Martin's Cove and Independence Rock

On Saturday, June 20th, we left Casper, WY to drive south towards Alcova, WY where Independence Rock, Devil's Gate and the Handcart Visitor's Center are located. We climbed Independence Rock to the top to look at the inscriptions are. The oldest one we found was from 1852. Independence Rock was about 8 or 9 stories high (130 feet high according to Wikepedia). There are no steps or ropes or anything to help climbers. You just climb up and then climb down. It is a really cool view from the top. It is also neat to see inscriptions carved in the rock from the mid 1800's. A lot of history. It is very humbling to see this place especially given the really barren nature of the landscape. How the pioneers survived is amazing to me.

We then went to Devil's Gate and the Handcart Visitor's Center. We spent a lot longer time there than we anticpated. Initially we thought we would be there about an hour.....but boy we were wrong. A lot of the sites are a good walk from the visitors center. Devil's Gate is about a mile and a half walk. The walk to Martin's Cove is two miles just to get to the entrance to the 2.3 miles loop around Martin's Cove. We got a little sun-burned too. Just underestimated the walking distances and the time delay. We never got to Utah until 8 PM that night.

It is hard to put into words the spirit that is found in Martin's Cove. It is a peacful place that Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley once described as ground that is as sacred as any of our temples. The pioneers were committed to going to the Salt Lake Valley and after all the persecution that drove them out of Nauvoo to the valley, over 150 of the saints in the Martin and Willey handcart companies never made it to Utah.