Heritage Gateways

Wendy Westergard Journals

April 27, 1997

Summary: Introduction. Tents and stuff.

Journal entry: Greetings from The Great Plains of Nebraska!!!! Hi my name is Wendy. I am a 20 year old college student majoring in Park and Recreation.

Each day something new has occured. Every morning we get up at 5 a.m. and break camp. I sleep in the authentic tents. They are a different experience than the modern day tents. This was my first experience sleeping in a tent that doesn't have a bottom. Each night is breezy. For the first time in my life I am waking up in the morning with me head deep in my sleeping bag because it is cold.

Sometimes I walk and sometimes I ride on the wagons. In the morning I like to walk because it keeps my blood circulating. The wagons seem to fulfill the "fantasy" of the wagon train.

Each night we camp right next railroad tracks. Usually they are soothing to fall asleep to.

Last night we had hash for dinner. Hash consists of potatoes, gravy, bacon, and scrambled eggs. We used a very large skillet to cook them over the coals from our fire. It was pretty good. We use tin cups and plates to eat our meals. The children sit on our rugs to eat, and the adults sit on our wooden chairs.

Outside each tent is braded or wooven rug. This makes our camp seem like a home away from home. The kitchen is set up in a square. Wooden crates holding some of our equipment are used to create work space. We use two barrels set apart from each other that we put a wooden board on top to make our table.

Each of the stakes used to stake the tents down are large metal nails with a half circle hooked on the head of the stake. They are used to hold down our strings no matter how far the nail goes into the ground.