One of the great things about the West is that our history lies so close to the surface. It was our grandparents and parents who were the pioneers. The first wagon train west arrived late in the fall of 1843. It is estimated one-half million emigrants traveled this great trail west, until the advent of the automobile ended the era in the early 1900s. Today stretches of the Oregon Trail are still visible as ruts; ruts carved into the earth, worn by time and masked by wildflowers, sagebrush and trees.