WELCOME TO VAGABOND GEOLOGY WHERE GEOLOGY ROCKS!
2020 - Westward Ho Trilogy - Year 3 - Oregon, Mormon ,& California Trails
The Vagabond adventurers, Sandi Phillips & Rocky Romero, research the geologic treasures and history of America's early westward expansion. This is Year 3 of our Trilogy examining the Oregon, Mormon, & California Trails.
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Westward Ho Trilogy
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Course Handout - Outline
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Session 1: Before the Trails: an introduction to the years of America's development that lead to the migrations to Oregon Country, Mormon Utah, and the California gold fields. Thirty years pass between the end of the expedition of the Corps of Discovery in 1806 and the earliest pioneer travel on the Oregon Trail in 1836. We'll discover what events occur during this thirty year gap and the important role that these activities have on the success of the great migration to the American northwest. We'll also meet our pioneer guides who will lead us to this new land during the upcoming sessions. (35MB)
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Session 2 - The Emigrant Trails: Learn what was the Emigrant Trail (Oregon, Mormon, & California Trails), review who were the early explorers of the trail, what is the elevation/climate/precipitation of the trail, discover South Pass using geophysics, review various wagons used, supplies taken, resources available at the time, pioneer's daily routine and their hardships encountered, see what forts could be visited along the way, and understand the financial/political/personal pressures that were causing settlers to take action - AND GO!
(124.6 MB)
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Session 3 - The Oregon Trail: Using the National Park Service map of the Oregon Trail (which is the same one we used to drive the trip), we follow the trail and check out 17 sites along the route. We learn about the split of the Oregon and Santa Fe trails at Gardner Junction. The route meets up with the Platte River and Fort Kearny. We continue traveling Westward down the "Great Platte Road". We are introduced to Windlass Hill , Three-Island Crossing, Guernsey Ruts, Register Cliff and the beautiful Ash Hollow. We see Google Earth views & learn about the geology of the major landmarks of Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, Scott's Bluff, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, and Split Rock. We understand the context and consequences of massacres at Massacre Rocks, the Ward Massacre Site, and at the Whitman Mission. Lastly, we learn about the legends of Jim Bridger, Pierre de Smet & Marcus Whitman. (171MB)
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Session 4 - The Mormon Trail: from its beginnings in Palmyra, New York to trails end in the Salt Lake Valley, we'll travel the path of the Mormons. Starting with Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, we'll examine the beginnings and beliefs of Mormonism, the forces that drive them across the continent to their new 'Zion' in Utah Territory, and the routes that take them to their new land. We'll also meet our four Mormon guides: Brigham Young, Rebecca Winters, Alice Ann Oatman, and Mary Johnson Parson. (54MB)
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Session 5 - The California Trail: We explore the grief and sorrow associated with this Trail. To start we develop an "improved" California Trail to work from; then check the elevation profile of each section of the trail, learn about the history of so-called "shortcuts" that were developed to get the "49's" to California as soon as possible. Then we learn about "Basin & Range," what that does to the pioneers as they have to go around, over and along side these ranges. We also learn that Nevada is being stretched and one day could ultimately split (rift) as a result of tectonic forces. We then look at the trail profile to see that a large portion of the trail is in the shape of a basin (the Great Basin) where melted snow & rainwater run to the Humboldt, Carson, Truckee and Walker Rivers but can't get to the ocean and what happens to that water and how its residue affected the pioneers. We then review the Donner Party tragedy and why that might have happened. Lastly, we reach Sutter's Fort/Mill where gold is discovered and learn how that impacted California & the world!
(155MB)
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Supplemental Info - NPS Auto Interpretive Guide - Nevada
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Session 6 - After the Trails - in this last session of our three year trilogy, we'll look at statistics of the three trails: number of people traveling; percent of the 1869 U.S. population that took the trails, population density in the new lands, percent of people who die on the trails and causes of death. For each trail there is a timeline of the major events from the time of the first travelers to the beginning of the transcontinental railroad and details of some of the significant events along the way. We'll discover what happens to our trail guides after they arrive at their destinations and we'll look at the impact that the trails had on the three states to which they traveled: Oregon, Utah, and California.(70.3MB)
| session_6_-_after_the_trails.pptx |
Additional Material
During the course of our research Rocky has found several books/diaries about the trails online in pdf (or free ebook) format. If you would like to read more about the trails check these out:
1838 - S. Parker "Journal of Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains" - https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_4AFAAAAQAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP10
1845 - The Expeditions of John C. Fremont - https://ia800206.us.archive.org/7/items/expeditionsofjoh01fr/expeditionsofjoh01fr.pdf
1846 - L.W. Hastings' "Emigrant Guide to Oregon & California" - https://ia800501.us.archive.org/17/items/emigrantsguideto04hast/emigrantsguideto04hast.pdf
1846 - R. Sage "Rocky Mountain Life" (travels between California/ Missouri) - https://user.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/sage/rufussage.pdf
1847 - Joel Palmer "Journal of Travel over the Rocky Mountains" - https://www.loc.gov/item/06039791/
1848 - W. Clayton's "Emigrant Guide: Mormon Trail" - http://files.lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration/articles/LatterDaySaintsEmigrantsGuide_EditorsPreface0001.PDF
1849 - Ware's "Emigrant Guide to California"- https://ia800106.us.archive.org/7/items/GR_4538/GR_4538.pdf
1852 - Horn's "Overland Guide" - https://archive.org/details/GR_1952/page/n10
1859 - Marcy's "Prairie Traveler" - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23066
1860 - Wm. Gilpin's "Central Gold Region" -
https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qac_2yHFNHY0PBIYaaiaJh-eXoy1Bof7_dL43UoHenQMFwFd7OGvzMdGxo213ycmTeL_kc89UGLUwgQAVdYubzVpe0n3FoVovxWz-hrMtHJG3FcpHykXSTYSOW6TCufkr1UbfCpA8MPcpnmz3a7znQoHn2VcSZfFmMkUvo3U7JlWi4DTlXFsPS5gwZrfpqpR-8JFKowqoVmTSb2IWq9n2sm6SjsXkyHiKaL5pKiS8KCwu1TWN38ForjT-Eqhvs7d9xb7OLLa
If you have any trouble getting to any of these docs please let Rocky know . If you would like this listing as a word doc, click below:
| supplemental_readings.docx |