Taking Time for Tourists

Saturday and Sunday were focused on covering as many miles as possible.  Saturday we covered 550 miles in going from Morgantown to Bloomington, Illinois.  Sunday we covered 619 miles in going from Bloomington to Kearney, Nebraska.  Today we only covered about 450 miles in going from Kearney to Newcastle, Wyoming.  Saturday and Sunday were primarily traveling west.  Today we went to the western end of Nebraska and then got off the Interstate and then went primarily north;  going to the northern edge of Nebraska and then traveling to the northern part of Wyoming.  Saturday and Sunday were on interstates;  today we were on several state roads, as well as the interstate.

Interstate 80 definitely plans for severe weather situations.  There are gates at the entrance ramps to close off access;  signs along the road announcing that the road is closed ahead when the lights are flashing;  and large gates that can block off the road.  In Wyoming there are permanent wooden snow fences that stretch for long distances to help keep the blowing snow off the roads.

Western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming are still farming areas, but the color of the fields has changed from green to yellow and brown.   The land is no longer flat but more rolling hills.  Wheat seems to be the primary crop and large fields are used for grazing cattle.  In Wyoming the side roads were all labeled for the "ranches" - definitely not called farms.   Houses here are miles apart - you definitely don't have a neighbor close by.   Even the towns along the road are far, far apart.   Several times we have had signs warning about the distance to the next services (such as gas, food, etc.).  These distances have been 50 - 80 miles away without any services available, so you definitely need to keep track of the gas gauge.

Our first "tourist" stop was at Ash Hollow State Park.  It was supposed to be a fossil collection with the bones having been covered up with volcanic ash.  It is a relatively new park and we drove around the road and found no signs.  When we finally located the Visitors Center it was closed due to "budgetary cutbacks".  It was up on a hill and we did have some neat scenic views down on to a large lake and there were some interesting formations on the sides of the ridges.

Some of the outcrops of the volcanic ash in which the fossils are found.

Cottonwood trees, looking straight up.  The white specks in the blue sky are cotton blowing off the trees.

Our second "tourist" stop was at Chimney Rock National Historical Area.   Chimney Rock is a very large rock formation in western Nebraska.  It has a large cone-shaped base (about a half mile in circumference) and has a chimney-shaped formation perched on top of this base.  The top formation is quite tall.   All of it is white in color and can be seen for quite a distance.  It was used as an important landmark by the settlers heading west on the Oregon Trail to guide them in to the flat Platte River valley.

Judy and Chimney Rock

Our third "tourist" stop was at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument which was approximately due north of Chimney Rock and up in the northwest corner of Nebraska.   A rancher discovered fossilized bones and got some paleontologists to come look at his discovery.  They discovered one of the largest "bone piles" in North America with many unusual bones / fossils.   Researchers have worked on excavating the bones and also trying to explain why this occurred.  Since we weren't in any hurry, we also enjoyed conversations with another visitor - a middle school math teacher from Massachusetts who is following along the Oregon Trail for his vacation.  We also chatted with one of the park rangers about different national parks.

Chatted with Betsy on the cell phone.  She had tried calling yesterday and I returned her call.   This is the first time I have tried using the phone since we have been on the road.  But, at least here in Wyoming, it is working.

Tonight we are staying at the Autoinn Motel in Newcastle, Wyoming.