Miners returning from the California gold rush and Buffalo Bill Cody were among the first travelers over the byway's route. Later on, ranchers traveled this road, making trips to Rawlins for supplies and a taste of civilization. With the building of Seminoe Dam and the upgrade of the road, fishermen and boaters began visiting the area. We crossed rugged mountains and saw huge sand dunes along the way, part of the Killpecker Sand Dunes, a dune field which reaches from western Wyoming into Nebraska
In 1868, three ill-fated miners registered the first mining claim in the Seminoe Mountains but none of them lived to work the claim. One of the three traveled up the North Platte River to Ft. Steele to register the claim. Later that day he was shot, in the words of a newspaper reporter, "just for luck." The Army sent a Lt. Young to inform the man's partners of his death. Lt. Young found them both dead, killed by Native Americans. While on the trip, Lt. Young found some gold and took it back to Ft. Steele. In 1871, Young led some other Army officials to the area where they found gold nuggets lying on the ground, covered with moss. The men formed a mining district and the gold rush began.
A freight and passenger line began operating between the mines and the railroad in 1871, paralleling part of this byway. By 1872, 1,000 miners had flocked to the area. The failure to strike it rich and increasing pressure from hostile Native Americans ended the initial mining period in the Seminoe Mining District in 1874. That year, Buffalo Bill led an army expedition through the area to recover stolen livestock and locate the Native Americans and force them back to their reservations. The expedition was unsuccessful in its quest.
Some of the gorgeous scenery we saw...
There was a bench that overlooked this sight so Joe and I just sat down and enjoyed it for several minutes while the nicest breeze blew around us.
Look at the sand dunes out in the middle of nowhere!!! I thought I was back at the beach!
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