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Washington Post Article - Nebraska


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In a special article to the Washington Post (Sunday, Sept 2, 2007, Page P01), Gary Anthes has written an interesting article entitled "Ghost Roads of Nebraska". He mentions the Lincoln Highway, and other rural state and federal highways in Nebraska, including US 385 ("Gold Rush Byway"), Nebraska Highway 2 (Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway), and US 26 (Western Trails Historic and Scenic Byway). The article is not "in-depth" as the author's trip was only four days; clearly not enough to really "see" a substantial part of western Nebraska.

IMHO, one could spend that much time just on the Lincoln west of Kearney!

 

You will have to do a free registration with the Washington Post.com. I've been registered with them for a long time, and have not experienced any unsolicited email attributable to the registration.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...476.html?sub=AR

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In a special article to the Washington Post (Sunday, Sept 2, 2007, Page P01), Gary Anthes has written an interesting article entitled "Ghost Roads of Nebraska". He mentions the Lincoln Highway, and other rural state and federal highways in Nebraska, including US 385 ("Gold Rush Byway"), Nebraska Highway 2 (Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway), and US 26 (Western Trails Historic and Scenic Byway). The article is not "in-depth" as the author's trip was only four days; clearly not enough to really "see" a substantial part of western Nebraska.

IMHO, one could spend that much time just on the Lincoln west of Kearney!

 

You will have to do a free registration with the Washington Post.com. I've been registered with them for a long time, and have not experienced any unsolicited email attributable to the registration.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...476.html?sub=AR

 

Larry,

 

That was one great read!!! Thanks for the tip! And I didn’t have to register...although I think I will as Gary has done some other pieces that look interesting.

 

He and I are kindred souls. Give me a small town and the local cafe any day. But I’d need my old guide books so I could spot the old hotels, garages, etc.

 

One thing you and others from the Great Midwest have done is convince me to spend some time there.

 

Thanks again...this is a highly recommended read!

 

Keep the Show on the Road

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Great write-up. That was the area KC and I traveled thru on our South Dakota trip in 2002. We drove 20 between Chadron and Valentine, and there are, as the man wrote, miles and miles of nothing.

Speaking of signs in windows. I remember the note posted on the door to the motel we stayed at in Valentind: "There will be no cleaning of game or fish in the bathrooms!!!" LOL

How empty is that country out there. We left Valentine around 5am headed south on U S 83 bound for North Platte. Somewhere south of Valentine, it was still darker than the inside of a bruised crow, but the eastern sky was beginning to show signs of light. All of a sudden these little pin pricks of light showed up in the road ahead of us. We managed to stop before we ran into 6 or 8 cows headed northbound in the southbound lane. Let's see you find THAT in the middle of Illinois or Indiana!!! LOL

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Edited by hester_nec
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Great write-up. That was the area KC and I traveled thru on our South Dakota trip in 2002. We drove 20 between Chadron and Valentine, and there are, as the man wrote, miles and miles of nothing.

Speaking of signs in windows. I remember the note posted on the door to the motel we stayed at in Valentind: "There will be no cleaning of game or fish in the bathrooms!!!" LOL

How empty is that country out there. We left Valentine around 5am headed south on U S 83 bound for North Platte. Somewhere south of Valentine, it was still darker than the inside of a bruised crow, but the eastern sky was beginning to show signs of light. All of a sudden these little pin pricks of light showed up in the road ahead of us. We managed to stop before we ran into 6 or 8 cows headed northbound in the southbound lane. Let's see you find THAT in the middle of Illinois or Indiana!!! LOL

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

 

Alex,

 

So when the sun did rise, and you were no longer dodging cows, what was it like? Were the small town people as friendly as Gary says they are. Did the waitress in the small cafe find the town to her liking?

 

Did the old timers come in for breakfast and all sit around their table, each in his favorite chair, and swap stories? Did anyone ask where you were from, or where you were headed? Was the meal big enough for two people? Were the photos on the wall of the town? Was the ketchup and mustard in red and yellow squeeze bottles? Was the check written on a dime store receipt book?

 

Were kids riding their bikes on the main streets? Did the merchants sweep their sidewalks in the morning? Were people talking to one another on the sidewalk? Did strangers make eye contact and smile or say “Hello?” Did the mayor walk down the main street and greet passers by? Could you cross the street outside the crosswalk and not have horns blare? Did oncoming drivers wave and smile?

 

Just wondering.....what the small town Midwest is like.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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..We managed to stop before we ran into 6 or 8 cows headed northbound in the southbound lane..

 

Some years back when I used to travel all over Nebraska as a part of my job, I used to fairly regularly use a county road which runs east and then south across the Box Butte tablelands from Alliance (NE) to Scottsbluff, as it was shorter and more interesting than taking the highways.

 

One day I was about one-third of the westward along this route, when I encountered some outriders moving a large (multiple thousands) herd of cattle eastward, and I had to come to a complete stop. Shortly, one of the horseback riders angled over to my car and said, "Go slow and go ahead. They'll move."

 

I felt like Moses parting the waters, but yes, indeed, they came to within a few feet of the front of my slow-moving car and diverted off to one side of the other. Ever had to swim upstream against the flow of a river? That was the feeling!

 

Let's see you find THAT in the middle of Illinois or Indiana!!! LOL

 

You won't find this type of experience anywhere outside of cattle country!

 

Alex,

 

...Were the...

 

I think the answer to every one of your questions is yes! At least it my experience it certainly has been!

Certainly in almost every small town. It tends to get lost somewhat in larger towns and certainly more so in the cities.

 

I think it was Garrison Keillor in one of his routines about Lake Wobegon said that in a small town you can't walk anywhere without people stopping to ask you if you want a ride!

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Larry,

 

You are obviously a Lincoln Highway pro, and apparently you enjoy rural America.

 

I have wondered for some time whether the Midwest held an interest for me, especially as I enjoy authentic small town America.....not the “living history” variety, not the” main street recreation of what never was”, and not the “bedroom community.”

 

We enjoy the full range of authentic small towns in the eastern half of Oregon and Washington. Some are flourishing, some are stagnant, and some are dead or dying. Most (not all!) small communities in the Western half of both states are so influenced by nearby urban areas that they are not independent communities.

 

But, and here comes my point...I have been to all of them many times and I want to see someplace new.

 

I enjoyed the article from the Washington Post on Nebraska. Like the author, I have a preconception of Nebraska as flat with lots of corn (in the ground ). But he paints an intriguing picture. And you confirm my hopes.

 

As for cattle, it would be hard to travel Montana, Wyoming, Eastern Oregon, or much of Idaho off the interstates in the Fall and not encounter herds being brought down from the higher elevations for the winter. As you described, if approaching head on, I approach slowly, stop, wait for a few to pass around me, then start moving ahead slowly. Watch for the calves because they can make a last second jump in front of you. I often stop with the rear cowboy, who often has a dog or two, and say Hello. He probably went to Harvard, so don’t I expect him to spit and mumble. If approaching from the rear, I always be sure the cowboys have seen me, then slowly move ahead through the herd. The cowboys will usually help make a path for you, if necessary.

 

I guess I should add that hitting a steer on open range at 65mph can ruin your whole day! I see inexperienced drivers assume that a steer beside the road will stay put while they whiz buy at full speed.

 

Thanks for the info and tips!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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About 15 years ago I was driving to my job on the outskirts of Terre Haute. I was on a narrow county road when I rounded a curve and had to hit the brakes so I wouldn't hit a cow just standing there in the middle of the road. No amount of coaxing moved her along, so I drove around her.

 

It's not six or eight cows, but it is in Indiana!

 

jim

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About 15 years ago I was driving to my job on the outskirts of Terre Haute. I was on a narrow county road when I rounded a curve and had to hit the brakes so I wouldn't hit a cow just standing there in the middle of the road. No amount of coaxing moved her along, so I drove around her.

 

It's not six or eight cows, but it is in Indiana!

 

jim

 

Jim

 

I expected that story to be that you came around the curve and there was a corn field in the middle of the road. :rolleyes: It is Indiana! ;)

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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