Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A popular game for kids on the Oregon Trail was a version of Frisbee catch,
except instead of plastic discs, they used bison dung. The dung was also burned for
fuel.
Rufus Porter, the founder of the magazine
Scientific American,
sold more than
200 seats on an “airplane” to Oregon. In 1849, Porter advertised trips along the trail
on propeller-driven balloons powered by steam engines. Unfortunately, his inven-
tion never got off the ground, and he was forced to refund all 200 tickets. Anoth-
er form of transportation being advertised at that time was the “wind wagon,” a
cross between a wagon and a sailboat. A prototype was built and indeed it did barrel
across the plains at the advertised 15 miles an hour…until it veered out of control
and crashed.
The trip's not for everyone. Although the survival rate is considerably higher these days
(one out of ten died before finishing the trek in 1843), you're still at risk for a few hazar-
ds—weather and flies, to point out just two. And you might as well leave your electric razors
and blow-dryers at home, because there's no electricity out on the plains. Or even showers,
for that matter. Baynes, however, is happy to point out a few horse tanks along the route that
you're welcome to wash off in. Even so, he says, “Everybody ends up smelling about the
same by the end of the trip.”
The four-day treks are $575 for adults, $475 for kids under 12, and they include all meals
(the rib-eye chuckwagon meal is to die for), a trail bag, tents, sleeping bags, soap, and tow-
els. These treks are offered once a month in June, July, and August. Baynes's little operation
along the North Platte River also offers a one-day wagon train trek ($200) most days from
June into the first part of September, as well as canoe and log cabin rentals.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
Oregon Trail Wagon Train,
Route 2, Box 502, Bayard, NE 69334, 308-586-1850,
www.oregontrailwagontrain.com.
