Gold Miners and Mountain Men

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  Pinedale, Wyoming, United States
Monday, July 6, 2009

South Pass City is a faithfully restored town that was important in the gold rush of the late 1800s, and a mine entrance is still open to venture into - just a little way. However, the most interesting part of its history for me is that the town was dominated by a no-nonsense woman who tried to create a virtual monopoly in business by getting concession rights from the stagecoach line for all needed services for new emigrants. South Pass City is also the site of the drafting of the successful bill that guaranteed women the right to vote in Wyoming Territory. Esther Hobart Morris, a resident, was the first female justice of the peace in the country. Wyoming calls itself "The Equality State," and while I wonder if that is still true, it does rightly boast a proud history of acknowledging the important role of women in the settlement and development of the West.

Completely funny, but of possibly little historical import, is the outhouse up the hill from the schoolhouse: a two-holer, one normal opening and a smaller, lower seat for the children. I had to laugh at that!

We had lunch in Pinedale, which is a charming western town that hosts a fabulous Museum of the Mountain Man. I thought I would find little of interest here, but the displays and interpretation were first class. This area of Wyoming is being exploited for natural gas, and in the construction of the infrastructure, significant archeological findings are being discovered. So we not only learned about the fur trade (created solely to satisfy the demand for beaver hats, a demand that lasted about 15 years), but we saw evidence of how life was lived 6,000 years ago.

The Green River Rendevous site is an area where trappers and natives did their trading. Its first year, 1837, had one day of trading. Over the next 15 years, it turned into a market and Mardi Gras all in one - quite a wild and extended period of work and play. The bluff over the river was our viewing post, but it was accessible only by a long, narrow, switchback dirt road. Our intrepid driver Eric did not flinch, and we hurled our way upward in the bus. Roller coasters are less frightening - you know you are really safe. This was on the verge of terrifying as the bus seemed to lunch left and right. AND he turned the bus around at the top!

The Green River Valley/Rendevous site was breathtaking, and ne could imagine that it is almost unchanged after more than 150 years.

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Winter road closures are common	snow fences fot all highwyas	South Pass City	South Pass City
South Pass City	South Pass City marker	South Pass City still has strong women	Esther Morris marker
The school's outhouse	old wagon at South Pass City	the Carissa mine	the Carissa mine
Cracking rocks must have made some noise	lupine	view from the old hotel in South Pass City	room in the hotel at South Pass City
scale model of the mine	a western Coke machine	the current building for the Carissa mine	wow
Where are we?	open range grazing	natural gas fields	Awesome tipi at the Museum of the Mountain Man
Museum of the Mountain Man	a very big, hairy, and probably smelly man	how people may have lived 6000 years ago	Archaic Camp
Eric and our bus made it up the hill	view from Green River Rendevous	Green River Rendevous site

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