From where their wagon train crossed the Missouri River, Laura and her Aunt Sarah traveled 2000 miles of rough terrain and hostile territory to reach their final destination, Placerville, California.

During the 19th Century, over 300,000 brave men, women and children traveled across the continent in search of a new life in the West. The epic journey required eight hundred to a thousand dollars for a wagon, mules, food and supplies to last a year. Eighteen to twenty miles was considered a good day's travel.