At the base of the long hill is Buffalo Creek Valley. Nearby, Rough Lock Hill is marked and described by a BLM interpretive sign. Pioneers traveling in horse or oxen-pulled wagons descended this slope by locking their wheels and sliding down the hill into the grassy valley below. This spot is impressive and the isolation is as complete as any site in the state.
That is the description given on brochures and at the interpretive sites. I, however, have my own description of this place...
I have seen numerous lovely, glorious, awesome, spectacular sites in my life and many more since our move here to Wyoming. However, I can't remember the last time a sight put goosebumps on my skin. I got a big case yesterday at Rough Lock Hill. (The last time was with Corey when we were at the top of a Nebraska hillside which had a pioneer grave overlooking the Platte River and the wind blowing gently). Some parts of the world sometimes seem so surreal as though God put something extra into what we see in the most out-of-the-way spots.
While driving down the gravel road I spied a sign, backed up and saw "Rough Lock Hill". It's not a well-traveled road and I was keeping my fingers crossed we wouldn't get the car stuck. We didn't and I drove the car as far in as possible. When we exited the car and walked up a slow rise, we were treated with an absolutely incredible sight. This is the sight that made me burst out into goosebumps.
The attached pictures will not do justice to what we saw though. Looking below us we saw a beautiful green meadow surrounded by high red cliffs. That sounds like a very lame description so you'll just have to take my word for it or see it yourself sometime. Keep in mind that the edge of the cliff dropped several hundred feet to the bottom. You might starve to death before you hit.
A “rough lock” was done simply by placing a pole through the spokes on the wagon wheels and locking them into place to “skid” the load down the hill or mountain in this case.
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