Pilgrimage to Casper (Casper, Wyoming 7.31.26)

 The main purpose of our drive to Casper, Wyoming, on July 31, 2026, was to visit the LDS Casper Temple.  However, there were lots of other fun things to do on the way.

Our first stop was Martin's Cove, where LDS handcart pioneers sheltered in 1856 when they were caught in blizzards while crossing the plains.

The landscape was beautiful in the summer, but it must have seemed terrifying covered in snow by a blizzard in the winter. As we drove along the freeway through Wyoming, we noted the various spots where there were gates that could block the roads in bad weather, and steel structures along the side of the road to hold back the snow.

There were many handcarts on the path at the Visitors Center.  Visitors can walk along the trails with one, to see what pulling a handcart feels like.  LDS Young Men and Young Women groups come to do handcart treks for several days.  All of our children took handcart treks when they were teenagers, and David took one, in his seventies, when he was an LDS bishop.

Inside the museum, I surveyed the exhibit showing what LDS pioneers typically took in their handcarts.  The weight was limited by their ability to pull a full cart.

Dave pointed out several ancestors who were part of the rescue company sent from Salt Lake City to find the handcart companies that were stranded on the plains in a blizzard.  My ancestor, John Bennion, was also part of the rescue party.

We looked for our friends, the McCulloughs, who are serving as missionaries at Martin's Cove, but they were assigned, when we visited, to a different area of the park.  The senior missionaries who manned the Visitors Center were all dressed as pioneers.

Casper has wonderful museums.  It is a great place for archeologists to discover dinosaur skeletons, since the area was once part of a shallow inland sea where dinosaurs died along the shore and were buried in protective mud. 

The museum showed not only dinosaur bones, but also bones of prehistoric mammals like mammoths.  As this map shows, mammoths once roamed most of North America.

A second interesting museum was the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  The Center educated us on the various pioneer trails that passed through Casper--the Mormon Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the California Goldrush Trail.

The museum also explained the Native American culture, including its dependence on the buffalo.

I enjoyed talking with a woman who kept alive the traditional pioneer craft of basketmaking.

We also visited Fort Caspar, built to manage the travelers along the trails, including providing stores and protection from Indian attacks.

It was near Ft. Caspar that LDS pioneers, in 1847, built a ferry for wagons to cross the North Platte River.  Brigham Young sent men back to Casper to man the ferry during future years to help Mormon pioneers to cross the North Platte.  The ferry generated income from charges to non-Mormon pioneers.

The Casper Temple was partially shut down because of problems with its air conditioning system.  We couldn't do a complete endowment session, but we did "initiatory ordinances" instead.  As I waited to begin the ordinances, I chatted with a woman criminal defense lawyer from Casper who was as offended by the present federal administration's assault on the U.S. Constitution as I have been.  She was as frustrated as I have been to live in a "red" state where people don't seem as concerned as I am by the assaults on judges and the rule of law.  It was an odd place to talk about divisive topics (very quietly), but heartwarming to find a kindred spirit! 

The symbols used in the Casper Temple include Indian paintbrush flowers and sagebrush.  Geometric patterns were inspired by regional Native American traditions.

The temple was filled with beautiful original paintings and prints, not just depicting Jesus Christ, but also depicting such local pioneer landmarks as Devil's Gate.

We took the backroads home to Salt Lake City, rather than retracing our steps along the freeway.  We passed herds of horses, farms, old trading posts and half-deserted mining towns,.

This sign marked the location of a trading post established in 1835 to trade with the Shoshoni Indians.

This sign marked the location of Atlantic City, a gold mining town that is moldering into the dust.

And there were many miles of austere but beautiful scenery like this.

We rejoined the freeway near Rock Springs for a 75 cent ice cream cone.  It was disheartening to find that Little America had demolished its hotel.  There is still a cafe, store, and gas station, but no possibility of spending a comfortable night far, far from city lights.