End Women’s Suffrage?

After a morning treat of coffee from Mike and Emily, we set out for a day full of history. First, we reached South Pass, perhaps the most important crossing point through the Rockies during the 19th century. Indians, fur trappers, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Pioneer Trail, the California Trail, and the Pony Express all used this location to travel from the Atlantic to Pacific watershed.

After crossing the divide at the pass, we stopped in South Pass City, an old Wyoming ghost town. Gold was discovered in 1866 at the Carissa Mine and the population quickly reached 2000. In 1869, in what many historians believe to have been a ploy to attract attention and gain territorial status, Wyoming granted Woman’s Suffrage and South Pass City became home to the first female justice of the peace, Esther Morris. However, within ten years, the city was largely deserted. If anyone is interested, there is a nice general store for sale in town for the low price of $155,000. We’re not experts on running a retail business, but foot traffic may be a little slow in a ghost town.

Our final destination for the day was Atlantic City, another boom/bust town. We settled in at the Atlantic City Mercantile, a saloon that has attracted even Robert Redford. Although we enjoyed ourselves, some fellow patrons were visibly upset by Daniel’s jukebox selections, highlighted by Ace of Base and Kris Kross. The mercantile also owned some cabins right behind the restaurant so the five of us shared one for an evening of scrabble, euchre, and pan-fried chocolate chip cookies.