SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. ‒ Johnny and Vicki Blevins stepped out of their pickup and gazed down at the thin ribbon of the old Oregon Trail below them.
Over the course of several decades, perhaps as many as 500,000 migrants walked and rode along this risky route from "civilization" west to the fertile lands of Oregon and the gold fields of California, or sought religious freedom in Utah. Thousands died along the way.
And although the worn-in tracks of the route are slowly fading into the landscape, the journey it represents still looms large in our collective consciousness. Johnny Blevins, a retired North Carolina pastor with a deep love of history, has always wondered if he would have been bold enough to try it himself.
On a recent cross-country drive to visit Yellowstone National Park, the Blevins' stopped by Scotts Bluff to consider those travelers who came before them. Enjoying their comfortable retirement after raising kids, the Blevins' doubt they would have had the courage to sell everything they owned to seek a better life thousands of miles from home.
"Would I have done it?" Johnny Blevins asked aloud as he looked down, marveling at the landscape. "I don't think so."
