The bugle sounded at 5:00 in the morning and by 7:30 the wagons moved out double file along the level, flat bottoms of the Platte.

Some historians see April 19th as the day the trek west really began. Until now, they'd been in a staging mode traveling back and forth to Winter Quarters. Now their focus: Due West.

They went about 20-miles this day, but could they know for sure? As William Clayton walked along counting the revolutions of a wagon wheel he had a thought:

William Clayton

"...FIXING A SET OF WOODEN COG WHEELS TO THE HUB OF A WAGON WHEEL IN SUCH ORDER AS TO TELL THE EXACT NUMBER OF MILES WE TRAVEL EACH DAY."

In a few weeks, his odometer would become reality.