AUGUST 7, 2014 GERING, NE - SCOTTS BLUFF, NE

AUGUST 7, 2014

Today was a driving day.  We headed towards Scotts Bluff, NE.  On our journey we stopped by Jail  Rock,  Courthouse Rock, and Chimney Rock.  These are three of the most famous landmarks of the westward migration.  Nearby passed the Oregon/California Trail, the Mormon Trail, the Pony Express Trail and the Deadwood Trail.  The emigrants that followed these trails west traveled 5 to 6 months walking on average of 15 miles each day aside their wagons carrying all their supplies.   Many did not make it dying from cholera.  It was a long, boring walk with nothing to see in front of them but flat land until they reached these big rocks.  

CHIMNEY ROCK

AUGUST 4, 2014- AUGUST 6, 2014

AUGUST 4, 2014

We spent more time in Nebraska than we intended to.  There is a lot of history here that we really didn't know about.  When we reached Kearney, Nebraska there was the Great Platte River Road Archway going over the highway.  It was quite impressive.  In the archway is a cultural learning trail that takes you back to the time when Native Americans and the great buffalo herds mapped the Road that others would follow.  One could join a Wagon Train and it brought you on a journey to explore the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails as you travel through the Archway spanning I-80.  We didn't stop here but wish we had.  

Our next stop was in Ogallala,  Ne.  We stayed in Sleepy Sunflower Campground for 3 nights.  On our first day we just took a drive around the area.  There is a huge lake here called Lake McConaughy.  On one side of the lake there was all beaches with pure white sand and on the other side of the lake were sand dunes.  Ogallala is only a small town with not much to do.  We did visit the Lake McConaughy Dam.  It generates a small amount of electric power.  Bubbles wanted to jump in when she saw the water.

We then had lunch and proceeded to Boot Hill Cemetery.  There were grave stone markers here dated back to the 1800's. 

  On day 2 we decided to drive back east about an hour to see Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, Ne.   This is an 8 story tower overlooking the Union Pacific's Bailey Yard (the world's largest train yard).  After a short movie depicting the history of the yard, we went up to the 7th floor open platform to get a panoramic view of the train yard.  This yard is two miles wide, 8 miles long and has 360 miles of track. This yard is where east meets west,,,meaning on the Union Pacific railway all trains from the east and from the west have to go through this yard and be reclassified.  They separate all the cars and re-position them to go on the train going to the correct destination.  More than 10,000 cars are handled each day.  150 trains leave here each and every day.  Lots of trains loaded with coal cars coming from Wyoming travel through here.  Each train has 138 cars and each car holds a total 104 tons of coal.  The retired conductor who worked there 43 years told us that a nearby electric plant burns 4 of these cars each hour.  We were really glad we went back to see this.  It was amazing.

THIS IS THE LOCOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP.  THEY ARE CAPABLE OF WORKING 750 ENGINES A MONTH

THIS IS THE BEST PICTURE WE COULD GET OF THE TRAIN YARD

IOWA TO NEBRASKA--AUGUST 3 , 2014

AUGUST 3, 2014

We are leaving The Winnebago Factory in Forest City, Iowa today.  All our warranty work is done and we are leaving for Nebraska.

Our first stop was to see the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa.  The Grotto is the inspiration and life work of Fr. Paul Dobberstein.  He gathered rocks and precious stones from around the world.  He worked 42 yrs creating thousands of intricate rock settings that form the Grotto's walls and ceilings.  The Grotto is a composite of nine separate grottos, each portraying a scene in the life of Christ.  The theme of Redemption gives unity to this sacred space. It is truly a beautiful and peaceful place.  Glad we stopped here.

FRONT OF GROTTO

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Our next stop as at the Ice Cream Capital of the World in LeMars, Iowa.  All the street corners are decorated with ice cream cones.  The building is from the1830's and redecorated as an old time ice cream parlor.  The Blue Bunny ice cream cones were yummy.  Not much else to say about it.  It was a fun stop but wouldn't go out of my way to go there again.

 

JULY 28, 2014-----GRAND CANYON & ALBUQUERQUE HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA

                             

We left home on July 12th after the wedding of our son and headed for Forest City,  Iowa.  The wedding was beautiful.  It was held in Dennis, Ma on the beach.  We are so happy to have Kathy as our new daughter in law and her sons and mom as a permanent addition to our family.   We took 3 days to get here driving a total of 1500+ miles.  We attended the Winnebago Rally from July 16 to the 20th.  It was a good rally and we attended many seminars.  After the rally, we went to the Freightliner Camp on the 23rd and 24th.  This was an intense 2 full day class.  We learned an awful lot and are glad we decided to sign up for it.  Now we are at the factory getting warranty work done on our new motorhome.  Hopefully we will be done here by the end of the week and be able to move on to start the fun part of our trip.