August 21

Today we ate at a most unique cafe. It looks like the restaurants in all the small towns in Indiana in the 1940s and 1950s. The waitress showed us a picture of it in 1954 and it looks almost exactly like it. There was a Seeburg jukebox on the wall by every booth. The big difference was that the first two listings were songs from the 40s to 50s and the rest were more recent. There was a counter with stools in front of the counter  and the booths were along the other side of the room. To get to the restroom, you had to walk through half the kitchen where they were grilling and frying all the food. Like the restrooms of old, this one was for either men or women. It was a long, narrow room with the commode at the far end and the tiny sink to the left of the door. Did it ever bring back memories!

Yesterday we were either going to stay here in Douglas, WY or drive on to Casper where we would have stayed in one of two Super 8 motels. Thank goodness we decided to stay in Douglas. When we got here this afternoon, the entrance to the motel was blocked off with police cars. Someone had taken hostages in the middle of the night. The police had to evacuate all the guests and the local schools were on lock-down for the first day of school.  Thank goodness we did not drive here last night!!! As of 5:00pm, all hostages had been released and the man who held them was apprehended and taken to the hospital for evaluation.

We climbed all day and are at 5,150' here in Casper. It was only about 50 miles here but we are 300 feet higher. We also saw smoke of forest fires south and west of here. We will be in the mountains tomorrow.

We went to the Wyoming Pioneers Memorial Museum in Douglas this morning. It is funded by the state and is FREE. It is a wonderful museum and if any of you are ever near here, it is well worth the stop. The next several pictures are of items in the museum.

This is a horsehide coat. I don't remember of seeing one of these.

 Aaron, these are dueling pistols. During the 18th and 19th centuries they would sometimes use this as a means of settling an argument. They are two guns that are alike. The men would stand back to back, each with his pistol, then walk a certain number of steps, turn and fire. The one who lived won the argument.

Sarah, This fan was used to help keep you cool, just like the fans you get at the fair. This one has peacock feathers around the outside. These are from peacocks like the ones you saw at the Fort Wayne Zoo.

Girls, this is a coat and muff made from beaver fur. A muff is the round thing at the bottom. You would put your right hand in the one side and your left hand in the other side to keep your hands warm in the winter. I had a muff when I was about 4 or 5 made from rabbit fur. It was white. It did keep my hands very warm; in fact, they would sweat in it.

Girls, these dresses are just about your size. How would you like a dress like these?

Girls, these are hair clips that the women wore 100 or more years ago. I think yours are prettier!

This is a yoke that went around the neck of the oxen that pulled the wagon. This was then on their shoulders so it wouldn't hurt them and they could pull the wagon. I learned the other day that the oxen had to have horns so this wouldn't slip off when they were going downhill.

This dress was sewn entirely by hand. There was wonderful workmanship in it.

They called this a windmill quilt which was made in 1850. I don't remember seeing this design. I'm sure some of the rest of you have.

This was called a pinwheel pattern and was made in 1800. They had about 25 old quilts here.

This is a bear trap. You can see how the bear's paw gets caught in the trap. Then the person could come, shoot the bear then use the meat, the hide, the grease, and maybe more. The Indians used the claws as decoration on clothes, etc.









 The following pictures come from train cars that were in Douglas at the Railroad Interpretive Center. All the train cars were outside and three of the cars were open to tour.

 Kids, this is the dining car. When people would ride across the country or for several days on a train, they would sit in a passenger car that looks kind of like a bus. When it was time to eat they could go to the dining car. There was a regular kitchen at the end of the car (behind me) where they cooked all the food. The train didn't stop when it was time to eat, only when they came to a town where people could get on and off.

There were some cars where people could sleep but they cost a lot more.

 This is Ayres Natural Bridge in Converse County, Wyoming. It is one of only a few natural bridges in the world that has a river or creek flowing under it. This is a gorgeous little park that has picnicing and camping all for free. They have a playground and horseshoe pitch, plus the kids can wade in the creek.

 Kids, these are the first real buffalo that we have seen. Do you see the little calf standing on the left side. There were about 20 buffalo in this big field. They are so big and the fence was just a little wire fence with barbed wire on the top.








 Sorry I couldn't put this picture with the rest of the quilts in the museum but I couldn't get my cursor to go below this picture. And speaking of quilting, I got some cowboy fabric and I will need some ideas on how to make it into a wall hanging.

Look at the beautiful stitching on this quilt made in 1870.