Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for nebraska
Nebraska’s Version of Stonehenge
By Linda Tancs
There’s only one Stonehenge in England. Not so in America, where the love of Britain’s prehistoric, megalithic structure finds expression across the country in media like foam, granite, concrete and other materials. In Alliance, Nebraska, the scale replica takes it up a notch to Carhenge. As you might have guessed, this tribute comprises automobiles (39 of them) arranged in the familiar circular pattern. Some are held upright in pits 5 feet deep, trunk end down, and arches have been formed by welding automobiles atop the supporting models. The site, located at 2151 County Road 59, is open year round from dawn until dusk.
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A Gem in Omaha
By Linda Tancs
At the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, visitors get two gems in one: a landmark building and a seminal collection of the region’s history. Designated a National Historic Landmark, the building housing the museum is the Art Deco-style Union Station. At its peak, 64 passenger trains and over 10,000 passengers utilized the facility every day. The focal point is the Main Waiting Room, currently the Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall, which measures 160 feet by 72 feet and is spanned by a 60-foot-high ceiling adorned by six, 13-foot-high chandeliers. The hall features several architectural elements common to the style, like a ceiling of sculptured plaster, cathedral-like plate glass windows, a patterned terrazzo floor and colonnettes of blue Belgian marble. The museum’s permanent galleries also capture a bygone era and include reproductions of Native American abodes as well as a worker’s cottage from the late 1800s and early 1900s, a replica of a grocery store from the 1900s and an authentic streetcar from the 1940s.
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A Geology Lesson in Nebraska
By Linda Tancs
Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska has been of scientific interest since the late 1890s when the U.S. Geological Survey made the first formal geologic investigation of the area. Rising to 4,659 feet above sea level and 800 feet above the North Platte River, the geology of Scotts Bluff is significant from a natural resource standpoint because it affords a view of 740 feet of continuous geologic strata that spans a time period extending from 33 to 22 million years before the present. Boasting the most geologic history of any location in the state, you can learn the most about the monument’s unique geological features (like its buttes, plateaus, bluffs, mesas and pillars) by hiking the Saddle Rock Trail, a 1.6 mile trek featuring 435 feet of elevation change. You can also admire the views from the north and south overlooks, the Prairie View Trail and the Oregon Trail Pathway. There’s a trail for every ability level.
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The Outlaw Trail
By Linda Tancs
Aptly named for the outlaws of a bygone era that roamed the area, Nebraska’s Outlaw Trail is a scenic byway along Highway 12 that stretches 231 miles between South Sioux City and Valentine. Highlights include the Niobrara National Scenic River, a must for river recreation. On the south side of the river you’ll find Smith Falls, the highest waterfall (at 63 feet) in the state and the centerpiece of Smith Falls State Park. Not far from there is Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, established by Congress in 1935. Maybe you’ll spend a night at the historic Argo Hotel in Crofton, built in 1912 to serve the railroad trade.
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Life in the Sandhills
By Linda Tancs
The Nebraskan Sandhills refers to a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska. In the heart of the Sandhills is Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, an area encompassing nearly 72,000 acres of lakes, marshes and prairie grasses that provide a habitat for diverse wildlife. In fact, it’s home to 270 species of birds, 59 species of mammals and 22 species of reptiles and amphibians. Among many distinctions, the refuge is recognized by the state as a top ecotourism site and by the Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area, especially for its large population of greater prairie chickens. The Marsh Lakes Overlook and a short nature trail provide great views of the grasslands and marshes. You’ll also find an observation deck located on the old fire tower, a great place for bird watching and prairie views.
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Take Your Valentine to Valentine
By Linda Tancs
How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Maybe with some chocolate and a candlelit dinner. Well, there’s so much more awaiting you in Valentine, Nebraska, where of course you can obtain a postmark to commemorate the day of love. But most visitors travel there to start a float trip or to tour the river valley, a good starting point for the 76 miles of the Niobrara National Scenic River that winds through bluffs, waterfalls and fossil resources along a largely undisturbed shoreline. Less than one percent of U.S. rivers have received a scenic river designation by the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System, an honor reserved for those that are flee flowing with clean water and a largely undeveloped shoreline. The area features notables like the Allen Bridge; listed on the National Register of Historic Structures, it’s the longest single span bridge across the Niobrara. You can paddle among sandstone cliffs and visit public landings like Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge and Smith Falls State Park, both of which have beautiful views of the river.
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Nebraska’s Foremost Citizen
By Linda Tancs
Nobel Prize-winner Sinclair Lewis called Willa Cather the foremost citizen of Nebraska because her books so vividly depicted the Cornhusker State. Indeed, her depictions of the Nebraska prairie and farming communities were important milestones in American literature, and she is one of the most important American novelists of the first half of the 20th century. Her childhood home in Red Cloud is a state historic site. Guided educational tours of the home and other historic buildings related to her life and writing are conducted throughout the year. To experience the topic of her writings, visit the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie, a 612-acre haven with nearly two miles of free public walking and hiking trails.
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The Old Wagon Trail
By Linda Tancs
Nebraska pays tribute to America’s westward expansion at the Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney. The 1,500 ton structure crossing 308 feet of the heavily traveled I-80 emulates a covered bridge and commemorates the pioneering spirit—from the Pony Express to the creation of the first transcontinental road (Lincoln Highway). Officially opened on June 9, 2000, it offers visitors the opportunity to see and hear over 170 years of American history.
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Chicken and a Movie
By Linda Tancs
Forget the poppycock. In Wayne, Nebraska, it’s all about chickens. The Wayne Chicken Show takes place from 8 -10 July this year at various downtown venues accessible by shuttles. Complete with cluck-tible souvenirs and hot wings, the festival includes a rooster crowing counting contest, quilt show, parade and the world’s largest chicken dance. Now that should put some pluck in your cluck.
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Hit the Ground Running in Omaha
By Linda Tancs
Attention all marathoners: time to test your mettle on the rugged terrain of Omaha, Nebraska on Sunday, September 23rd. But your sneakers are worn down, you say? No need to worry. Run without them in this year’s first barefoot runners category. But don’t forget your t-shirt. http://www.cafepress.com/wanderfulplaces/2321174
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