From Mary Ann Evan's Trail Diary: A single day of travel from Courthouse Rock we saw another amazing monument of Nature. It is called Chimney Rock, for obvious reasons. We read about Chimney Rock in every guide to the Oregon Trail that we found in print. Visible from over thirty miles away, it is unique in appearance, and assures travelers that we are on the right path, and that we are going to get to Oregon Territory.
Chimney Rock was a challenge for every young man in our wagon train. They wanted to climb it. They wanted to measure the height. They wanted to leave their names carved into it. I didn't have much use for Chimney Rock, except that we would have a layover on the the trail for one day, so we could do our laundry, if the weather would cooperate.
 Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Morrill County, Nebraska, USA |
| Creative Commons ‘Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International’ Mike Tigas |
James wanted something more practical than leaving his name for posterity carved into the rock. James wanted to bring home some buffalo meat, or at least an antelope. For all the unexpected accidents, sudden losses of property and life, and the discomfort of extreme weather that was present on the Oregon Trail, there was also the joy of the hunt, the excitement of trading with the Indians, and the amazing beauty of nature on display, every day of the trip.
James had noticed that the stresses of the trail brought out the best, or the worst, in their fellow travelers. He wanted to be one who gave forth his best when in a hard situation. Reason number 101 that I adore my new husband. This has been an amazing honeymoon - with my parents and brother and niece and James' relatives. But someday we'll be able to tell our grandchildren that we traveled 2,300 miles for our honeymoon.
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