Trek Day 4

I got up before six a.m., our camp's usual wake-up time, so I could enjoy the landscape around me before the mosquitoes came back. The hills were green from the heavy rains the region has had in the past few weeks, and it all looked so lovely.

Because it was our last day, we had a big breakfast of French toast and sausages before striking camp. We had one last gathering where we received souvenirs of our trek experience: a keychain with a pewter handcart wagon wheel and a little bag containing 4 ounces of flour, which was all the pioneers had to eat each day when their food supplies ran low. It's not much food, especially when a person is pushing carts all day and constantly exposed to a Wyoming winter wind.

We were slowed in leaving our campground by a truck having gotten stuck on the only road out of the campground; fortunately, a large grader was close enough to come tow it out of its predicament. We drove back to Colorado Springs, a trip which took over six hours and was unpleasant for us drivers because of the strong winds and our fatigue from the previous three days of exertion and three nights of insufficient sleep (teenagers have a hard time going to bed before 11 p.m.). We were so grateful finally to arrive home safely and hug our little children again.

As the song goes, "Blessed, honored pioneers!" I'm very grateful for their example, and I'm very grateful that I didn't have to cross the plains with them!