our nebraska adventure - lots o' pics

[fizzgig]

we visited carhenge and scotts bluff national monument this weekend so i could take some pictures. the husband may refuse to go to the bar for a beer with me, but he'll put 500 miles under his butt in a crappy rental just so i can shoot.

i swear to gods, chevy went out of their way to make the spark suck. it got great mileage and didn't break down, but it was poorly designed and miserably uncomfortable.

it was chilly and windy when we got to carhenge, but it was fantastic.







i think this is my favorite shot of the night



we even remembered to get pics of ourselves





standing atop scotts bluff

if you look through the haze, you can see chimney rock in the distance



the visitor's center. that road has the only vehicle tunnels in the entire state.

[Kaleva]

1. Intersting! Thanks for posting!

[fizzgig]

3. thanks!

and you're welcome

[Tobin S.]

2. I've been by Scotts Bluff many times, but never had the chance to stop in.

That's the curse of being a trucker. You get tantalizingly close to so much great stuff around the country but rarely get the chance to experience any of it. It's just endless miles of pavement and what you can see outside the windshield.

Great pictures.

[fizzgig]

4. that had to be frustrating

it didn't make sense to not stop while we were out there.

one of the neatest parts of the trips was driving the back roads. we only took the interstate when necessary (25 south from cheyenne) and it was really relaxing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I LOVE your favorite shot, with the crescent moon in the background, my dear fizzgig!

That one made me laugh when I saw it.

And they're all great!

[fizzgig]

6. i love it when i can get the day(ish) moon in my shots

and i love that my camera can get it.

i put the whole trip on facebook if you have the time to look through a brazillion pics.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

7. That's where I grew up

H.S. in Alliance ( Carhenge - Knew some of the people that got drunk at the party and started playing with tractors)

Family lived for a while in Scottsbluff, my little sister was born there

Worked all over western Nebraska for years. Still have family in the area, but haven't been able to go back, due to financial constraints. I'd really like to, and it looks like I might be able to next year, if things go all right.

I miss Runzas. I have to make my own, but by the time I'm through with making them, I don't feel all that enthused about eating them for a day or two.

If you go East on Highway 2, into the Sandhills area, you can find some interesting shots. It's a fascinating type of terrain.

[fizzgig]

8. we passed a runza on the way

the husband refused to stop and i was a sad panda

i've driven 80 for years but have only gotten off the beaten path twice. it's definitely something i'm going to do more often. beautiful land out there.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

21. One taste and he'll be a convert

When I described them to my New York City native wife, she was somewhat less than enthused. But the first time we had an opportunity to go through and get one, she was hooked. Now she is one of the most enthused when I make a batch. They disappear at a mysteriously remarkable pace.

When I grew up in Alliance, the cafeteria would occasionally serve cabbageburgers (Runza is a trademarked name), and even the people who were too cool to EVER be caught eating in the cafeteria would be in line, you could even get an extra one for a nominal fee.

This digression would be better in the cooking & baking group. Maybe this winter, I'll document when I make a batch and post it.

[pinboy3niner]

9. No cornfields?

The Children of the Corn will not be pleased.

[fizzgig]

10. our dinky little rental couldn't have taken out a single one

we got lucky.

[pinboy3niner]

12. You just THOUGHT you got lucky

You haven't met Anthony...he reads the internet now.

[eppur_se_muova]

11. "Nebraska" and "adventure" are two words I would not normally associate with each other ...

... unless maybe I got a chance to visit Ashfall.

(Hey, for science nerds, that's an adventure!)

[fizzgig]

13. i so want to go there

[Kaleva]

16. Lol!!

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Cool shots.

I never knew Nebraska had this interesting stuff.

[fizzgig]

15. it was only within the last few years that i learned nebraska was more than corn and I-80

beautiful country out there.

[erronis]

19. If you have the time and inclination, read John McPhee's book "Annals of the Former World"

It is about traveling along I-80 from NYC to CA wth great descriptions of the geography, geology, and people along the way.

Having spent 10 years by accident in Kansas, I learned that there is no place on earth that doesn't have beauty and very special, unique qualities. However, I do prefer mountains and oceans/lakes.

[fizzgig]

25. there is beauty everywhere you look

it's just different beauty in different places.

i've driven 80 from atleast winnamucca, nv to near the iowa/illinois border and that sounds like a great read. i would like to travel that road the rest of the way some day. of course, i think i've also hit road construction every time i've driven it.

[davidpdx]

17. Very interesting pictures

You should have submitted one to the photo contest this month. The theme is roadside adventures.

I traveled through Nebraska to Lincoln in the mid 90's. Drove all the way from Portland Oregon. It took two days each way. What a LONG drive. I visited a second time (I flew into Omaha though) and stayed in a very small town called Bennett. Having come from a town of 18,000, I thought that was small. Bennett was tiny.

[fizzgig]

23. that definitely a two day drive

i had to break portland to northern colorado into two days.

the whole reason for the trip was this month's contest. i'm number five in the first thread

[frogmarch]

18. My old stomping grounds

I grew up in Alliance, and I now live less than an hour's drive away. Of course, there was no Carhenge when I lived in Alliance, so it was pretty boring.

Next time you're in the area, you should visit Hemingford, a small town about 18 miles north of Alliance. Hemingford is famous now because of Stephen King:

http://www.starherald.com/hemingford/news/author-king-answers-question-why-hemingford/article_b1ba548a-97de-5561-b3bb-1397e7f81fc5.html

snip:

Author Stephen King put Hemingford on the map, so to speak, when the town was mentioned several times in his 1984 film “Children of the Corn.” While some in Hemingford would rather not be associated with the stigma of “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” others are happy the community has gained distinction from the author’s work; dubious or not.

Since Children of the Corn, King has seemed to be fixated with Hemingford, including the town in such works as: “Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice”, a film entirely in a fictionalized version of Hemingford; “It”, character Ben Hanscom stops in at the Red Wheel Bar in the town of Hemingford Home, Nebraska; “The Stand”, Hemingford Home, Nebraska serves as the home for the main character, Mother Abagail; and the upcoming novel“Full Dar, No Stars”, in the novella “1922”, the story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, NE onto land willed to Arlette by her father.

More at the link.

[fizzgig]

24. i saw hemingford on google map and thought about going

kinda regret not.

beautiful country out there, but definitely not much to do.

[frogmarch]

28. Except for

joining cults.

[erronis]

20. omg - how did you survive in the winds driving that tiny bit of metal?

Nebraska (and most of the midwest) is known for the fierce shit that roles unobstructed from Canada (and the Arctic, Russia, etc.) Back when I had a 1970 VW bus we'd hide under overpasses until the winds subsided - sometimes for days/weeks.

[fizzgig]

26. oh, i know the wind around there

but it was surprisingly calm the entire way. i think we got blown around more by the semis going the other way on those two lane roads than by the wind.

i drove the entire way across nebraska in my 82 volvo wagon once and had the wheel cocked the entire way.

[Hula Popper]

22. thank you Fizz

I really miss road trips......

[fizzgig]

27. we're lucky that we can do these sorts of trips

we don't have kids and have multiple people to watch the cats, so we can pretty much just pick up and leave as long was we can get the time off work.

i'm planning a Grand Adventure for next summer and really hope i can make it work.

[hibbing]

29. Glad you enjoyed a part of my state

Fun pictures, bit different out west than in the eastern part of the state.

Did you get Runza?

Peace

[fizzgig]

30. we drove past one, but husband refused to stop

>_<

i've driven 80 dozens of times but this is the first time i've ever gotten off the beaten path. beautiful country you folks have.

[hatrack]

31. If you get a chance, the northern Panhandle is a really interesting area - and hardly anyone knows!

To start with, Pine Ridge runs in a big arc across the region. So you're grinding along across the Big Flat, and five minutes later, you're looping your way through hoodoos and bluffs, cliffs and spires, and more ponderosa pines than you can shake a branch at.

Crawford and the area around there are really cool. Neat little town, with huge cliffs to the west near Ft. Robinson. That's where Crazy Horse was killed, and where Dull Knife and the Cheyenne fought their way out of a locked barracks in the middle of January as they tried to go home. It's one of the most moving and tragic Native stories out there.

Agate Fossil Beds NM is a great, little-known park. Lots and lots of Miocene-era fossils, including this bad boy - a sort of giant pig about 8' tall at the shoulder:



Head north, and the variety is incredible. Great open grasslands, complete with pronghorn, big badlands (but with hardly any visitors), rolling forested ridges, all within a few miles of each other.


Sowbelly Canyon, just north of Harrison


Nearby badlands


Ft. Robinson State Park


Ft. Robinson State Park

[shenmue]

32. Neat!

[fizzgig]

35. this is perfect for the Grand Adventure that i'm planning for next summer

i've completely re-worked it based just on these pics.

[Tom Kitten]

33. Thanks for the tour!

Nebraska is one place I've never been, I thought it was all flat, like Kansas! Carhenge is a trip!

Posts like yours and Solly Mac's (the Mystery House!), of road trips, I enjoy very much. In fact I'm inspired to maybe post a few journals of road trips I did in the SW deserts earlier this year... Lots of interesting things out in the middle of "nowhere!"

[fizzgig]

36. i'd love to see pics!

there is so much beauty and wonder in this world and we'll only see a lot of it through someone else's eyes.

i've driven across nebraska many times, but this was only the second time i've gotten off the beaten path and it's incredible.

don't forget to check out this month's photo contest finals!

[fizzgig]

37. please post them!

there is so much in the world to see, but most times the only way we will see them is through someone else's eyes.

nebraska is very, very flat in places, but the western part is quite beautiful. someone in this thread posted some pics, including one of a state park i'd like to visit

[Tom Kitten]

38. ok I will work on it!

Actually I have been working on them...slowly! I'm sure you know how that goes! Choosing and putting in order, editing, downsizing, uploading to photobucket! I'll aim at doing a thread during the weekend. Right now I'm having problems with Photobucket not showing any of my photos!

In the meantime, I did one post last Oct. about one place I went to in the Mojave- The Bottle Tree Ranch http://www.democraticunderground.com/103636230

I did recognize the peak in Nebraska (the one on the quarter) and know it was a landmark for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail...

[valerief]

34. Those are great. Thanks. nt