Wow, we have “walked” 983 miles towards our goal of the Washington National Cathedral!
We have passed through Salt Lake City, Utah, well known as the seat of the Church of Latter-Day Saints or Mormons. As of Sunday, March 15th we landed in Wamsutter, Wy. Originally the area now called Wamsutter was inhabited by the Shoshone and Ute tribes with westerners first settling in after the transcontinental railroad set up a station here in the 1860s. Historically, Wamsutter is known for sheep operations, wild horse roundups, oil production, and uranium exploration, but more recently became a spot for natural gas exploration. At the time of the 2010 census, Wamsutter had a population of 451. The community has grown to over 1200 in recent years, mainly due to the involvement of the natural gas industry and BP America creating a facility there. Wamsutter has two churches, Wamsutter Baptist Church and St. Anthony Catholic Church. The closest Episcopal Church is 47 miles away in Rawlins, WY.
By the 17th we got to Elk Mountain WY, a town of merely192 residents. It lies in the shadow of Elk Mountain, which rises 11,156 feet above sea level and is named in honor of the Sioux Chief, Standing Elk. It also sits on the Medicine Bow River, known for its trout fishing. Elk Mountain is historically known for its connection of the East to the West by the Medicine Bow River Crossing. It was a major crossing for immigrants and stagecoaches and was used by the John C. Fremont expedition in 1843.
Now that we are not meeting weekly in person, I encourage all of you to enter your miles electronically on the website. Go to https://churchofstmartin.org/ and scroll down until you see a picture of the National Cathedral. Right above it there is the link to the online entry spot. Just remember to push ”submit” before you leave. If you’re unable to do this you can email Helen Campbell your miles directly or info@churchofstmartin.org. Please use Christ Walk Miles as your subject so these emails don’t get lost in my inbox. Even though we can’t physically meet we can still be getting out and walking, biking etc. and it will do our hearts and souls good to do so!