Nebraska: More than you expected
Everybody knows that Nebraska is mostly wheat fields with a few packing houses thrown in, right? Or maybe an area to travel through on I-80, just as the pioneers traveled the state’s Mormon, California and Oregon Trails.
Would you be surprised that the state’s group travel planner runs 285 pages and contains 28 different itineraries? Let’s take a look at the state’s top attractions. Unlike the pioneers, we’re going to travel from west to east.
Outside of Scottsbluff, nearly at the Wyoming border, sits Chimney Rock National Historic Site. The pioneer trails followed the Platte River west and this 475-foot rock formation, the most recognized landmark along the Oregon Trail, is home
to a visitor’s center that tells the story of the western migration. If you’re going to be there during the evening, consider a ride on the nearby Oregon Trail Wagon Train, capped by supper cooked over an open fire.
Travel east to North Platte, situated at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers. Buffalo Bill Cody was a Pony Express rider, buffalo hunter, scout and trail hand. He lived here and staged what might be the country’s first rodeo in 1882. Four years later he built his Scout’s Rest Ranch, now open to the public as part of the Buffalo Bill State Historic Park.
His Victorian home is surprising in its elegance and the barn is now a museum of memorabilia from his Wild West Show. Also in North Platte is the Union Pacific Railroad’s Bailey Yard, the world’s largest railcar classification complex. It’s here that 130 trains with 10,000 cars are assembled daily.
Approximately 500,000 settlers passed through Kearney on their way west and Fort Kearny was the first fort built during the period to keep peace on the frontier. Today, the Fort Kearny State Historical Park offers recreated buildings that mark this as a home station to the Pony Express.
Along I-80, east of North Platte, is the only attraction in the country that lies over an interstate highway. The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument tells the stories of the trails, Indian and fur trader routes, the Pony Express, Lincoln Highway and first transcontinental railroad, all of which are near here. Interactive exhibits portray westward expansion from the early 1800s to today, with bison charging.
Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden features more than 50,000 historic items and comprises one of the largest private collections in the country. It takes twenty-eight buildings to house the collection, which has 20 aircraft, 100 tractors, 350 autos and seven kitchens.
By John Closter
For full article please click here
Courtesy of leisuregrouptravel.com
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