May 18, 2007 – More Nebraska

The further west we traveled, the more the landscape changed. The Sand Hills that looked more like ocean waves of grass transitioned to higher hills and larger valleys. The vastness of this land is awesome!! But the wind – oh my – it is always there!!



As we came into Alliance, Nebraska, the landscaped flattened out but we are at ~4200’ in altitude – WOW! Alliance is considered a large town in this area. There are ~9,000 people here but the town is spread out over a few miles. The streets that make up the downtown are red brick. There is also a train hub here so we see many, many trains coming and going. There are also a lot of services – a McDonalds but no Wal-Mart (but there is a K-Mart!).

Hopefully you can see the red bricks in this picture.

We are staying at the J&C Campground for two nights - private campground with full hookups and wireless internet. There are 12 spaces here and only 2 others were filled.

So the rest of the day, we explored the town and chilled. (And of course, I am getting caught up with the blog and emails, etc.)

Miles Traveled: 155
Routes Traveled:
Nebraska:
SR-2 (Sand hills Byway), US-385

May 17, 2007 – NEBRASKA

Nebraska – What an incredible state!!

We left the flatlands of eastern Nebraska and entered the Sand Hills. Picture this:
- Large sand dunes covered in grass, as far as the eye could see.
- A few ranches in the middle of the dunes.
- Cattle dotting the landscape and many calves also.
- Windmills to pull water from the wells.
- Trains, many trains, most hauling coal.
- Towns with less than 100 people about every 30 miles.
- Larger towns with populations around 300 people about every 75 miles. We even went thru a town that had red brick sheets.
- Wind, wind, and more wind.
- Very few trees except those planted as wind breakers.
- Very few roads.
- Very few services (no Wal-Mart or McDonalds out this way).

The pictures just do not show the vastness of this land.

This is considered the high plains – our altitude is ~2500’. Some of the hills are 400’ tall and 20 miles wide. This is the largest tract of stabilized sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere. This is also the area where the government gave away 160 acres in the 1800’s (Homestead Act). They then put it to 640 acres when not enough people came forward. People that came here either starved or left because they could not farm the sandy soil. Eventually the cattle ranchers took over because the sand dunes offer some of the best grasslands for raising cattle and bison.

We camped at the Nebraska National Forest – the largest hand planted forest in the country. Our campsite was nestled in the trees so it gave us a break from the wind. And once the sun set, the wind stopped – amazing!

We are very close to Mountain Time Zone and what is interesting is that the sun sets ~8:30 and it is still light at 9:30.

Miles Traveled: 297
Routes Traveled:
Iowa:
SR183, G37, I-680
Nebraska:
I-680, I-80, US-281, SR-2 (Sand hills Byway)