Twice in my #life I've gone down the "rabbit hole." I still really have not climbed out.
▶ Obsession #1: The Donner Party.
Who were they? (Just ask Jack Nicholson's character in Steven King's "The Shining.") They were a group of covered wagon settlers who traveled from Springfield, IL to what today is Sacramento, CA, in 1846, only to get to present day Truckee, CA on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and become snowbound.
As in they had to build cabins and winter there for 6 months, with almost all of the food running out in the first few weeks. Yes, they ended up resorting to cannibalism to survive.
But the stories of #personal and #communal #perseverance in this story has always captured my awe and attention. Of rescuers trekking 80 miles through 15-20 feet deep of snow only to find the #survivors so starved, that many could not even return with the rescuers (and were eventually cannibalized).
I have personally covered about 75% of the Donner's cross country #journey on foot or car in the last 30 years. Best spots are in Utah and Northern California, but there are fascinating remnants of the trail in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Nevada, too.
➡ Do I have a single person in my network who shares my interest in the Donner Party? ➡ Would anyone like a book recommendation to learn more? ➡ Are any of my Mormon friends aware of the incredible significance the Donner's had on modern day Mormon life?
P.S., I already used up too much LinkedIn real estate describing my first rabbit hole. Rabbit hole #2 to follow in a separate post.