Alternative Routes

Back in my college days I heard about Donner Pass in my United States history class. It was a tragic event that shows just how people are often unprepared for quick changes in the environment. Not too much different than present day actually. That’s why in today’s world personal preparedness should be taught as early as the elementary school. Children would then be able to take the information home to teach their parents. That’s an interesting concept to be sure. Every home should have at least 3 days of water and food for each member of the household. You know, people can still be stranded in their homes by Mother Nature just as the group was stranded in the well known Donner Pass.

Back in the day the highway that stretched from the East Coast out West was called the National Road. In the modern day it is known as Interstate 80. Yes, this is the historic National Road of yesteryear. When traveling in my car, on I-80, I can’t help to think how many hundreds of thousands of people traveled this same stretch of road with oxen pulling their wagons, and the telltale dust from the trail being seen in a cloud that was observed many miles away. I feel like I’m traveling the road into history.

The Hasting Cutoff, on the south side of the Great Salt Lake, is where the tragedy happened to those who decided to break away from the main group of pioneers. The main group made it all the way to California without any undue problems. With a full tank of gas I would recommend a road trip along the Hasting Cutoff. Why? It might just bring history closer to you. The war between America and Mexico happened in 1845, and the California Gold Rush was in 1849. Donner Pass: a fateful route associated with human endurance happened during the winter of 1846. The area is full of American heritage. It brings to mind what Edmund Burke said in 1790: “People will not look forward to prosperity who never look backward to their ancestors.”