“Sunday, 8th. Started about noon and went ten miles; scenery of the country was grand.”

Bear River Valley--a photo taken by Charles R. Savage in 1869.

For the last few days Bidwell’s entries had been of this type. The two companies (Bidwell’s and De Smet’s) were still traveling together, but not for much longer. They were following the Bear River as it wound northward along what is now the Wyoming-Utah-Idaho border. Bidwell uses the word “beautiful” over and over to describe the picture of the river as it meandered through high bluffs. And there were wild currants too, “some of which were of an excellent quality.”