Field Trip~ National Oregon-California Trail Center

We recently toured the National Oregon~California Trail Center, in Montpelier Idaho. If you are local to Montpelier, or are willing to travel 2 hours to get there, you should!

Here's a few highlights:

In the basement they have a collections of Historical Artifacts. If you can believe it this Phonograph still works. The lady played it for us.

Here is a demonstration by one of the tours employees, and her granddaughter. She was teaching us about how they could use old wagon wheels to make woven rugs. They also spoke about the beautiful quilts that were made.

Can you see that "machine" on top of the wagon wheel? This is one way that the pioneers could count their daily mileage. They said that the original way was with the rag tied to the wheel, a young child would walk next to the wheel on the wagon and count it's rotations, by counting how many times the rag went around... nothing like car sickness... or I guess walking sickness!! Then Orson Pratt, a Mormon Pioneer invented the mileage tracking instrument that is above the wheel.

Here we are in the "storehouse" learning about, discussing the best provisions to take, and why.

Here we are getting our wagons loaded and prepared, with our wagon master.

Before we leave, everyone 12 and older must have a gun! A1 was thrilled, A4 a little bummed!

This is the gun shop, where they would make the guns.

At this Museum, they have people who dress up and act the character's parts. It is very kid friendly, and a great place. They also have a wagon ride, that is an actual ride, not of a real wagon. It moves and feels like a real wagon. While in it, there is a recording of journal entries. The younger children were a bit unsure of this, it's dark, and even when they put a light on as the sun, inside the wagons they are still dark. Plus it moves!! It was very realistic. A few times I felt I might fall right through, with the pulling up on the front of the wagon and the falling backwards from the back of the wagon.

Now if that wan't enough, I'll post about what we did when we got home!

Nothing like an eventful day!