NE-SD Road Trip Day #1

A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.

Day #1: Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE

Stop #1: Covered Wagon abandoned store near Milford, NE - Random roadside attraction I needed to see! Right off of I-80, exit 382

Stop #2: Clayton Museum of Ancient History at York College, York, NE - Hidden gem of a museum. Artifacts are from a private collection. Plus there was a kid’s interactive area. Always a plus when traveling with kiddos.

Stop #3: Random backyard zoo in York, NE - I snagged a pic of the giraffe, but there was also a zebra, lion, hippo, cow skeleton, and a few others.

Stop #4: Lee’s Marbles in York, NE - Another random hidden gem. This is an antique store, junk shop, and marble museum. Arthur got a free bag of marbles from the owner.

Stop #5: Harvard Jail in Harvard, NE - Check out the story featured in the historical marker. We had to see this tiny jail once owned by a dummy!

Stop #6: Birth of Kool-Aid, Hastings, NE - I had to take a pic of the building that birthed Kool-Aid. We traveled about a mile away to see the Kool-Aid Man’s footprints at the Hastings Museum (we didn’t go in, just checked out the outside). Also there, I snapped a pic of a statue of the Martin Brothers. In 1864, these brothers were attacked by Native Americans and were pinned together by an arrow. They survived. Strange random story. Apparently there are multiple statues to these brothers all around the area. We personally found 4!!! of these statues and wonder if there are more…

Stop #7: Coney Island Lunch Room in Grand Island, NE - We had to eat here and compare to Coney Island in Fort Wayne. Decent coney dogs, but Fort Wayne is still a winner!

Stop #8: Wacky cars on poles, Grand Island, NE - Awesome roadside attraction!

Stop #9: Raising Nebraska exhibit at Fonner Park, Grand Island, NE - This is part of the permanent exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair grounds. We popped in to see the World’s Largest Pair of Overalls, but stayed to check out the other exhibits. Arthur and Quentin loved driving the combine!

Stop #10: The Archway, Kearney, NE - Our big museum stop of the day. The pictures I had seen made this museum look really cheesy, but we loved it. You follow the story of the west and specifically Nebraska across I-80 and back across. The audio tour was very interesting with a big story and lots of extra more specific stops. We didn’t explore all of the grounds, but there was more to see outside. Definite stop!

Stop #11: Pony Express Station, Gothenburg, NE - Great stop! This is an original Pony Express Station (moved from original location to this park), complete with mini museum and historical plaques. The lady working was very friendly and knowledgable. This was a quick stop (15 minutes probably), but a must see if you’re in the area.

Stop #12: Dinner at Switchyard in North Platte, NE

Stop #13: Fort Cody Trading Post, North Platte, NE - Very kitschy souvenir shop with random statues and wagons in the backyard. The big draw is the miniaturized recreation of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Plus they had a ton of other west artifacts. My favorite picture is the one of Arthur and Quentin in jail. Arthur told Q to “look sad.” This pic was the result!

And that concludes our packed Day 1!