Pic.........

[Goose]

This Friday, Saturday, yesterday, and today, my wife and I managed to check out the Fort McPherson National Cemetery by Maxwell, Nebraska, Fort Robinson at Crawford, Nebraska, and the Niobrara Wildlife Refuge by Valentine, Nebraska.

Got home about an hour ago.

This pic was taken this morning on NE83 between Valentine and Thedford, Nebraska.

I'll post more when I get the photos sorted out and touched up.

 

[ditchwitch]

Beautiful, Sure looks like a lonely highway

 

[tomturkey]

I always thought it best to travel thru Nebraska at night time. gobble

 

[Greg K]

That's my favorite part of nebraska besides home. I love the wide-open skies and nothing for miles. If I was in the woods I get nervous because it's all closed in around me LOL.

 

[Pitalplace]

Everybody says there is nothing up there. I think nothing is beautiful.

 

[Allan in NE]

That is one cold lonely road in the middle of the night when it's 20 below. :>)

Allan

 

[Dick2]

I traveled NE a few times at night. On one trip northbound in the Sandhills, we came up on a semi parked in the right lane at 2:00 a.m. and it was starting to snow. The shift linkage had lost a pin and the driver was trying to get a nail into the pin hole but couldn't line them up in the dark. We loaned him a flashlight and it just took him a couple minutes to fix the linkage. Don't know how long he'd been there waiting for someone to come along.

When we got up to Valentine, we ran into a blizzard and the roads were closed so we had to get a motel anyway. We had originally planned to drive through to ND.

 

[dzc3]

I worked afterhours dispatch for a major trucing company. We had a driver that ran all of New York City and north to Maine. He was tired of the same run so I offered him a load to LA. He thought it was great until he came to Nebraska at night. Called in more than a little upset that it was so dark and he hadn't met a car for about an hour. He was concerned that if he broke down, a bunch of "rednecks" would get him!

 

[Goose]

I'm fascinated by that part of the state. I'd been over most of what we covered but my wife hadn't. And when I travelled those roads before, it was on business and I just went from point A to point B without the stops along the way.

That stretch from Valentine to Thedford is 58 miles with only a couple of house visible, and they're 'way off the highway. A fellow who used to work for me had a daughter and son-in-law who had a cow ranch south of Valentine. From their house on the ranch it was 42 miles to where they could buy a hamburger.

 

[Goose]

I kept track. Yesterday afternoon at one point between Chadron and Valentine we went 13 miles without seeing another vehicle in either direction.

 

[Crookedwrench]

Last Summer my friend and I drove 1150miles to Harrison,NE and unloaded a 1947 Farmall H with a recent rebuild on the motor. We followed the route you are on with the Tractor Relay Across Nebraska. Eight days---450+miles! The new fangled hour meter registered 47.5hrs on the breakin of the rebuilt motor. Wonderful scenery seen at 12mph. Made new friends and had a great time. We swapped up the tractor driving. We were a long ways from KY! We got to pull the "pooper" on the first day??

 

[Crookedwrench]

Picture of the "H" and "pooper"

 

[cowranch]

For scenery I'd go up the road north by Verdigre, Niobrara, then East. Hills, trees, some rock cliffs/formations by the river.

 

[BobinSD]

I normally drive through there two to four times a year (once or twice each way) on my way from eastern SD to south western CO. It's almost always dark when I'm on that stretch. It's nice to find a place where the cell phones don't work, and that's my preferred summer route, but if it's too cold or any weather is expected I take the interstates instead. At least it's easier to find gas through there than it used to be.

Bob

 

[Ultradog MN]

I was kinda down in that country this weekend. Visited the MIL in Vermillion SD. Snuck out of the nursing home yesterday and went exploring a bit. Over to Yankton and then down to Newcastle NE. I liked the bluff country in the Missouri Valley. Nice scenery. Saw some old tractors along the way.

 

[jm.]

Last fall rolled into Valentine about 8PM only place to eat was a blue metal building up on side of road, knda a steak house honkeytalk combined . As we got out of the car two elderly ladies approached the door. I held the door open being nice, they looked like they could not have opened it. I thought no more about it, went in and the place divided dance floor to left and restaurant to right. We had our meal and as I walked out those two grannies were cutting a rug on the dance floor. First time I had ever tried buffalo , was not bad.

 

[wd9garymn]

Made that trip from Valentine to Thedford many times in 1963-64-65. Worked for a company out of Minnesota setting tombstones in cemeterys all over Neb.-So. Dak & Kan. Set up a headstone--dig hole for footing-mix& pour cement--set tombstone and finish the cement-- in a cemetery outside of Thedford. Got into town and a thermometer read 117 degrees--mid July.Seems like a tough place to make a living, but some of the nicest people in Nebraska than anywhere in the lower 48,IMHO.

 

[Kent Petersen]

That"s sand hill country been there many times

 

[cool hand]

Reminds me of my time at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1958--U.S. 40, 60 miles from Junction City to Topeka, and 60 miles from Topeka to Kansas City, Only one house in sight between those towns as I recall.

 

[Goose]

That sounds like what is now the Peppermill. We ate there Saturday evening.

 

[casecollectorsc]

Been there, done that many times in my semi going from E SD to Denver.

 

[casecollectorsc]

In 30 years trucking I think I got stopped for speeding twice on that stretch of hiway. Both times at about 2 in the morning when you thought there couldn't be any living being out there. The deputy out of Valentine is a real piece of work.

 

[Eldon (WA)]

(quoted from post at 12:57:52 04/04/16) This Friday, Saturday, yesterday, and today, my wife and I managed to check out the Fort McPherson National Cemetery by Maxwell, Nebraska, Fort Robinson at Crawford, Nebraska, and the Niobrara Wildlife Refuge by Valentine, Nebraska.

Got home about an hour ago.

This pic was taken this morning on NE83 between Valentine and Thedford, Nebraska.

I'll post more when I get the photos sorted out and touched up.

Came thru there quite a bit in the 90's when going from southern Utah to the farm in SD....usually late at night. Only time I saw a UFO...was west of Fort Robinson about 1 in the morning....

 

[jeffcat]

Now I can just see this going down the street in a town's parade!

 

[jm.]

Plan on making it back there about fall depending on how our harvest goes. Want to be there in Early Sept not Oct. gets too cold. Can,t remember the name but went in a quick shop and asked too young ladies where to go eat and they both looked at each other and then said well I guess so and so.. Big old long blue building right up on the side off the road dimly lit but was good eating.

 

[Janicholson]

Lazy WP lives near Valentine. Very interesting countryside from there all the way any where else. Jim

 

[Stephen Newell]

Nothing wrong about going prepared when you are traveling.

 

[Steamboat]

I spent a month in the Sandhills 3 years ago. For an Easterner, it sure was different country, but I fell in love with it. Sure is a lot to see if you know where to look. I added quite a few birds to my life list, plus bison, elk, mule deer, antelope all over the place. Those rolling plains seemed life heaven to me!!