30. Nebraska

     We entered the grasslands of Nebraska and the yellow wildflowers gave off a beautiful hue to the landscape. We had just commented how we had not seen any cornfields when all of a sudden there they were. Soon after the cornfields came the fields of wheat. It was getting late and we still had not had lunch so we turned off into the small town of Crawford. Surely even with a population of less than 1,200 there would be a place to eat.

     We drove up and down Crawford’s main street and finally decided to try the Frontier Bar and Restaurant. There really weren’t many choices; in fact we only saw two. As we walked in, I knew we weren’t in the right place. It was no longer the Frontier Bar and Restaurant but just the Frontier Bar. The bartender asked if he could help us and we asked if he served any sort of sandwiches. He said no, but we could go next door to The Wagon Wheel and they had hamburgers and he recommended the hot dogs. It was located next to his beer garden and we could bring them back to the bar and eat if we wanted to. Now, why would he say we could bring it back there to eat? Once we walked outside we knew, next door was a food truck. We’ve eaten at food trucks before, but not usually in a small town. The lady who operated the truck came from the bar to cook my hamburger and Dennis’s beef Angus hot dog.  Once we had our food in hand we walked to the beer garden to sit and eat. We could tell by the decorations they were getting ready for their big Independence celebration.  The food was decent, you really can’t ruin a hamburger or a hot dog, the weather was nice, and the people were friendly. It was time to get back on the road and head south.

     It didn’t take us long to reach Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. We hadn’t seen much in Nebraska except for grasslands and Dennis noticed the sign to a national monument. We could see the bluff but weren’t sure what was significant about it.  We weren’t sure whether we really wanted to explore or keep going. With Dennis’s urging we turned down the two lane road and headed to the monument. I’m glad we did. We paid the fee to enter the park and drove to the summit so we could walk to the South Overlook trail. The trail gave us a view of Mitchell Pass which was part of The Oregon Trail.  Wow, this was where the pioneers crossed. The view is terrific now but I doubt if the pioneers thought so. This is where they would be leaving the plains and entering the mountainous area. It also looked like a perfect place for an ambush. Mitchell Pass was also part of the Pony Express route.

     The North Overlook gave us a view of the North Platte River and valley. After taking in the views we drove to the visitor center and took a look around the museum while we recharged the camera battery. Since Scotts Bluff was also on the Pony Express route it was fitting that its mailbox be a Pony Express bag. Hopefully the post card I mailed to the third graders will get back to Oakridge a little faster then when the Pony Express was operating.