Today would have been day 10 on the road

Today would have been day 10 on the road.  We would have broken camp at Louis Lake National Forest WY, where the temperature would have been a comfortable 46 degrees last night, heading for 74 today with lots of sun. and, after passing through the Rockies at South Pass,  we would be passing through Farson WY, where the Donner Party et al. spent the night. And then, after encountering the Little Sandy River, we would be  moving on to Fort Bridger, on the banks of the Black’s Fork of the Green River, where the proprietor, Jim Bridger, and his sidekick Lois Vasquez, selfishly chose not to dissuade the Donner Party and the 20 wagons in their entourage  from heading west over the infamous Lansford Hastings Cutoff through the formidable Wasatch Mounts and  on to  the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, instead of heading north on the usual Oregon- California Trail. (Bad decision, George, bad decision. You needed me on that trip to set you straight.) Tonight, we would be heading for Echo State Park on the egde of the Wasatch Mountains tonight, for an easy drive of 209 miles today,  Yeah, easy for us, but not for the Donner Party, althugh compatred to what starts "tomorrow": for the Donner Party, when they begin to run into trouble, I mean, like real bad trouble, their their journey of almost 1000 miles to this point  was a cakewalk.

Incidentally, the Donners expected to be greeted at Fort Bridger by Hastings, who was to lead them through his Hastings Cutoff, only to find instructions left by Hastings who had left a week earlier with another team of emigrants heading for California. With guides like that, who needs a GPS?

 

As for the DC Donner Party, we spent the morning sitting by banks of the Potomac River where we expected to be greeted ---or maybe seen---  by no one, except perhaps by a masked Nancy Pelosi, who from time to time speed-walks past us at our favorite park bench there, surrounded by her own entourage of security personnel.  Donner (my Donner, that is), I am sure enjoyed his outing today more than he would have the would-be outing today in WY. His spirit is heading up, as he begins to realize that he has entered a new life-style.  While it breaks my heart to see him eliminate routines he loved to do before, he demonstrates well that at some point, we all must accept the inevitably of the cycle of life, make the best of it, and move on.