I find it endlessly fascinating that you can still see the ruts of the Oregon trail. I have half joked with my family about taking a trip to see them myself, but nobody seems to share my enthusiasm. I was excited to see this book at a small bookstore in Michigan. This book hit two points of interest for me, one being the historical education around the great migration of people on the Oregon trail and the other the simple adventure of going across the country and all that can represent.
One interesting point made in the book is that rugged individualism of the pioneer that has shaped the spirit of America, never existed. Sure there were a few trailblazers, but the many millions of people who emigrated out West were all reliant on the community and government that heavily invested in them.