We headed out to do the Sinks Canyon loop. It is a 70 mile loop that takes you through the Sinks Canyon. Our first stop was at the trout pond.
There is a mystery as to why the river disappears into the mountain and then reappears a mile or so down the mountain and into a big pool where trout gather. The fish were huge. They had a little vending machine with fish food in it so the kids could feed the fish. We then headed up to where the river disappears into the mountain. There was a beautiful waterfall and we walked down to the base of the waterfall and played in the sand and water for a few minutes. Eric and Kyle enjoyed jumping off the rocks while Misty and I tried to catch them in mid air with our camera's. I also caught a wee one, Tyson, peeing in mid air. I was laughing so hard that I was having a hard time taking the picture.
The BIG boys thought they were pretty talented.
First time seeing real lilypads.
Our next plan was to find a hike, but some how we missed it. I was a little bummed, but we still enjoyed the drive. We found a picnic area and stopped to have lunch. When we were getting ready to leave from lunch, Eric noticed he had a big gash in one of his truck tires. He was a little freaked out about it and decided he would need to replace it. We then continued on the loop. We stopped at South Pass City.
A little history about - South Pass City sprang into existence as a stage and telegraph station on the Oregon Trail during the 1850s. The site of this first settlement was about 9 miles south of present-day South Pass City at what is today known as Burnt Ranch. Burnt Ranch was located where the
Emigrant Trails crossed the
Sweetwater River for the last time and ascended toward
South Pass.
[2]
In 1866 gold was discovered in the vicinity, and a year later
prospecting began on what would become the Carissa mine. Prospectors and adventurers quickly arrived and founded what is today known as South Pass City. Within a year the community's population had swelled to about 2,000. One of those who arrived in 1869 was
Esther Hobart Morris. In 1870 she was the first woman in the U.S. to serve as a
Justice of the Peace.
[3] In 1869, William H. Bright, a saloon owner and representative to the Wyoming Territorial Constitutional Convention, introduced a
women's suffrage clause into the territorial constitution. When the constitution was approved by Territorial Governor John A. Campbell in December 1869, Wyoming became the first U.S. territory to recognize a woman's right to vote.
Within a decade the city's population shrank dramatically as the large gold deposits that had been hoped for failed to materialize. By the mid 1870s South Pass City's population was reduced to about 100 people. Over the next century the population of South Pass City declined further and many of the city's homes, mercantile stores, hotels and saloons fell into disrepair. A few businesses continued to operate in South Pass City with the last of the pioneer families finally moving on in 1949.
At the end of the 20th century steps were taken to renew the community and turn it into a historic site. As a result the community today consists of two areas: South Pass City, in which a handful of residents live, and
South Pass City State Historic Site, which preserves more than 30 historic structures dating from the city's heyday in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1970, the community was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
[1]
We enjoyed walking through the old buildings. It was really cool to see what little they survived on. We then drove through Atlantic City.
Atlantic City is a
census-designated place (CDP) in
Fremont County,
Wyoming,
United States. The population was 37 at the
2010 census. The community is a small mining settlement in a gulch near
South Pass in southwestern Wyoming. It was founded as a mining camp following the 1867 gold rush in the region. The town declined following the end of the
placer gold rush in the early 1870s, but continued to exist as advances in mining technology allowed further extraction of gold. From the 1960s until 1983, it was the location of
US Steel iron ore mine. The town is accessible by gravel roads from nearby
Wyoming Highway 28.
The town today has rustic flavor, with a small cluster of residences and a mercantile store and restaurant along the main road through town. It attracts a small number of tourists in the summer as well.
We then headed back to Lander to get our truck tire replaced. $180.00 later we had a new tire. We went back to camp and just relaxed. The kids really wanted to play on the splash pad again.
