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Odyssey 2014: Oregon National
Historic Trail (ONHT) |
Nimblewill had long
pondered concluding his
long-distance hiking “career” with
the past-year’s journey, Odyssey
2013. However, after much
encouragement from family, friends,
and fellow intrepid (and with the
Lord’s continued blessings--good
health, stamina, and resolve) he’s
decided to keep trekking on.
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And so, for Odyssey
2014, he took
another journey back
through time, as he
thru-hiked one of the
greatest trails in the
annals of American
history, the
Oregon National Historic
Trail. |
And that trail? Well, first there
were game traces, then Indian
trails. Then came the mountain men,
the trappers, the missionaries, and
finally the pioneers. From the
1840s through the 1850s, over
three-hundred thousand emigrants
wearied their way from Independence,
Missouri, to the great valley of the
Willamette, in the Oregon Territory.
In addition to Missouri and
Oregon, the trail passes through
Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and
Idaho, a distance of some 2,200
miles. From the Midwest to the Far
West, its deep, furrowed ruts
epitomize the pioneering spirit. To
the eye, the tracks appear hollow,
yet to Nimblewill they are
known to be filled with romance and
adventure, sorrow and joy, triumph
and tragedy--transcending time. In
many places those old ruts still
mark the land and can be walked
today, as did the pioneers nearly
200 years ago.
Nimblewill plied those
tracks as he crossed the prairie,
forded the rivers, climbed the
mountains, entered the valley. He
saw and told of the landmarks, visited
and photographed the many historic and
hallowed places along--all while
passing countless graves marking his
passage. It was destined to be a
journey of true adventure and
intrigue.
Nimblewill began this journey
by setting out from Independence,
Missouri on April 28. On Sunday
morning, August 24th, he arrived End
of the Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center, Oregon City, Oregon,
successfully concluding his
thru-hike o'er the Oregon National
Historic Trail -- 117 days, 2,109
miles.
"This proved a long and very
difficult journey. Thanks to all for
your encouragement, support; the
success of this hike I owe to you!"
Nimblewill Nomad |
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COURTHOUSE & JAIL ROCKS |
INDEPENDENCE MISSOURI COURTHOUSE
1840's |
CHIMNEY
ROCK |
HOW THE WEST WAS WON [12-99] |
I yearn for the days of the
dust-blown haze,
When the West was an infant child.
When the brave, the few, joined lots
and threw
Their cares to the wind and the
wild.
Through bone-weary pain, through mud
and rain,
They traveled, a-trustin' God.
As dear-loved kin and many a friend
Were set to rest in the sod.
“On to Californ’”, “On to Oregon,”
Through ruts worn weary and long.
'cross rivers deep, scant rest or
sleep,
Passed this destined, fateful
throng.
On mules, in prairie schooners;
On buckboards 'n walkin' tall;
Through Indian lands, their fate in
the hands
Of the wagonmaster's call.
Through prairie grass, up mountain
pass,
They journed toward the Promised
Land.
'n along the way, set adrift, they
lay
Their past in the shifting sand. |
No turning back, thru rut and track,
The wagon trains moved on,
Toward the western sky, with
dream-filled eye,
On the trail to a brand new dawn.
Yet to this day, do the brave there
stay!
Born new from the pioneer age.
A dream fulfilled, as God had
willed,
Past the land of the purple sage.
And oh what I'd give to have journed…'n
lived
On that trail with those brave and
strong.
Now history, times wild and free,
For those days do I yearn and long.
Ahh!
Those were the days, e’er
time-dimmed haze,
When the West was an infant child.
When the brave, the few, joined lots
and threw
Their cares to the wind and the
wild.
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Nimblewill with his great, great grandfather (lad in the
wagon)
On the Oregon Trail 1845 |
(Background music: "The Last Rose of
Summer") |
* The Last
Rose of Summer began as a poem by an Irishman
named Thomas Moore (1779-1852). Moore wrote the poem in 1805 and, two
years later, it was set to music by composer Sir John Andrew Stevenson
(1761-1833). The Last Rose of Summer is listed as a--tune for
dancing--in the book "Songs and Dances of the Oregon Trail” by Phil and
Vivian Williams.
This
somewhat melancholy fiddle version typifies what the pioneer families no
doubt listened to as they drifted off to sleep after another long and
tiring day on the trail. As we close our eyes and listen, might we
envision that special, long ago time, the gentle lowing of the oxen, the
circle of wagons, the campfires--out under the stars on the Oregon
Trail. |
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