In 1869, my great-grandfather crossed that trail. There was little to no drama in the entire crossing, other than it took a couple of months to do. A couple miles east of Casper, WY (Fort Caspar was abandoned in 1867, so there wasn't much of anything there at that time), there was a rock outcropping where he carved his name and the year. Once he arrived in Oregon, he found himself an unremarkable job, got married a few years later, and had a family. If you've gotten this far reading this, here's the crazy part: he left when he was 13 (with his parents permission), and had his 14th birthday on the way out there. And he did the entire trip -all by himself-. The Federal person in charge of the history of the trail tells me that as far as they know, he is the youngest solo traveler of the trail. By the way, after he retired, he moved in with one of his daughters, who by the most amazing coincidence lived with her family (including my dad), in a farmhouse less than a mile from where he carved his name decades before! We have a document he wrote of his transit while living in that house. He died in 1938.
I am an Oregonian & there is a park & museum with the wagon ruts & a huge replica of a covered wagon in north eastern Oregon. It's totally worth the visit!😊
In Casper, Wyoming you can visit the National Historic Trails Center and see where to find the trails. Register Cliffs is an amazing site to visit also as many carved their names into the cliffs as they made stops on their way through. Wyoming holds a TON of history and we value it deeply!
Can you imagine the tedium of traveling that bumpy, rutted trail for hours on end? No sunglasses, air conditioner or iced drinks! 150 years can sound like a long time ago to us but if we think about it generationally it’s just 3-4 generations. My husband’s grandmother traveled west by wagon train and buried her husband and a child alongside the trail. There must be some amazing stories of resilience, ingenuity and endurance about those people who traveled the trail! Chris, as usual, amazing and beautiful vlog! Thank you!
My grandmother was born in 1906 passed away in 2010. I still have her diary from when she traveled from Center Texas up to Amarillo in a wagon to visit family. There was no such thing as boredom back then. They enjoyed each day and each breath they took. When my grandkids used to say they were bored I told them only boring people get bored. Use their imagination and don't depend on technology. LOL
Well...in reality, that is still a struggle because your tax dollars are supposed to fix those pot holes but the corrupt politicians steal the money instead. A different time with different struggles. it will never end. It is all relative. And yes, i do get your point but there is nothing we can do about the past.
My grandmother made the trip along this trail from Nebraska to Washington in the late 1880s, walking most of the way and sleeping under the wagon her family brought with all their worldly possessions piled in. She was only about 6 or 7 years old at the time. Her father ended up on a homestead wheat ranch in the Big Bend of the Columbia, near Waterville. My cousins still live there, though they have increased the size of the wheat ranch to many thousands of acres over the last century or so. Grandma Iris died in the late 1970s, near 90, having outlived two husbands and raised 3 sons and a daughter. She led a very interesting life.
Your grandmother's father must have been bad at math because he could take his whole family by train, got there in a week, and still saved money rather than provisions, draft animals, equipment not to mention the risk of traveling overland.
Of the many thousands who made the journey roughly half of them never made it to their destination. There was a huge problem with drinking water and many died on the trail from cholera. They were consumed with gold fever. one of the big disasters was the death of the Donner party.
My great-great-grandparents traveled that route in 1845, on the way to California. Eliza's Diary still exists at the Bancroft Museum at UCB. She left England via Liverpool, after arriving there on the underground railroad in the Manchester area of England.
How can anyone NOT be interested in our history? Especially when it is presented so well by you. That's the main reason I was attracted to your channel (among others).
@@robotbjorn4952 I am a black smith. And I live in oregon. Right off of the trail where my family has stay since we traveled the trail. I know this as fact because I have yhe few nails still left from around our homestead. The iron nails then are not like the zinc, galvanized nails of today. I can tell you know more then most on the matter of nails from the 1840s. I'll pass all your great info on to the family they will get a laugh out of this
I've been interested in the Oregon Trail since I was a little girl and read the book "The Tree Wagon", which was a children's fictional book about one family's journey on the Oregon Trail. Thanks for this, Chris. I love seeing relics of history.
Both sides of my family were pioneers of the wagon trails. My dad's family came out west with the Bridger Company and settled the Bear Lake /Paris Idaho region. My mother's side settled the Salt Lake Region. They were tough engineering people. Much of the trail scars are visible along the freeway heading out to the Columbia River. I grew up in Washington and made countless trips back and forth to Yellowstone and Salt Lake. Looking for the ruts were my favorite passtime on those trips❤
Two things that may interest you. The Indians made a Travoi that they dragged behind their horse to move their belongings that made tracks similar to the wagon ruts. There are also markers where Indians set up their teepees by circular stones on the ground that I think they used to hold the bottom down. These are all in the area you are/ were in. Thanks for your content. Your channel is one of the few I never tire of.
Wouldn't horses only be reintroduced to America after Columbus? Would the loads be heavy enough to score the ground so deeply? Would everyone have a standardised width of track that it would gouge the ground a consistent width? That being said, it would stand to reason that the trail was patched together using pathways that were probably first made by the Indians. Where I am, we have a main road that started life as an Amerindian trail connecting villages along the way. After all, people are people.
2 things I love to think about 1, imagine being the first group out there with no defined trail And 2, I love seeing this type of recent history...we went from horse and wagon to now what we have in such a short time compared to the advances before. Very humbling
That is fascinating. Thanks for sharing. My thoughts watching were, "man have we become soft! I complain so much about potholes ha!" I'm from Ohio and there's a park preserving the glacial grooves and it's always been so interesting to me. Great channel!
Bought a ticket to Wyoming Tossed another life away Left, and a lotta things I didn't get to say I know your daddy didn't like me He said I wasn't up to any good So I high-tailed it to Wyoming 'cause I could 'Cause out here the air is very clear And the mornin' dew will see you through the day A sky so wide you can leave your past behind And lose yourself, and even change your name Bought another ticket to Wyoming That's sorta what this letter's all about Bought it hopin' you'd consider movin' out And so, I'll meet you at the station When your train rolls into town Just make sure that you're a-wearing Your wedding gown - The Ocean Blue
Me too! Never been 'out West', but I've had the desire to see things like these wagon trails, the OK Corral, Billy the Kids grave site and of course, the Grand Canyon.
@@LizzzzzLemon If I ever get to England, i would go see Cobstone Mill just outside the Village of Turville. It is the windmill home of the Potts family in the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie!
Thank you for traveling and showing this part of American history. I am now 78 years old and when I was 8 my family lived in Oregon for a while. The lady we rented from while there told my parents of traveling the Oregon Trail when she was a child. That was not very impressive to me at the time but when I became an adult and learned more about the crossing of America this lady stands out in my memory. No, we didn't travel the Oregon trail in a wagon! LOL We went in Dad's old late 1940's Pontiac.
I couldn't imagine running a covered wagon with my whole life loaded up and traversing over that terrain, that had to have been difficult. Those folks had alot of repairs along the way without a doubt. Awesome video, thanks for sharing this with us! 🇺🇸👍✌️
Over the years, both the Oregon Trail and the Ancient Roman Roads in Italy (US Navy visit) were my foot paths. Both have those telltale grooves cut into them from the heavy traffic. There are scattered signs pf human activity all over the Earth. Most often we walk by and not see those signs. This is why it so good people them out.
Thank you for posting these video's, I find it so interesting of how things were back then and with there being evidence of it still today.🙂 I love hearing about the past, the way it was way back then. Those people that lived back then were more tougher, more hard working, appreciated everything they had and got, and they helped out their neighbors or just anyone they came upon that needed help without expecting something back in return. If people nowadays had those same values, our world would be a much better place today.💜👍🙂
Always fascinating especially when Chris visits places I have seen in Ken Burns's "Donner Party" as these ruts are featured in its opening minutes. Chris manages to impart a great deal of information without somehow being overbearing, a rare skill.
Thank you for your videos and for taking us along on all your journeys I watch all your videos you go on both channels places I can only dream of and so much information about things I had no clue on and also most of the places you go I wouldn't be able to go due to health reasons my legs arent stable enough to go to the places you go so thank you so much for taking us along be safe and God bless
Love YT when I find a lot of available videos on a topic that really interests me. American settler history might be more recent but still great to see the evidences still out there. Also some great channels showing Indigenous American history that goes way further back. Thanks for putting this up, looking forward to see your back catalog.
Trying to imagine what these families went through trying to cross parts of the United States is incredible. Seeing the tracks still left really brings you back to that time. Nice job man!
@@rougeHuntressMost the natives died of smallpox and other old-world diseases. Many died of starvation after being pushed onto reservations with no game or fertile land. Others were massacred. It generally wasn’t the settlers that provoked the Indians but instead the US Army. Of course, settler communities fought Indians who wanted the white man off their land, but it wasn’t these settlers who “started the fight” so to speak.
Spent a week on a farm in Nebraska back in 1976. The property had wheel ruts from the Oregon Trail going through a meadow…. History is all around us if we just keep our eyes open and talk to and listen to the stories of our elders. Thanks for posting!
That's fantastic, really interesting, why would anyone doubt the authenticity of those ruts or wear Mark's from wagons going through, that's evidence, hardship that people went through to search for better life for their family, its magical stuff that, But sadly certainly, never will get to visit myself, thank you for sharing 👍🙂
The definition of a pioneer is some one going where no person stood Before. Their was native people in that area , Who were displaced by Emigrants from Europe and world wide. That being said very interesting to see the effects of iron on stone
There are wagon ruts at Red Rock Canyon in Oklahoma. They were made mostly during the Chisholm Trail cattle drives from Texas to Kansas as they went to the canyon looking for water. Thank you, I love history
Its really fascinating to see the tracks from the Wagons still there...The very people who sacrificed their lives for a better life they hoped out West...Good Video Mobile Instinct, keep up the good work. I enjoy your Videos all the time as well as Lamont at Large...
The most impressive video of the real frontier trails Ive ever watched. I bet there is a feeling of euphoria to be standing on those trails and just imagine it all happening .
I tend to disagree. People are tough as they need to be. Before ww2 people were just living life doing normal jobs. When they had to go to war they met the challenge and many were brave heros
You are very wrong. See how many young women today would go to work in factories riveting Airplanes and wielding plates on Battleships! Or giving up the finer things in life. A very few, but not many.
My Noland, Dodson, Dawson, Merrill families were right there in 1846, 1847, 1852, 53, and 1890. The sacrifice and hardship, including starvation and death were extremely common.often Families had up to three wagons and many livestock. You needed that many to carry food for 7 months on the trail. The worst topography was yet to come . Laurel Hill in Mt Hood was a terrifying part of the " trail" Three hundred plus feet of nearly vertical exposure where wagons were lowered with ropes! Thank you for showing this!!
oh wow i had no idea that this existed. my great (idk how many greats) grandma on my moms side died on the Oregon trail and family legend says she is buried somewhere along the trail but no idea where. this really puts a context on the story i remember. thank you so much krys. if my mom was alive today shed be happy. hugs love and bee safe :D
My son does Civil War re-enacting, and some of the guys, from his Maine Cavalry unit, joined up with the 11th Ohio Cavalry at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. They made the long trip, over 130 miles, to Fort Casper, Wyoming on horseback, by following parts of the Oregon Trail! History is so important..keep up your great videos!
@@texasviking1 outskirts to where I work on a farm tho. I'm talking more than the work. I'm talking the disease and what not to. Back then living was way more dangerous
I think our generation has lately a growing interest in the 1800’s because astrologically speaking we are the opposite of the guys in the 1800’s, which were known as generation T, like millennials are today, in terms of astrology millennials are the generation of Scorpio, whereas people in the 1800’s were the generation of Taurus, and these two are opposites, guys in the 1800’s were super physical and tough people who were experts of the physical world, building trails and stuff, whereas us the Scorpio generation are deep, expert researchers who dig on the unseen and obviously we’re intrigued about the 1800’s people probably like they were & will always be with us Btw the way you were filming at that location & time made me feel like we were in 1866 right there 😍😍
a very interesting channel you have... showing American history in a way never seen before slightly depressing at times, seeing all the deterioration... wondering if this country will ever rebuild itself
The Santa Fe trail ruts can still be seen also. They run from Dodge City Kansas to Santa Fe New Mexico. You can look that up and visit the trail in many places. Ft. Union, in Colorado, is where the north and south branches of the trail converge. I was told by the ranger at Ft. Union that during certain seasons, 100 wagons/day would arrive. That's one every 15 minutes.
@@thomasw.eggers4303 Yessir, and the rest of my ancestors from Europe got to Mexico a hundred years before 1620. The 13 colonies later hoarded silver coins from the mines of Zacatecas, etc which another of my ancestors helped found in the 1530’s.
Now we gotta go see this place.🥰. Think of how many wagon wheels broke and repairs had to be made. I’ve seen the ruts in Eastern Nebraska~ in the Pan handle area. They are well preserved and amazing to see. This is in the dirt... believe me they are very deep and a tribute to the people who made the journey.
Thank you for finding these places and bringing them to me. It's nice to see someone that is interested in history and wanting to explore it as did our ancestors.
There’s very well preserved wagon ruts near independence rock in Wyoming. I was amazed they lasted so long. It tells you just how many went through there because they’re deep and still here.
@@thomasw.eggers4303 makes sense. It’s very beautiful and fairly close to devil’s gate. I didn’t have time to go exploring DG because it was getting late in the day, but I’d love to go someday and do the whole Oregon Trail, California and Oregon split offs.
The remains of trails just like these run between Vegas and Southern California. We did an offroad trip on these trails and like those pictured were extremely deep in places. These trails ran from one spring to another for obvious reasons. We'd do the same thing as the settlers did and camped at the springs. It was an amazing trip and each spring had signs the indians used them as well. There were small conical bowls worn into the rocks where the indians ground corn. It was really cool!!! You could walk around and if you paid attention the indian signs were everywhere.
In 1869, my great-grandfather crossed that trail. There was little to no drama in the entire crossing, other than it took a couple of months to do. A couple miles east of Casper, WY (Fort Caspar was abandoned in 1867, so there wasn't much of anything there at that time), there was a rock outcropping where he carved his name and the year. Once he arrived in Oregon, he found himself an unremarkable job, got married a few years later, and had a family. If you've gotten this far reading this, here's the crazy part: he left when he was 13 (with his parents permission), and had his 14th birthday on the way out there. And he did the entire trip -all by himself-. The Federal person in charge of the history of the trail tells me that as far as they know, he is the youngest solo traveler of the trail. By the way, after he retired, he moved in with one of his daughters, who by the most amazing coincidence lived with her family (including my dad), in a farmhouse less than a mile from where he carved his name decades before! We have a document he wrote of his transit while living in that house. He died in 1938.
Amazing history!!
Wow!
i would love to watch a video of that
Very interesting! Is the carving still there? Have you found it?
@@Moraren Yes, there are 4 generations of names there now. I have the precise latitude and longitude saved on my Google maps.
Didn’t even know there was a National Park with evidence of the trail. Unbelievable. Thank-you for your videos.
I am an Oregonian & there is a park & museum with the wagon ruts & a huge replica of a covered wagon in north eastern Oregon. It's totally worth the visit!😊
I live in Idaho, and the trail is very visible in many places here and not through rock, it's just visible in the dirt.
Fort Laramie Wyoming has a lot of interesting Oregon Trail related things including Ruts cut in the rock!
First I've heard of this also. Impressive. Thanks Chris.
In Casper, Wyoming you can visit the National Historic Trails Center and see where to find the trails. Register Cliffs is an amazing site to visit also as many carved their names into the cliffs as they made stops on their way through. Wyoming holds a TON of history and we value it deeply!
Just think of how many unmarked Graves there probably is around there!
Given the danger and possibility of illness, I bet there are quite a few.
I was thinking the same thing!
Yep theres probably thousands.
If I'm not mistaken, they threw the body on the roads themselves. Can't remember where I heard it
Yes the story tell that back in those days we're people killing the pioneers from coming to the west, and not necessarily Indians.
Can you imagine the tedium of traveling that bumpy, rutted trail for hours on end? No sunglasses, air conditioner or iced drinks!
150 years can sound like a long time ago to us but if we think about it generationally it’s just 3-4 generations. My husband’s grandmother traveled west by wagon train and buried her husband and a child alongside the trail. There must be some amazing stories of resilience, ingenuity and endurance about those people who traveled the trail!
Chris, as usual, amazing and beautiful vlog! Thank you!
The boredom of just green fields too drove people mad.
How do you calculate generations in the US. Here is 21 years now. 100 years ago, a generation was 17 years.
@@bowlchamps37 70-80 years
@@bowlchamps37 150 years ago was year 1871.
My grandmother was born in 1906 passed away in 2010. I still have her diary from when she traveled from Center Texas up to Amarillo in a wagon to visit family. There was no such thing as boredom back then. They enjoyed each day and each breath they took. When my grandkids used to say they were bored I told them only boring people get bored. Use their imagination and don't depend on technology. LOL
I complain about potholes whenever I drive. The things we take for granted...
Well...in reality, that is still a struggle because your tax dollars are supposed to fix those pot holes but the corrupt politicians steal the money instead. A different time with different struggles. it will never end. It is all relative. And yes, i do get your point but there is nothing we can do about the past.
imagine complaining about something you can literally avoid. stupid 4 wheeler
Aye, these trails rival some of the roads here in Ohio.
I mean, we can still fix the roads, peeps.
My grandmother made the trip along this trail from Nebraska to Washington in the late 1880s, walking most of the way and sleeping under the wagon her family brought with all their worldly possessions piled in. She was only about 6 or 7 years old at the time. Her father ended up on a homestead wheat ranch in the Big Bend of the Columbia, near Waterville. My cousins still live there, though they have increased the size of the wheat ranch to many thousands of acres over the last century or so.
Grandma Iris died in the late 1970s, near 90, having outlived two husbands and raised 3 sons and a daughter. She led a very interesting life.
Your grandmother's father must have been bad at math because he could take his whole family by train, got there in a week, and still saved money rather than provisions, draft animals, equipment not to mention the risk of traveling overland.
How cool
@@tballstaedt7807My first thought too. The trans-continental railroad opened in 1869 so something is off here.
It really is incredible to think about people traveling on this type of terrain. So awesome that it is still around to see.
@Chewy Ltd A lot rougher than my dad complaining about the potholes in Oklahoma back in the 1970s!
@@RhettyforHistory
😆😅😂
Love you Rhetty! Youre a star!
Now people today cant even walk 30 feet to return a shopping cart to the cart return.
Rhetty for History I just commented that must have been very painful for the animals.
I love seeing historical stuff like this. People were certainly a lot tougher then.
Of the many thousands who made the journey roughly half of them never made it to their destination. There was a huge problem with drinking water and many died on the trail from cholera. They were consumed with gold fever. one of the big disasters was the death of the Donner party.
That one dude that decided to make a wider wheel base *...Gary Fisher!*
No tv then
@Iron *Fe* Amen
@Iron *Fe* Pisses me off.
I just didn't wanna text that together with the first one.
My great-great-grandparents traveled that route in 1845, on the way to California. Eliza's Diary still exists at the Bancroft Museum at UCB. She left England via Liverpool, after arriving there on the underground railroad in the Manchester area of England.
Neat video. Yes, I am a history buff and I appreciate your sensitivity to the history of the places you visit.
How can anyone NOT be interested in our history? Especially when it is presented so well by you. That's the main reason I was attracted to your channel (among others).
Because you’re on stolen native land and all that type stuff
So much history in just two tracks unbelievable.
Yeah but those two tracks go on for hundreds of miles...
@@LockDownOnSparta it doesn't matter how long or short . The history is deep.
@@jeffreybamford7365Yes , deep B.S. history that is
That’s right so much history in two track. You said well
Not to mention some of them pioneers were so poor, that they burned their house down before leaving to pack away the nails to take with them
Did they ? bloody hell
Wouldn't that ruin the iron?
Robot Bjorn You know blacksmiths hammered on them when they were red hot right? I hope you were kidding.
@@xploration1437 Toss some nails into your next campfire. They'll be brittle and rusty within a week.
@@robotbjorn4952 I am a black smith. And I live in oregon. Right off of the trail where my family has stay since we traveled the trail. I know this as fact because I have yhe few nails still left from around our homestead. The iron nails then are not like the zinc, galvanized nails of today. I can tell you know more then most on the matter of nails from the 1840s. I'll pass all your great info on to the family they will get a laugh out of this
I've been interested in the Oregon Trail since I was a little girl and read the book "The Tree Wagon", which was a children's fictional book about one family's journey on the Oregon Trail. Thanks for this, Chris. I love seeing relics of history.
Absolutely amazing. Love these historical finds. Imagine all that walked the trail beside their wagons.
Both sides of my family were pioneers of the wagon trails. My dad's family came out west with the Bridger Company and settled the Bear Lake /Paris Idaho region. My mother's side settled the Salt Lake Region. They were tough engineering people. Much of the trail scars are visible along the freeway heading out to the Columbia River. I grew up in Washington and made countless trips back and forth to Yellowstone and Salt Lake. Looking for the ruts were my favorite passtime on those trips❤
My great grandfather Fred made that journey, some of those tracks are his. Thanks for showing this!
Two things that may interest you. The Indians made a Travoi that they dragged behind their horse to move their belongings that made tracks similar to the wagon ruts. There are also markers where Indians set up their teepees by circular stones on the ground that I think they used to hold the bottom down. These are all in the area you are/ were in. Thanks for your content. Your channel is one of the few I never tire of.
@jorisky; Makes sense! Winner’s write the history, so no wonder they claimed making the trail. Awesome comment!
Wouldn't horses only be reintroduced to America after Columbus? Would the loads be heavy enough to score the ground so deeply? Would everyone have a standardised width of track that it would gouge the ground a consistent width? That being said, it would stand to reason that the trail was patched together using pathways that were probably first made by the Indians. Where I am, we have a main road that started life as an Amerindian trail connecting villages along the way. After all, people are people.
@@Mady-lo6qb no. yes. yes. no
@@OttoChenault wow. what an offensive and ignorant comment.
@@jokingrudolf76 where are the horse tracks?
2 things I love to think about
1, imagine being the first group out there with no defined trail
And 2, I love seeing this type of recent history...we went from horse and wagon to now what we have in such a short time compared to the advances before. Very humbling
@@shellm-cn1guimagine how many natives killed them and their children
That is fascinating. Thanks for sharing. My thoughts watching were, "man have we become soft! I complain so much about potholes ha!" I'm from Ohio and there's a park preserving the glacial grooves and it's always been so interesting to me. Great channel!
Jill Tripp Hi, please tell me where the park is, thanks
I live in Ohio, where is that park? :)
Bought a ticket to Wyoming
Tossed another life away
Left, and a lotta things I didn't get to say
I know your daddy didn't like me
He said I wasn't up to any good
So I high-tailed it to Wyoming 'cause I could
'Cause out here the air is very clear
And the mornin' dew will see you through the day
A sky so wide you can leave your past behind
And lose yourself, and even change your name
Bought another ticket to Wyoming
That's sorta what this letter's all about
Bought it hopin' you'd consider movin' out
And so, I'll meet you at the station
When your train rolls into town
Just make sure that you're a-wearing
Your wedding gown
- The Ocean Blue
Amazing
These people had true grit, they were absolutely amazing. I venture to say that their children weren’t constantly saying “Are We There Yet”.
I have always been fascinated by this. I wondered how long folks were finding items that were discarded on the trail.
Thank you for this video.
Can you imagine being the 1st few covered wagons going over that terrain😳
Yes. It would have been a smooth ride! 😂😂
Probably exactly why the natives didn’t even bother inventing the wheel
@@GrandMasterPeep lots of native lived in texas and it’s mostly flat
I’d absolutely LOVE to just go touch those tracks and walk some of them. So much history !
Near Ft.Laramie Wy.
Amazing, amazing and amazing. Cannot even begin to imagine a journey of such magnitude. I'm not from the USA, but this history is truly
fascinating .
Yep, 2170 miles across six states. Amazing acheivement given the distance. Thanks for sharing.
I always loved history so much, especially stuff to do with the "wild west" makes me feel so nostalgic but I wasn't even there. Its hard to describe
I feel you exactly!
Me too! Never been 'out West', but I've had the desire to see things like these wagon trails, the OK Corral, Billy the Kids grave site and of course, the Grand Canyon.
Maybe you were there - in another life. I have the same feelings about England, and also of a few other places. 🤷♀️
@@LizzzzzLemon If I ever get to England, i would go see Cobstone Mill just outside the Village of Turville. It is the windmill home of the Potts family in the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie!
The "wild west" is still out there, but instead of self-sufficient hard scrabble people, it's full of beggars and panhandlers.
Thank you for traveling and showing this part of American history. I am now 78 years old and when I was 8 my family lived in Oregon for a while. The lady we rented from while there told my parents of traveling the Oregon Trail when she was a child. That was not very impressive to me at the time but when I became an adult and learned more about the crossing of America this lady stands out in my memory. No, we didn't travel the Oregon trail in a wagon! LOL We went in Dad's old late 1940's Pontiac.
The Oregon trail passes through my front yard
How can you tell
@@cody_janssen831 because I live on the old Oregon trail in Oregon.
@@cody_janssen831 are you daft son?
That's cool, are there wagon track marks you can still see ?
@@davyboy9397 yes
There are "Oregon Trail" ruts very near to where I live in Idaho. I go and walk along them every year.
Thank you for traveling around our country and bringing us this amazing history.
I miss playing Oregon Trail in 1993 at school :(
Same 🙃
You and SO many other bored kids in the 90’s. You exhausted your Ox
The terrible deaths in that game like dysentery!
Gosh it was a fun game though.
Was waiting for this comment! Same!!!
I died of dysentery in the first five minutes.
I love America's history, especially the pioneer era. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this. Ive always loved old stories. Wanted to see the wagon wheel tracks left behind.
I read a book once when I was young,following a family on the trail..this took me right back to then.Amazing piece of history!
I couldn't imagine running a covered wagon with my whole life loaded up and traversing over that terrain, that had to have been difficult. Those folks had alot of repairs along the way without a doubt.
Awesome video, thanks for sharing this with us! 🇺🇸👍✌️
Over the years, both the Oregon Trail and the Ancient Roman Roads in Italy (US Navy visit) were my foot paths. Both have those telltale grooves cut into them from the heavy traffic. There are scattered signs pf human activity all over the Earth. Most often we walk by and not see those signs. This is why it so good people them out.
A remarkable event that is preserved for all to see. The things our ancestors did was amazing. Thanks for sharing.
There are deep wagon wheel tracks just like this in the old city of Pinal, AZ, where they ran ore from the Silver King mine out in the desert.
They probably stopped taking those spots when they got to deep. There other clear spots that they probably used around there.
@@mcdtropicalfishandaquarium8993 Some of ruts are deep they had to stop using at some point
I've been to those. Very interesting! There are also tracks in Kingman, AZ. I've stopped a couple times when I drive to Vegas.
@@ShannonLH1108 Kingman...I didn't know about those. I will have to investigate!
Thank you for posting these video's, I find it so interesting of how things were back then and with there being evidence of it still today.🙂 I love hearing about the past, the way it was way back then. Those people that lived back then were more tougher, more hard working, appreciated everything they had and got, and they helped out their neighbors or just anyone they came upon that needed help without expecting something back in return. If people nowadays had those same values, our world would be a much better place today.💜👍🙂
The ledges in the deep cuts might be due to wheel hubs scraping against the walls.
Always fascinating especially when Chris visits places I have seen in Ken Burns's "Donner Party" as these ruts are featured in its opening minutes. Chris manages to impart a great deal of information without somehow being overbearing, a rare skill.
The number of wagons it took to make those massive ruts is astounding thank you
Thank you for your videos and for taking us along on all your journeys I watch all your videos you go on both channels places I can only dream of and so much information about things I had no clue on and also most of the places you go I wouldn't be able to go due to health reasons my legs arent stable enough to go to the places you go so thank you so much for taking us along be safe and God bless
Absolutely amazing! Imagine how tough people had it back then. Thank you for showing and explaining this to us. I love the old history.
Thank you. Just when I thought I lost all interest in life this sparked my interest.
Love YT when I find a lot of available videos on a topic that really interests me. American settler history might be more recent but still great to see the evidences still out there. Also some great channels showing Indigenous American history that goes way further back. Thanks for putting this up, looking forward to see your back catalog.
Imagine how scary and depressing it would be to lose the trail and then have to find your way back to it
They could just use gps
I’m sure they had ways of navigating like he said there ain’t no specific trail. What they did was follow in a general direction.
Very interesting, who would think that 150 year old wheel tracks would be so well preserved.
I didn't even know that the trail still existed or that we still knew where it was but just amazing and beautiful
I have always wanted to see these in person. Thank you for sharing.
Trying to imagine what these families went through trying to cross parts of the United States is incredible. Seeing the tracks still left really brings you back to that time. Nice job man!
Most the European invaders killed of a lot of animals along with 100 million of us Natives!
@@rougeHuntressMost the natives died of smallpox and other old-world diseases. Many died of starvation after being pushed onto reservations with no game or fertile land. Others were massacred. It generally wasn’t the settlers that provoked the Indians but instead the US Army. Of course, settler communities fought Indians who wanted the white man off their land, but it wasn’t these settlers who “started the fight” so to speak.
@@baileyharrison1030 stop the 🧢
Amazing! The courage and determination of our ancestors is something we can all be proud of.
You can. As a native amercian IM NOT.! These invaders your ancestors stole our land. ! Dont let me explain the full history to you!
At what point did some of those get so deep that they were striking the undercarriage of the wagon?
I’m guessing the horses or oxen or whatever helped wear down the center
Wow what amazing history and to think you're walking in the trails of history.
I love history! Very interesting, thanks for sharing! I moved to Casper, Wyoming a couple of years ago, great town/city. (Originally from Georgia)
MY FAVORITE type of history...I ENVY you! “Thanks for showing us”..most don’t care about our past..
I feel sorry for the horses and mules, they certainly suffered
Spent a week on a farm in Nebraska back in 1976. The property had wheel ruts from the Oregon Trail going through a meadow…. History is all around us if we just keep our eyes open and talk to and listen to the stories of our elders. Thanks for posting!
I am honestly impressed with this guys dedication. Very admirable
Amazing and definitely had to appreciate the pioneers. Horses and oxen pulling those wagons over that formidable terrain.
Dude that is sooo fascinating..! I can barely imagine a trek like that. Yikes! Thanks so much for sharing.
Interstate 80 through Nebraska was built on the Oregon trail. in alot of places the oregon trail was used as a road bed for various hiways.
That's fantastic, really interesting, why would anyone doubt the authenticity of those ruts or wear Mark's from wagons going through, that's evidence, hardship that people went through to search for better life for their family,
its magical stuff that,
But sadly certainly, never will get to visit myself, thank you for sharing 👍🙂
How cool is this! I've never gotten to see anything like this. Thank you for taking me to see this Mobile Instinct! Sharing
The first computer game I ever played.
You have died of a broken arm!😂😂
😂
Lol same
The definition of a pioneer is some one going where no person stood Before.
Their was native people in that area , Who were displaced by Emigrants from Europe and world wide.
That being said very interesting to see the effects of iron on stone
I love this video I love history thank you !!
There are wagon ruts at Red Rock Canyon in Oklahoma. They were made mostly during the Chisholm Trail cattle drives from Texas to Kansas as they went to the canyon looking for water. Thank you, I love history
And we think we have it bad. LOL Great video, thank you.
Its really fascinating to see the tracks from the Wagons still there...The very people who sacrificed their lives for a better life they hoped out West...Good Video Mobile Instinct, keep up the good work. I enjoy your Videos all the time as well as Lamont at Large...
Wow this is great!
The most impressive video of the real frontier trails Ive ever watched. I bet there is a feeling of euphoria to be standing on those trails and just imagine it all happening .
Very tough Americans back then, unlike today.
I tend to disagree. People are tough as they need to be. Before ww2 people were just living life doing normal jobs. When they had to go to war they met the challenge and many were brave heros
You are very wrong. See how many young women today would go to work in factories riveting Airplanes and wielding plates on Battleships! Or giving up the finer things in life. A very few, but not many.
@@ANDYYANKEE if they got to look hot on Instagram working there they would
Ahhhhahahahhaha
Speak for yourself.
My Noland, Dodson, Dawson, Merrill families were right there in 1846, 1847, 1852, 53, and 1890. The sacrifice and hardship, including starvation and death were extremely common.often Families had up to three wagons and many livestock. You needed that many to carry food for 7 months on the trail. The worst topography was yet to come . Laurel Hill in Mt Hood was a terrifying part of the " trail" Three hundred plus feet of nearly vertical exposure where wagons were lowered with ropes! Thank you for showing this!!
Lots of trails like this here in Australia carved out rock from the old logging carriages
Because of people like you whose subjects peak my interest, I have learned to love American history. Thank you.
A friend of mine told me that there are similar tracks in Kansas.
Very interesting. And love the Cubs hat. 👍
I love this kind of stuff. How do you find these places?!!!!
Mostly just reading and researching. I keep lists of interesting places for each state.
It’s just so amazing and how those ruts are still there after all these years.
oh wow i had no idea that this existed. my great (idk how many greats) grandma on my moms side died on the Oregon trail and family legend says she is buried somewhere along the trail but no idea where. this really puts a context on the story i remember. thank you so much krys. if my mom was alive today shed be happy. hugs love and bee safe :D
Was it dysentery?
My son does Civil War re-enacting, and some of the guys, from his Maine Cavalry unit, joined up with the 11th Ohio Cavalry at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. They made the long trip, over 130 miles, to Fort Casper, Wyoming on horseback, by following parts of the Oregon Trail! History is so important..keep up your great videos!
its crazy how thats how people got that far west, in todays age we could never fully understand.
@Gallant Zodiac Determined people.
Yup and now look at how wimpy people are today. Back then people were tough because they had to be. Now college kids need a safe space.
@@texasviking1 i am willing to bet money that you would not be able to just up and live in that day and age. I dam well know I could not.
@@ascarihusky6771 🤣😂 I bet you live in the city don’t you?
@@texasviking1 outskirts to where I work on a farm tho. I'm talking more than the work. I'm talking the disease and what not to. Back then living was way more dangerous
Amazing ! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us non travelers.
I think our generation has lately a growing interest in the 1800’s because astrologically speaking we are the opposite of the guys in the 1800’s, which were known as generation T, like millennials are today, in terms of astrology millennials are the generation of Scorpio, whereas people in the 1800’s were the generation of Taurus, and these two are opposites, guys in the 1800’s were super physical and tough people who were experts of the physical world, building trails and stuff, whereas us the Scorpio generation are deep, expert researchers who dig on the unseen and obviously we’re intrigued about the 1800’s people probably like they were & will always be with us
Btw the way you were filming at that location & time made me feel like we were in 1866 right there 😍😍
Oh wow. This is amazing. I had no idea the trail was still so well defined. I would love to see it someday.
a very interesting channel you have... showing American history in a way never seen before
slightly depressing at times, seeing all the deterioration... wondering if this country will ever rebuild itself
Amazingly, after all these years there is still so clear of a trail and even the wagon tracks are clear. Thanks for sharing.
The Santa Fe trail ruts can still be seen also. They run from Dodge City Kansas to Santa Fe New Mexico. You can look that up and visit the trail in many places. Ft. Union, in Colorado, is where the north and south branches of the trail converge. I was told by the ranger at Ft. Union that during certain seasons, 100 wagons/day would arrive. That's one every 15 minutes.
My ancestor Juan de Oñate was born in modern Zacatecas, Mexico, and he founded Santa Fe in 1598! Even before the pilgrims set foot on Provincetown
@@Duquedecastro St Augustine, FL, is the oldest town in the US, followed by Santa Fe. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, MA, in 1620.
@@thomasw.eggers4303 Yessir, and the rest of my ancestors from Europe got to Mexico a hundred years before 1620. The 13 colonies later hoarded silver coins from the mines of Zacatecas, etc which another of my ancestors helped found in the 1530’s.
Wow! Its unbealievable that after two century's, there's still tracks visible! Great history lesson! Thank you!👌😎👍
it is a story of suffering and endeavour but also of invasion and violence. I am torn between these feelings
Now we gotta go see this place.🥰. Think of how many wagon wheels broke and repairs had to be made. I’ve seen the ruts in Eastern Nebraska~
in the Pan handle area. They are well preserved and amazing to see. This is in the dirt... believe me they are very deep and a tribute to the people who made the journey.
DYSENTERY
You beat me to it!
Thank you for finding these places and bringing them to me. It's nice to see someone that is interested in history and wanting to explore it as did our ancestors.
There’s very well preserved wagon ruts near independence rock in Wyoming. I was amazed they lasted so long. It tells you just how many went through there because they’re deep and still here.
It's called Independence Rock (between Laramie and Casper) because you wanted to reach it by July 4 to be on schedule.
@@thomasw.eggers4303 makes sense. It’s very beautiful and fairly close to devil’s gate. I didn’t have time to go exploring DG because it was getting late in the day, but I’d love to go someday and do the whole Oregon Trail, California and Oregon split offs.
Love exploring the ruts here in CO along the Santa Fe and Smoky Hill trails. Enjoy! xx
I am a history buff, and this stuff is memorizing to me. Great channel guy! Signed, Greg the Egg.
The remains of trails just like these run between Vegas and Southern California.
We did an offroad trip on these trails and like those pictured were extremely deep in places.
These trails ran from one spring to another for obvious reasons. We'd do the same thing as the settlers did and camped at the springs. It was an amazing trip and each spring had signs the indians used them as well. There were small conical bowls worn into the rocks where the indians ground corn.
It was really cool!!! You could walk around and if you paid attention the indian signs were everywhere.