John and I decided to drive west through Nebraska, through Wyoming and into Montana for a week’s vacation the first part of September. Just to let you know this trip took place the second week of September so the USA government shut down that is going on now did not affect us and the national parks and monuments we visited.
We had such a great time and saw a lot of beautiful countryside on our driving trip, our favorite way to travel. The first place we stopped to visit was Chimney Rock in western Nebraska. We had both seen it many times since we were kids but now there is a visitors center nearby and we wanted to stop and see it and get a closer look at Chimney Rock. I remember driving by it when I was a kid but it was still a distance away from the highway. This was great to get to stop and see it closer after all these years.
Chimney Rock was used by the pioneers to guide their way across western Nebraska as they traveled the Oregon Trail, California Trail and the Mormon Trail. Chimney Rock is 300 ft. (91 m) tall and can be seen for many miles from the Platte River valley so an obvious choice by the pioneers. Over the years it has become shorter for various reasons: natural eroding, lighting strikes, artillery practice in the late 1800s and sonic booms from aircraft all have helped to reduce the rock. The planes are now restricted from flying at the supersonic speeds near there and obviously no one is allowed to shoot at it anymore. The part that nature plays in reducing the height can not be helped. It is still magnificent and we could see it a long way before we arrived so it is easy to imagine those pioneers using it as a guide.
Here is a link to read a bit more about it on Wikipedi
here. Of course that isn’t the official site but that too is shut down for now. Google Chimney Rock to find more information from other sources I guess. (I won’t go into how disappointed I am in our government officials –Congress, Senate, both Democrats and Republicans and the President and his advisors – that they could not act as adults and come to a compromise. They are all acting like spoiled children and demanding their way and only their way! Enough said on this subject.)
We left the Chimney Rock visitors center just as they closed for the day and drove on to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. We did take time to drive by the Scottsbluff National Monument, another landmark along the pioneer's trails. It is another tall rock formation that was used to guide the settlers going west. It was closed for visitors when we arrived and decided not to take time the next morning to drive up to the top and tour the visitors center as we had been there before and had another sight to see north of the town of of Scottsbluff instead. You can read more about the monument here on the Wikipedia site
here. After the government shut down is over do a search of and visit the official website…..grrrrr, Oh that’s right I was not going to say anymore.
The last planned stop in Nebraska was at the
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument where they claim the largest number of prehistoric animal fossils were found on a ranch in the 1890s. They say there are still more prehistoric fossils in the hills in this photo but the decision was to leave them there as they would probably be more of the same and they don’t want to completely destroy the area. The area was a prehistoric lake that eventually dried up leaving animals to eat all their food supply close by the lake and eventually dying close to the shrinking lake. The visitors center has over 500 Indian artifacts on display; they were gifts to the rancher/owner from the area tribes as he was a great supporter of them. We didn’t take time to hike out to the hills this time but have it on our list of things to do on our next visit. Western Nebraska has more areas of just pastures and few trees and is so beautiful.
From here we left Nebraska and traveled through Wyoming, admiring the scenery as we drove. John and I love to see the way the views/vistas change as we drive from one area to another. Most days we purchase sandwiches and keep raw vegies, fruit and chips in the car for our lunches. We like to stop at some place beautiful, listen to nature and take our noon break. It is a very relaxing way to travel as it tends to restore our souls. Western Nebraska and Wyoming roads and highways had very little traffic so that also made the trip pretty relaxing. Visited one of my cousins in Gillette and stayed in Buffalo, Wyoming before heading into Montana the next day.
Until later,
Lynn
One of the places we had on our list to visit was the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana or you might think of it as “Custer’s Last Stand.” In 1876, this is the spot where George Armstrong Custer, a controversial military general, led his men into battle against a group of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who were just trying to defend their traditional nomadic way of life. The soldiers were defeated in this battle but the Indians were soon to loose their way of life. A sad moment in our history for sure.
This was a very sobering visit and so interesting to read the information on the different sites and to walk the same hills. Small white stones mark the place where soldiers died and in recent years, markers have been erected where Indians were killed. I am glad the Indian’s are honored here too as for too many years it was just the solders that were recognized.
Here are more of the photos I took while at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. To read more about the area, the battle, the people involved just Google. Interesting reading to be sure.
We walked the trails around the battlefield and could visualize the descriptions of the various parts of the battle.
View of the river valley where the Indian tribes were camped. Most of the battle took place in the hills where we were standing.
View to the east and the Reno-Benteen battlefield. More history of this area on the east edge of the Little Bighorn Battlefield here and here.
Horses grazing in part of the National Monument – a beautiful sight. One colt was having a lunch break as we drove by.
If you ever get a chance to visit this monument be sure to go as it brings history alive. I have never been one for liking history much but visiting these places is so interesting and finally all that reading about them years ago in my history classes makes sense.
Our drive from Gillette, Wyoming to Buffalo, Wyoming was absolutely beautiful. We had just spent a very enjoyable afternoon and early evening with my cousin and his wife in Gillette and after eating and visiting over our evening meal with them we were on the road again. Our plan at first was to get to Sheridan but decided we wanted to see the countryside in the daylight so stopped for the night in Buffalo. The photo above was taken about 8 pm as the sun was sinking in the west. There were virtually no cars from either direction on I-90 as we headed to Buffalo and you could see the Big Horn Mountains in the distance as the sun was setting. Everything was so peaceful and a great ending to a wonderful day. 
From here we left Nebraska and traveled through Wyoming, admiring the scenery as we drove. John and I love to see the way the views/vistas change as we drive from one area to another. Most days we purchase sandwiches and keep raw vegies, fruit and chips in the car for our lunches. We like to stop at some place beautiful, listen to nature and take our noon break. It is a very relaxing way to travel as it tends to restore our souls. Western Nebraska and Wyoming roads and highways had very little traffic so that also made the trip pretty relaxing. Visited one of my cousins in Gillette and stayed in Buffalo, Wyoming before heading into Montana the next day.
Any spare time I have had in the last week I have been working on the photos from our trip to Hawaii…yes we went to Hawaii so if that is what you guessed you were right. As you can imagine, we had a wonderful time and going to a warm place during Nebraska’s winter makes it even more pleasant. This was a first trip there for both John and I. We loved it and want to go back again someday.
