We drove through Wyoming a lot when I was growing up to go visit Grandpa Giles. There isn't a whole lot to look at, man made, along that stretch of I-80. But I remember looking out the windows as we drove and seeing the far off mountains and the clouds and thinking they looked like they were painted. I still think that when I'm driving there, it is very beautiful.

On the moring of June 17th I started on my great road trip. That night I slept in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I stopped at Little America and got an ice cream cone, because that’s tradition. I turned off the interstate at Rawlins and headed north towards Casper. I stopped at The Mormon Handcart Visitor’s Center at Martin’s Cove. It struck me that I had started that morning at the pioneers’ ending point, and by the next night I would be where they started, at Winter Quarters. I made the same journey (albeit backwards) in two days that took them months to make. The rain that fell and the storm I went through didn’t get me wet and only slowed me down a bit. It put things in perspective. I’m grateful I took the opportunity to walk around the Cove and feel the Spirit that is there.

My first stop was at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. This is the place where the Martin and Willie handcart companies took shelter during the early and harsh winter of 1856 before being rescued by men from Salt Lake.

In 1856, those who survived were rescued and taken to Salt Lake. In 1992, those who died had their names taken to the Salt Lake Temple by members of the Riverton Stake in Wyoming, completing the Second Rescue. These markers are on opposite sides of a bridge named "Veil Crossing." Move your mouse over the picture to see the other marker.

It was an important rest stop on the trail West. Companies liked to be here by July 4th in order to make sure they could get across the Rockies before the winter hit. Now it is a rest stop as well, which is why I'd missed it going East. But I didn't miss it coming West. At the top are a whole bunch of flying ants that got in my hair, and a great view. You can even still see some names on the great "Register of the West."

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