Life's Good!

I've always wanted to say this, so here it goes:

"I guess we're not in Kansas anymore!"

No, we're not, we're in Nebraska, Dorothy! Barely though, only 50 miles over the border, in Elm Creek.

We arrived early, and set up quickly at another Passport America campground, just off the highway, again not the prettiest, but OK for a one night stay.

I'd never pay the $30 fee, even the PA rate of $15 was high but it was very conveniently located, they had nice hot showers and the electric hookup worked, so we bit the bullet.

As planned, we drove the 17 miles to Kearney to have lunch at the Thunderhead Brewing Company.

As we often do while visiting a local brewery, we ordered a 'flight' with 5 different beers, and a 'Thunder Pie', their signature pizza.

The beers were very good, as was the pizza which had a good filling (alfredo sauce, roasted chicken, bacon, jalapenos, pepper jack and mozzarella cheese, with a side of Thunderhead ranch) and excellent crust but it was on the small size for the price.

Our next destination was the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.

Spanning 310 feet over Interstate 80 near Kearney, Nebraska, The Archway presents 170 years of transportation history through detailed displays and harrowing stories you’ll hear during a self guided tour with headphones and audio, as you walk over one of America’s busiest interstate highways.

Inside, a tall escalator takes you up into a variety of displays and videos, that highlight the Great Plain, Platte River, and the pioneer trails, railroads, and highways that led to the American West. It gives a very personal feel to the experiences of past travelers, and the significance of their journeys to the West.

You start at Ft. Kearney in the 1840s where the Oregon Trail converged with the Mormon Trail and California Trail. From there you follow the historic trails while listening to the stories of the early pioneers.

You see the first stage coaches, the first trains and finally the first cars
come into existence.

Going in, I thought that this may just be another touristy pioneer museum, remember, the ones that I was never going to visit again, ever. Wrong. It was actually a very good, and fun, educational experience detailing the movement west from the mountain men to the Interstates. Very well done!

The next morning we followed the I-80 east along the Platte river.
Had we been a month earlier we would have stopped at various wildlife viewing areas with 'blinds' to see the dancing of the famous Sandhill Cranes.

For five weeks each spring, approximately 500,000 cranes stop to gain energy from the fertile lands along the Platte River. From mid-February to mid-April 90 percent of the world's cranes can be seen and heard for 30 miles along the Platte River.

Unfortunately, we missed it. Oh well, maybe we'll be back ....

All we saw were wild turkeys. I tried to take a few shots but it's not easy to do from a moving truck ....

On almost every other fencepost or wire perched a Western Meadowlark. I guess when you're the State Bird you have to put in an appearance!

When we arrived at Bridgeport around lunchtime, our end destination for the day, we had a little trouble finding the state park we'd picked out online, but eventually found it.
Relatively small but very popular, Bridgeport State Recreation Area lies adjacent to the North Platte River on the north edge of the town of Bridgeport. The area totals 197 acres with 119 acres of land and 78 acres of water in several sand pit lakes.

It gets very busy here in the summer but right now we had the place, except for some fishermen, to ourselves.

That's us, there in the distance

After setting up and a quick lunch we set out to visit Chimney Rock, about 12 miles to the east of us in Bayard.

Chimney Rock is a prominent geological rock formation, rising nearly 300 feet (91 m) above the surrounding North Platte River valley. The peak is 4,226 feet (1,288 m) above sea level.
During the middle 19th century it served as a landmark along the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Mormon Trail, which ran along the north side of the rock. It is visible for many miles.

"Towering to the heavens" is how one pioneer described the most recognized landmark along the Oregon Trail.
It was taller when it was first seen by settlers in 1827, but has been reduced in height since then by erosion and lightning.

The pillar consists primarily of clay inter layered with volcanic ash and sandstone. The harder sandstone layers near the top have protected the pillar from erosion.

You can’t walk up to the site, because it is private property but we'd at least wanted to visit the Ethel and Christopher J. Abbot Visitor Center, which features museum exhibits and a video about pioneers and the migrations in the West.
Well, wadda-ya-know? It was closed because of .... Arbor Day!

It turned out that the first American Arbor Day originated in Nebraska, and this day, the last Friday of April, is a legal holiday so some state offices and historic sites are closed. Just our luck!

That evening and night we had some violent thunderstorms going through the area. The thunder and lightening were something else, it was quite a spectacle!

Fortunately it had all passed us by morning and we continued our journey under nice, sunny skies.

What makes Carhenge special is that it's made of cars, 38 of them, rescued from nearby farms and dumps. Reinders noticed that the monolithic dimensions of cars from the 1950s and '60s nearly equaled the stones at Stonehenge, and he built his monument with a 96-foot diameter to match the proportions of the original. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2606#sthash.pU5mLS7z.dpu

Traveling North on the 385 we bypassed another Pioneer museum (you know why) but stopped at the site of this unusual road side 'wonder'.

Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge, located near the city of Alliance.

Instead of being built with large standing stones, as is the case with the original Stonehenge, Carhenge, conceived in 1987 by Jim Reinders as a memorial to his father, is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint.

Carhenge consists of 38 automobiles arranged in a circle measuring about 29 meters (95 ft) in diameter. Some are held upright in pits 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) deep, trunk end down, and arches have been formed by welding automobiles atop the supporting models. The 'heel-stone' is a 1962 Cadillac.

In addition to the Stonehenge replica, the Carhenge site includes several other sculptures created from autos covered with various colors of spray paint.

Carhenge very nearly didn't survive. The residents of Alliance at first wanted to tear down Carhenge. Then the Nebraska Department of Highways wanted to label it a "junkyard" and erect a big fence around it. But the animosity passed, and now signs on the outskirts of Alliance proudly call it "Home of Carhenge." Postcards are readily available in town. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2606#sthash.pU5mLS7z.dpuf

The site very nearly didn't survive. The residents of Alliance at first wanted to tear down Carhenge and the Nebraska Department of Highways wanted to label it a "junkyard" and erect a big fence around it. But the animosity passed, and now signs on the outskirts of Alliance proudly call it "Home of Carhenge."

Not exactly worth a special trip, I'd say, but since we drove right by it, it was a fun place to stretch our legs and have a cup of coffee.

Still heading North towards the state border the road and scenery changed ever so slightly from barely 'rolling' ....