Chimney Rock, Nebraska

 It was downright hot when we left Chadron, NE.

But soon cooled to 98 degrees. Chadron was founded, in part, by Charles Henry King, whose second son Leslie Lynch King had a son in 1913 named Gerald Ford, the future president. Apparently a divorce or two was the reason for the name change. Today, Chadron’s claim to fame, politically speaking, is being the birthplace of Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota. We did not visit his not so famous home.

The temp remained in the high 90’s as we found our way south. We used US 20 to the town of Hay Springs, and then turned south on Nebraska 87. This is definitely farm/ranch country.

Just north of Alliance, Nebraska, we happened upon “Carhenge”.

The brainchild of Jim Reinders, this monument to a monument was first thought of when Jim was stationed in London as an executive in the oil industry. Jim and his wife spent many years in the Middle East, but enjoyed their home in England, where they had time to explore. The original Stonehenge made a significant impression on Jim, so that when he retired and returned to his birthplace in Alliance, Nebraska, he began to let his thoughts wonder how a tribute to that amazing structure could be created. He was living on the family farm when his father passed away, and immediately Jim’s mind crystallized an idea. As a tribute to both his father and the far off ancient structure, a replica began to take shape. Large stones aren’t plentiful in Nebraska, so after some conversation with family, he decided to use cars instead. Jim’s mantra was “Conceptualize, Visualize, Actualize”, and so it came to be.

The cars have been placed in the exact relationship to each other as in the original Stonehenge, but other artists have added to the collection over the years.

In spite of the hot temps, we enjoyed a walk through the exhibit, before heading to our destination for the next few days, Chimney Rock Pioneer Crossing RV Park.

This amazing stone monolith was a beacon for pioneers heading to Oregon back in the day. Plentiful grass for animals and game for people made this a welcome rest stop. The nearby North Platte River turned what is known today as the North Platte Valley into paradise. It remains lovely area, with farms and ranches throughout. We expect to explore this area, as we enjoy anything Pioneer related, and this was a crossroads for trails going west. There are many things to see here.

At about 8 in the evening we were treated to a beautiful midwestern sunset.

Just a short distance from the rv park, the Nebraska Historical Society operates the Chimney Rock Museum. The location gave us a different perspective of the landmark as well as providing an in depth look at pioneer life in this area.

We decided to continue on to the Scotts Bluff National Monument, just south of the city of Scottsbluff.

The road to the top passes through three tunnels and is very narrow and steep. The guardrails were short, as was popular in the ‘30’s when the CCC built it, but we made it!

The view of the North Platte Valley was awesome, but would have been better if smoke from Colorado wildfires wasn’t drifting into the area.

Nearby, the Legacy of the Plains Museum has thousands of artifacts relating to the many pioneers that literally walked through this area and the people who settled here.

Many pioneers made the trip in wagons like this restored Studebaker wagon.

In the early twentieth century, experimental vehicles were often created to deal with harsh weather.

Some of us remember our mothers using these appliances.

Among the vehicles and farm machinery in an adjacent building, a 1927 Chevrolet stakebed truck quietly waits for an affectionate glance. Yeah, I remember a truck like this on the farm.

This fuel delivery wagon went to surrounding farms, delivering fuel oil and lubricants.

A rear engine, one bottom plow is one of the more unusual items on display.

And yes, my Dad had a manure spreader like this!

The museum has an extensive collection of wire fencing. I had no idea that so many different types existed!

After our sightseeing and museum overload, we couldn’t possibly cook dinner at home, so a visit to Bobbie Jo’s Branding Iron for wing Wednesday became important!

Three different sauces later ( habenero, house, and dry rub), we pronounced the wings more than satisfactory! 

After dinner we sat outside on a cool evening to toss a ball for Sasha and to enjoy another beautiful sunset.

A flock of birds kept circling us!

The Historical Society lights up Chimney Rock every evening. It is a spectacular sight!

Next day, we heard that more pioneer points of interest exist west of us, so off we went into Wyoming on highway 26. Our first stop was the first settlement in Wyoming, Ft Laramie, but we learned as we approached that a 28,000 acre wild fire known as the Pleasant Valley fire nearly destroyed the well known site. The fire continues to burn uncontrolled at this time, and two small towns remain evacuated.

Western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming are crisscrossed with former stagecoach, wagon, and foot trails. We saw this marker as we were examining an area that was burning just yesterday.

Sorry, I was trying to find some humor in a tragic situation.

We reached Ft. Laramie a few miles west.

Ft Laramie fell into disrepair after the army left, but many buildings were restored in the 1930’s. This sawmill building was not in thr restoration budget!

Twas a hot day, so hiking to every building was not possible. These remains were just out of our reach.

The officers quarters and one barracks building have been rebuilt and are maintained.

Our next stop was Register Rock, where many people from pioneers to your neighbors have carved their names into the soft sandstone near the North Platte River.

This was also the site of a Pony Express station, which operated 1860 to 1861.

Swallows have appropriated some areas as their homes.

A few miles further west, a small remnant of the Oregon Trail is visible in a sandstone outcropping that was the only way around a narrow bend in the nearby river.

It was emotional to stand in the four foot deep tracks that were trod by thousands of men, women, children, and animals.

Across the road from the ruts, a grave reminded us of the perils these hardy souls endured.

Leaving Guernsey, we decided to take a slight detour home. US 85 took us south to La Grange, Wyoming, then highways 88 and 71 brought us back to Scottsbluff. It was incredible to see miles upon miles of farmland and ranch land.

Back in Nebraska, we cruised past Scotts Bluff and turned toward home.

A lovely and interesting two hundred and twelve mile daytrip….note to self: check fuel level tomorrow.

Which we did! This was also a chore day: laundry, grocery shopping, and stops at a couple of roadside produce stands for sweet corn, field ripened tomatoes, and free range chicken eggs. Good stuff! Then back to Bobbi Jo’s for a prime rib dinner. This was the third night in a row at Bobbi Jo’s. We had chicken fried steak the night before, and an enjoyable conversation with John, age 88, who once owned the local Chevrolet dealership. As a long time resident, he had a story or two to tell! We chatted a bit about Chimney Rock, and he told us he remembers when it was just a little bump! Go on, John!

Our last day in the Scottsbluff area, and oh my, what to do? East of our rv park about 25 miles, the last of the pioneer sentinels remained for us to explore, Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock. We had to check them out. In the small town of Bridgeport, NE, population about 1500, we turned south onto highway 88, then turned onto a county road toward the rocks.

The Courthouse is on the left in this photo.

The view north from the two sentinels encompassed the entire North Platte River Valley.

A last look as we turned away.

Back in Bridgeport, with a Dr Pepper in hand, we explored a bit and checked out a bit of the towns history.

 

We couldn’t just go home, so we figured out a back country road that eventually took us to Scottsbluff, and to another view of Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock.

Complete with prairie dogs…those little dirt mounds in the foreground are their burrows.

Mid Nebraska rivals Wyoming and Montana for big skies! This was a very nice forty some mile detour road, complete with three pickups passing! Lonely!

It’s been a real bucket list thing for us to visit the Scottsbluff area and renew a connection to those pioneers who came through here. It’s mind boggling to think that they walked this very ground where we’re standing! It’s just over a hundred degrees today, with about 46% humidity. Moderate, they say. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to walk through this kind of temperature wearing long dresses and wool clothes. Hardy souls, they were.

Now it’s off to the south again. I wonder what this next stop will be like!