were concerned that they would never be paid if they didn't make a stand now.
So the train was stopped in Piedmont, and the railroad owners were held there for a couple of days, until they paid the railroad workers. Once paid, they were allowed to go on their way. The dirt road that we were driving on, was actually where the railroad used to be, but has since been moved.
There are still about 20 cabins there today, and people are allowed, with permission, to walk through this ghost town. It's really amazing to see! And, again, such a surprise that we have been so close all these years!! It was so fun to find out the history of the area. This land is also where the Mormon Pioneers walked when they were travelling to the Salt Lake Valley. There is definitely an amazing feeling in this part of Wyoming. And, although I'm surprised to find a ghost town so close to our property, I have always loved it there because of the feelings I have when I'm there. It's an amazing place.
Camping there at Fort Bridger was really a treat. We were able to walk all around the grounds, and learn all about the history here as well.
