June 30, 2008

We have a couple hills to climb.

We found ourselves heading down the trail just west of Prospect Hill when we came to a steep swale. Two of our wagon drivers Mr. Vixie and Mr. Merchant disagreed as how to safely proceed. These disagreements have become somewhat predictable between them. It seems that Mr. Vixie is contemplating trying to take the wagon train to California, while Mr. Merchant is dead set on Oregon. It’s created a bit of tension with all the travelers. As to the hill Mr. Vixie proceeded on his own after dumping his pregnant wife’s clothing trunk and her as well to save on the weight. The travelers were suitably appalled. Lydia who was the wagon master for the day scolded Mr. Vixie. Mr. Merchant enlisted the help of all the travelers and they roped his wagon down the hill.

When the wagons made camp that night at Horse creek a typical Wyoming windstorm moved in and blew down the tents of the less experienced. They’ll put their stakes in better next time.

-- Bob Noll

Monday, June 30

This morning at camp, we had a general meeting where the children chose a wagon master, who will make the decisions for the train. They chose Lydia, who made the decisions on the order the wagons are placed in the train, how fast to travel, and where to park the wagons at night. After a short loop with a steep hill down and a hard pull up the other side, we headed over to the BLM Interpretive site for lunch and then the placement of an Oregon-California Trails Association trail marker. Wyoming OCTA Chapter President Pinky Ellis and member Tom Rea gave a short talk about the importance of preserving the trail and the contribution the students can make to that goal. We then headed down the road, getting into camp as a storm started rolling in. The kids got their tents up, but when the wind came up, several of them went down. We called in some of the experienced wagon train crew to provide assistance to get everything back up quickly. We had only wind, with no rain.

Today the Dreamers all seem to be getting more acclimated. It is clear that several of them have formed bonds and friendships already. They clearly like the animals. Kenedy and Olivia have definitely become friends as they work with the mules Livee is driving. Because it was windy in camp tonight, we did not have our planned diary readings. But we had a campfire where Rachel made us some popcorn in the dutch oven.

--Candy

Sunday, June 29

Our students arrived at camp about 9:30 a.m. and we began immediately filming.. .they had breakfast in camp: bacon, eggs, homemade hashbrowns, muffins, juice, and some fruit. Shortly after breakfast we talked about the wagon train safety rules and took a cast photo with everyone in their In Pursuit of a Dream T-Short.

Then we began to time travel.

First, we gave every student some new clothes…although we had them keep their own comfortable hiking shoes.

After they changed into the pioneer dress, we gathered together again and talked about communication. The Mr. Merchant collected all cell phones, headsets, and other electronic devices away from the students. So, parents, if you don’t hear from your child, don’t worry about them. We will definitely be in touch with you should there be any serious issue. They won’t get their phones back until the end of the trail.

After lunch everybody loaded in the wagons and we headed out on the trail.

We came upon a camp of topographical engineers. They were out working mapping the country. We learned about how they use the instruments to determine latitude and longitude and learned some drawing techniques for making some maps and documentation of our route.

The hot sun, the high elevation (camp is at about 6,600 feet), and some walking began to show the students how hard this journey is. A couple of our students weren’t feeling too well for a while, but we gave them plenty of good water and Gatoraid, gave them some oranges, and had them sit in the shade of a wagon. Before long they were back in the thick of things.

--Candy

Sunday, June 29

Today while we were at the topographer’s camp, Dreamer Dan became ill. We took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with an illness that he almost certainly had when he left home. I called his mother and she agreed he should return to Boston. I hated to tell Dan that he had to return home, but to my relief, he told me he wanted to go home. I told him even if he is not on the trail with us physically, he certainly can be in spirit and we expect him to go all the way to Oregon.

-Candy

Prospect Hill - That’s where we are.

The emigrants would have just climbed a very steep hill “Prospect Hill”. Our kids will climb it in the vans tonight. Lucky them! Tomorrow they will walk with the wagons.

---Bob Noll

The First Shot

In the movie business it seems that the hardest thing to do is to get the first shot done. Production being as complicated as it is the smallest things can push you behind and it always does. We may start shooting tonight with fading light because of the delays in Denver but this is really going to be a special treat for the kids when they pull up. The light at this time is the most beautiful anywhere in this country. We have chosen a particularly spectacular yet desolate area to start the trek. So no matter when we start filming it will be great. And we will get our first shot!!!


---Bob Noll

The Planes Have Landed

We had a call from Jacqueline…All the Kids have arrived safely in Denver. They are with their chaperones and our crew…they will now head north to Denver. Best laid plans didn’t quite work out with a rental van, which delayed their departure from Denver so they will be late in arriving at camp. We are still prepping the camp and the delay has actually worked a bit to our benefit. Gotta race now…still much to do.

--Candy Moulton

Oh, What a View

This afternoon Bob, Quackgrass and I went with BLM Archaeologist Chris Arthur down the ridge along where we will take our wagons on the first day the kids travel with us. We have planned a meeting there with a party of topographical engineers. The site Chris took us to is the point of a ridge from which there is a stunning view of the country. The wild flowers are vibrant this year and the grass is green because it has been cold and raining this spring. We can only imagine the feeling our students will have when they are standing here…it almost looks like you can see the entire world.

--Candy Moulton

The Wagons Have Arrived

Wow, today was very exciting. Our five wagons pulled into camp this afternoon and it was TOTAL CHAOS. We had wagons, teams, horses, water trucks, feed vehicles (for people and for animals)…and it seemed as if we had no organization at all…But within 2-3

hours we had the wagons together and in place, dinner was being prepared, the animals were grazing. We have a Wagon Train Camp and now are eager for our students to arrive.

--Candy Moulton

Saturday, June 28

Shortly after 10 we got the call that the kids and their chaperones were all on the ground at Denver International Airport…They were right on time. Thank you Jet Blue and Frontier Airlines for helping make our schedule….

Of course, whenever there is transportation there are issues, it seems, and our vans were delayed then could not travel quite as quickly as we had anticipated so the kids were running behind schedule getting to the Casper area so they got a surprise and a bed in Casper for the evening with some pizza and swimming.

--Candy

And it all comes down to this ...

Well....nearly 2 years in the planning. I hope we are ready to go tomorrow...Better be the kids will be here!

Bob, Quackgrass and I sat up late last night (especially late for Bob since he had flown in from Massachusetts yesterday morning), going over our final plans for the two-week shoot. We know what we want to capture with this film. We are confident in the team we've put together to help us make it and we are excited to soon have the kids, our teachers, and other members of the wagon train on the ground and ready to go.

Well, admittedly, I still have moments of worry... but there is no more time for any panic.

This morning Connor Novotny, a recent graduate of Natrona County High School here in Casper, joined the team. He'll be helping us in many ways. Connor won first place in the Wyoming State High School short film contest this year. He's interested in a career in film, but plans to attend UW in Laramie this fall to get a degree in English. He's been doing some background work for the past couple days and has today's modern teen ability to find things on the Internet in an instant....plus he knows how to program a cell phone. Maybe I'll get him to add some numbers to mine!

He told me to not stress.

Do I appear to be stressed?

Gee, I can't imagine why. I have 24 kids headed my way tomorrow whose parents are entrusting them to my care when we are out in the boonies!

Moms and Dads (Grandmas and Grandpas) across the country, please do know I take that responsibility very seriously.

I went on my first wagon train in 1990, traveling two weeks on the Bridger Trail for Wyoming's Centennial. My life has not been the same since, for on that journey I fell in love with the trails and became hopelessly addicted to wagon train travel.

So on the day before our launch of In Pursuit of a Dream, I hope and sincerely pray for Safety, Fun, and Friendship.

--Candy

Chewing the Elephant

Quackgrass and I arrived in Casper, Wyoming yesterday...to do our final preproduction for the film. We both planned to leave our homes early in the morning. It didn't happen.

I finally got my Subaru stuffed full of all the things we need: coolers, sleeping bags, clothes, blankets, camera, computer (so I can send you these blog updates), and lots more and hit the road. About 2:30 p.m., I called Quackgrass....By this time we were both expected to be in Casper. Our conversation went like this...

"Howdy," Quackgrass said. "Where are you?"

"About 5 miles from my house." (Which meant about 195 miles from Casper).

"I'm almost to Shoshoni (about 100 miles from Casper)," she said.

We both started laughing.

"Oh, well. We'll get there when we get there."

At 6:30, and still an hour out of Casper since I had to make several stops along our route to work out some details, I called and told her, "I'm starved. I didn't eat breakfast or lunch. I'll be there in about an hour. Buy a bucket of chicken and I'll meet you at Ben's."

I got to his house only 15 minutes later than planned. She and Ben had the chicken and we had a good dinner at his house then we sat and talked til it got dark. Literally. About 10 p.m. he said, "How come we're sitting here in the dark?"

"Cuz we're all too lazy to get up and turn on a light," I said....dragging myself up to go flip the switch.

Quackgrass has a 30 foot gooseneck horsetrailer that will be headquarters for she and I on this trip. It's almost as full as my Subaru. All of this is evidence that the elephant we have been chewing on since January is now in boxes and tubs! After a quick look at her setup, I headed over to the Ramada Plaza Riverside, where I'll stay for the next couple of nights. Thank you very much to manager Renee, for providing the rooms for Bob and I. The Ramada Plaza also provided our lodging when we were here in May for our production meeting. We really appreciate their support and ask you to support them if you are in Casper!

--Candy

Kim Merchant

Kim is one of our very cool teachers that will be on the trip.  He looks like he should always be on a wagon train!!  Candy Moulton (the show producer)  and I caught up with him and his students at his ranch a couple of weeks before our leaving on the production.

 - Bob Noll

Pre Production

Pre-production

A lot of planning goes into getting a show like this off the ground.  This is just a short clip from a number of meetings we have had discussing all sorts of small details related to the show. By the way, these are all the teachers on the trip, Dave Vixie, Kim Merchant and Janet Wragge and the producers Candy Moulton and Quackgrass Sally.  I'm behind the camera (Bob Noll) as always.

Can't wait to see you all in Wyoming!!

Come Along Boys...

Come along boys and listen to my tale...
I'll tell you a story about the old Chisholm Trail...


That is the beginning of a very old cattle drive trail song.
This photo by Lincoln made me think of it. Perhaps we'll make up some verses to this melody when we are out on the Old Oregon Trail.

Come a ti yi yippy, yippy yea, yippy yea...come a ti yi yippy, yippy yea.

--Candy