Just as we said we would be taking short trips in our new cozy RV we embarked on a 3 month odyssey across the country to the Pacific Northwest. We instantly feel in love with the maneuverability of the smaller motorhome as we stayed in Corps of Engineers campgrounds in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri.

As it was right on our way, we visited Branson MO. We’ve heard of Branson forever and thought this was a good chance to check it out. The town itself is pretty ugly gaudy out-of-control “entertainment” development but we did thoroughly enjoy the Titanic Museum. The museum contained many artifacts and thoughtful exhibits. We specially liked the assignment of a passenger name to every visitor who then could be followed to the disaster in the end. It was very engaging.

Moving on to Nebraska we stopped in Kearney where we visited Ft. Kearny State Historical Park. The park was established by local citizens to preserve one of the most important resupply stops along the emigrant trails of the mid 19th century. It was abandoned in 1871 after the railroad made it no longer necessary.

Next along our route we visited Chimney Rock. Lakota Sioux had a name for this place which basically meant elk penis while emigrants called it chimney rock. One can clearly see it could be seen for many miles and guide travelers along their way.

From Nebraska we headed into Wyoming where we visited Ft. Laramie. Ft Laramie National Historic Site was established in 1938 to preserve and interpret one of the most important sites of the western plains. Ft Laramie was first settled as an outpost for the fur trade between 1815 and 1820 by Jacque La Ramee who disappeared while hunting alone. The subsequent forts and city are named for him. The fur trade fort was bought by the US Army in 1849 to protect emigrants and gold seekers along the Oregon, California and Mormon trails. The fort was decommissioned in 1890.

After Ft Laramie we stopped in the northeast WY town of Buffalo. For fans of the “Longmire” series on Netflix. Buffalo claims to be the model for the fictional town of Durant Wyoming where the show is based. The author of the Longmire books visits often and Longmire Days is a popular festival. We even picked up a Red Pony T-shirt. Buffalo is also just a nice friendly western town.

We love the West. We’re on our way.