Relaxed. Starting back in 2014, along with my desire to travel, my dad and I began taking Father-Daughter trips once a year. Sometimes we were accompanied by my sister and others, but at the core it was for us. Dad has a goal of visiting each of the five hundred plus historical markers in the state of Nebraska scattered throughout ninety-three counties, and every time we get a chance we hit the road on our quest to see them all. I thought maybe moving to Texas might mean the end of our travels, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find that's not the case. This past spring (ok, late winter in Nebraska) Dad and I took to the bluff country in extreme western Nebraska, searching for historical markers among the state's national monuments dedicated to the Great Western Trails.
Bluff country butts up agains the sandhills, and for anyone who thinks Nebraska is flat you're wrong. Well, partially wrong. Yes, Nebraska is flat if you keep to the I-80 corridor, but if you get off the interstate and head north you'll find a landscape of rolling prairie and sandstone bluffs that rise out of the grasses like the backs of giant sea creatures. The sandhills are my favorite place to visit in Nebraska, and I was more than happy to go with Dad as we scoured them for historical markers. Our quest brought us down some pretty obscure Nebraskan roads to some pretty obscure Nebraskan Monuments, but hey, "Honestly, it's not for everyone."
What's not for everyone? What about the fossil quarries laden with ice age bone and ash deposits at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument? What about the Oregon and California Trails that pass through the state's Scotts Bluff National Monument, rich with pioneering history? Don't get me wrong, I got out of Nebraska as soon as I had the chance because I always knew I would leave the state, but that doesn't mean I don't like to visit. And not just because my family is there. Nebraska boasts a neat assortment of state and historical parks, and a small handful of national monuments, that are well worth the effort of leaving the interstate to go explore. And that's exactly what Dad and I do every time we get a few days to run away to continue tracking down historical markers.
We might have cheated a little bit and drove up the 800 foot tall Scotts Bluff instead of hiking the trail to the top, but on a chilly winter/spring day, driving seemed like the more prudent option. The views of the prairie grasses and the ridge of bluffs receeding past the Wyoming border into the distance are something you wouldn't get if Nebraska really was flat, and I couldn't help but be a little awed at what lay around us. As the gateway to the more rugged mountain country in Wyoming, western Nebraska was a stop for many on the pioneer trails as they prepared for mountain conditions, and as such their trails, camps, and forts litter the area around the bluffs. The bluffs themselves were used as landmarks, breaking up the monotony of the plains.
One such landmark, a rather famous one if you were raised in Nebraska, is Chimney Rock. In my experince with my travels just about every state has a "Chimney Rock", but there is only one true rendition of this rock, and it resides in western Nebraksa. Dad's and my fifth Father-Daughter trip wouldn't have been complete without a stop at the state historical park protecting Chimney Rock, as well as no less than four historical markers near its location. Chimney Rock wasn't our last marker on our trip, but Dad and I began heading home after our visit to the park. I think we only have two or three areas of historical markers left to get, and then we'll have to find something else to do for our annual trips!
No comments:
Post a Comment