Utah: Mormon Handcart Visitor's Center

We were driving along Highway 220 in Wyoming. It was hot. Bria was bored. We needed a break. I spotted a small sign that said Mormon Handcart Visitor's Center, and decided to pop in for a few minutes to stretch our legs. 

That few minutes to stretch our legs quickly stretched into one of Bria's favorite memories from the trip!

We parked and walked down the hill to the Visitor's Center, where we were greeted by a tour guide. A missionary from the church, she was incredibly knowledgeable about the location and its history, and shared with us the story of Mormon pioneers who passed through this area in the mid-1800s. One story in particular makes this sacred ground, as a fateful trip of two handcart companies - the Willie and Martin companies - had tragic results here.

With the experienced assistance of our guide, we toured the Visitor's Center, then watched a movie on the handcart experience before heading out to pull a handcart for ourselves. Bria and I picked up the crossbar and started walking, with a little help from the guide pushing the back. I can't even fathom pushing that thing across half the country.

They have a little gravel loop set up for people to pull the carts around (none of this mountainous uncharted terrain for us), just long enough for the cart to get empty and visitors to start to get the idea of what this might have been like.

Eager to join the members of their church in Utah, more than 3,000 Mormon pioneers traveling from England, Wales, Scoland, and Scandinavia made the journey, most of them with very little money. While it could cost around $600-$800 to outfit a covered wagon, a family could get a handcart for around $20, making it an accessible option.

Each cart had two wheels, was about 4 1/2 feet wide, and weighed 60 pounds. The family's belongings were packed into a box three feet by four feet, and generally carried up to 250 pounds, though they were capable of loads up to 500 pounds. Originally the carts were made entirely of wood, but a stronger design was substituted in later years, and metal elements were included.

The Visitor's Center is on the site of the former Sun Ranch, one of the first ranches in Wyoming. The Mormon Church purchased the land in the 90s, and established the center in the ranch's headquarters.

Additional historical buildings remain, and we enjoyed touring the little bunkhouse and wash house, where Bria learned about the old saying "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." Being the baby of six, she knew her baths would have been an experience in pioneer days!

A family could spend the entire day here - there is so much to do that we couldn't get to on a brief pit stop. We stopped into Fort Seminoe on the way out, but didn't spend a lot of time looking around.

There are also additional homestead buildings, and trails that bring you to Martin's Cove, Devil's Gate, and lots more. Our guide shared the story of how Devil's Gate (the place in the bluff where the river goes through) got its name (from an old Native American legend), and Bria has been telling it for weeks, complete with sound effects and big hand motions!

This was a really fun and educational stop, and we highly recommend it if you are in the area.