September 5, 2008

September 5, 2008

Well the sunflowers are frowning today. The rainy cold weather has caught up to us again. From Mormon Island we cross the smallish Platte River and follow it west through Nebraska. It rains the whole morning. The terrain is flat and full of cornfields reminding me of Illinois. Surprisingly Iowa was the more scenic state. Same cornfields, but with lots of rolling hills.

By afternoon we have outrun the wet weather again. Yeah! At the town of Ogallala, NB we depart I-80 and follow the North Platte River northwest. This is the same route that our country’s early pioneers followed on their journey west. Only they did it walking beside their oxen drawn wagon. After 600 miles of walking they would have come upon the major landmark of the trip, Chimney Rock. This distinctive needle formation can be seen for miles away and marked their one-third point. Only 1200 more miles of walking to go! Chimney Rock is now a National Historic Site. We stop at the visitor center, and watch a very good film about the pioneer trails.

A little further west we stop for the evening at a very nice RV Park in Gering, NB. Our site sits in the shadow of Scott’s Bluff, another famous rock landmark along the pioneer trail.