Finds In Nebraska

When we arrived at our campground in Grand Island, I noticed a billboard for Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer.  I thought it might be interesting, so Ron & I drove over to the 200 acre sight of the Museum.  Unfortunately, because it is off season, there were none of the working craftspeople in their shops in the 1890's Railroad Town.  They are also doing extensive remodeling of the Stuhr Building where there are exhibits on the 1860-1910 period in Nebraska, so we were not able to see them.  There was, however, a really interesting collection of American Indian & Old West memorabilia in the Gus Fonner Memorial Rotunda.

The weather was a little cool & cloudy, but we decided to walk through the beautiful arbor, and met these characters.

Then wandered through the shops, homes and other structures, most of which were 600 years old, that had been moved here and restored.  One of the homes is Henry Fonda's childhood home!  We got in the truck and drove through the rest of the 200 acre museum, to see the Rural Schoolhouse, 1893 Farmsted, Taylor Ranch and, my favorite, the Pawnee Earth Lodge.

It would be really fun to see this unique museum when it is up and running!

 

Our next stop - Ogallala!  I always like seeing the farm lands become ranch land, and the area around the North Platte River.  I had never seen it in the fall, so the brilliant yellow along the river banks were beautiful.  We stayed at a really nice little campground - the Sleepy Sunflower RV Park, just across the river from the city of Ogallala.  Our first sightseeing stop was an unusual one - the Petrified Forest Gallery. One of the volunteers, who also happened to be a collector of arrowheads, took us through the galleries.  There were little replications of buildings made entirely out of petrified wood hanging on the walls, show cases of petrified wood from all over the world, arrowheads and Native American tools, plus some beautiful bronzes, pewter sculptures and modern Native American artwork.  I am sorry I don't have any pictures!

The next stop was Boot Hill, where gamblers & horse thieves, together with residents were buried in the 1800's.  Named Boot Hill because they were buried with their boots on.

The cemetery was abandoned in 1885, and most of the bodies were moved, but in the 1950's the city acquired the property and in the 1960's it was cleaned up & "restored".

Also, on Boot Hill is a huge bronze, "The Trail Boss" to commemorate the importance of Ogallala during the days of the cattle drives from Texas.  They estimate that over a million cattle came up the Texas (Western) Trail between 1870 and 1885.

We also saw that there was a state park not far from Ogallala, so we took Guido the next day to Lake McConaughy State Rec Area.  It was a beautiful day, and the park is gorgeous.  Expansive beaches with white sugar sand, together with the fall foliage made it a great place to visit.

We have been trying to see a little something everywhere we go, and it sure has resulted in some great finds.  Next stop is Loveland, Colorado - then on to Colorado Springs.  See you soon!