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Over A Century Later, Oregon Trail Sees New Travelers Take On Uncertainty Of Adventure

Loren Case, of Boise, Idaho., looks at a life-size wagon replica at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center located on the Oregon Trail, June 11, 2004, near Baker City, Ore.  (Rick Bowmer/AP)
Loren Case, of Boise, Idaho., looks at a life-size wagon replica at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center located on the Oregon Trail, June 11, 2004, near Baker City, Ore. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

In the mid-1800s over half a million Americans migrated west in covered wagons along the Oregon Trail. They were searching for riches, claiming land and fleeing religious persecution.

But no one had authentically crossed the trail in a wagon in over a century — until Rinker Buck. Jakob Lewis of Here & Now contributor WPLN shares Buck’s story of facing the uncertainty of adventure, and the fleeting nature of arriving.

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