Monday, 21 September 2009
Road Trip Day 33
It was time to start heading north-east today, but not before seeing some of the major attractions in the western Great Plains. I have Mount Rushmore to see for a start, and there's a bunch of other great things to see up in that area too.
Curiosity
The first leg from Denver up toward South Dakota was looking a little empty, so I consulted website "Roadside America" (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/) which is a guide to the more obscure, strange and unsung attractions dotted around America's highways and byways.
So, with three sights inputted on my Sat-Nav I set off for the first in Sterling, Colorado.
Smalltown USA
Sterling is a lovely little town next to the railroad. It has a classic water-tower sign and some great architecture. A very attractive town to pass through as I hunted down this...
This is The Dream Redeemer, a statue created by Bradford Rhea. Here's the poem that he wrote and appears on a plaque in front of the statue.
"Ticks and tocks of magic clocks,
Hands whirling as they run;
Meshing gears rewind the years,
Erasing all that's done.
Night and day he churns away,
With passion he redeems;
Deflated lives his throne revives,
Machining all new dreams."
Bradford Rhea
Says it all really.
I took photos, went to the restroom and found a golf ball in the flower bed behind the statue then left.
Flat and Windy
Nebraska is the 23rd state I have been in since my arrival in the USA. It is notoriously flat and windy. As I got out of the car to take this photo I could see for miles across the plains... and I nearly got blown over. So far Nebraska was living up to it’s rep.
Not There
My next target was said to be at a rest stop on I-80 just outside Sidney, Nebraska. It was supposed to be a "TV Antenna Sculpture Thing".
It wasn't there.
I ate my lunch and left.
ICBM
A little disheartened from my previous failure (and the 16 mile detour it took to get there) I arrived in the town of Kimball. This one took no detour though so no loss if it wasn't there.
As it turns out, two thirds of the attraction was there.
This is the bottom part of an actual Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Apparently the top third fell off in a storm and is currently awaiting repair.
I took the photo and left.
Call My Bluff
My last attraction of the day was very real though. Scotts Bluff is one of several remnants of the older, higher plains level which existed before the gradual erosion by rivers. It's also important as it lies on the original Oregon Trail, as travelled by thousands of settles in the mid 1800's. The short lived Pony Express also passed this way, so the area is now rightly protected by the National Parks service.
As with so many of the National Parks and Monuments the site is accessible by car, so I drove the short distance up to the top. There are three road tunnels on the less than one mile of road. The view from the top is of seemingly unending plain, which actually ends (or starts, depending on your point of view) around 600 miles to the east. The interpretive sign boards spoke of the weary traveller who had to cross the desolate land. Thinking ahead to my trip, I thought how lucky I'll be to do it in just a couple of days and in an air conditioned car.
Saloon, Steakhouse and Grill
I'm staying in the town of Scottsbluff (no space) which has an industrial and farming base as well as being a tourist base for Scotts Bluff and other sights around here. The restaurant I chose was clearly a favourite with the locals which was a good sign.
As I was taken to my table, I thought there was actual saw-dust on the floor, but when I sat down I realised it wasn't. One of the restaurant's selling points was the small pale of shell-on peanuts on each table. The stuff on the floor was peanuts shells. I love shell-on peanuts so I tucked in and threw my shells on the floor. It's very liberating to throw rubbish on the floor and know you are not being naughty or having to clear it up yourself.
The food was good too. I had a Triple BBQ Plate of Overnight Brisket, St Louis Ribs and Pulled Pork. Essentially, I had meat, meat and meat with fries. Yummy.
Tomorrow, more oddities and South Dakota.
Goodnight.
View Driving Day 33 in a larger map
Stats - Day Fifty-Nine
Distance travelled - 0 miles - Stayed in Lakewood, Denver, CO
State entered - Nebraska
State count - 23 + DC + B.C.
Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262, 216, 208, 430, 216... It's happened at last. After 25 hotels, I've finally had the same room number twice.
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