May 4, 2010: Nebraska Panhandle and Major Winds

Today was definitely an education. Despite the high wind warnings in Nevada a week or so ago, that experience was nothing compared to Nebraska. Nebraska is very flat, despite the occasional badland rock formation. With such high winds, it's understandable how the badlands got their distinctive shapes.

When I left the hotel, there was no wind. In a very short time the wind became extreme. My first stop was the North Platte Valley Museum in Gering, Nebraska. This was a decent sized museum going from Native American times to modern times. Photographs with flash were allowed. There were many exhibits related to the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the short-lived Pony Express Trail. In one case, I got too close (even though I did not go over the rail nor was I even close) and set off the alarms when trying to take pictures. The management said it's extremely sensitive and reset it.

Since I am interested in exploration and the westward movement in the United States (sure, strange things for me to be interested in, right?) the four trails interest me quite a bit. The museum gave me a lot of points with which I want to do further research. Of course I took photographs of every kiosk explaining the exhibits. The experience of the pioneers going on these trails intrigues me. To imagine a conestoga wagon in the midst of these high winds is a feat in and of itself. Several times in the museum (which was a large and sturdy building), I felt the wind was going to knock it over.

After leaving the museum to go to my car, I really got to see what the wind was like in Nebraska. It was difficult to even breathe, and also somewhat hard to open the car door. But, once I was in the car, I was safe. The only danger in a situation like this is if the winds knock down a live power line. Thankfully that did not happen any place where I drove that day. Hopefully it didn't happen for anyone else.

The main attraction of the area is the Scott's Bluff National Monument. These are some magnificent rock formations that were seen by pioneers on the Oregon Trail. However, it is actually named after a fur trapper whose last name was Scott. There are numerous rumors about the circumstances of his death, but one of the favorite stories is that he was laid there to die by people in the trapping party who didn't want to take him with them. The main party evidently discovered the body the next year and named the rock formations after him.

By the time I got to Scott's Bluff, the wind was really bad. There were sand storms partially obscuring the view. I parked off the road to take pictures. At first I just wanted to roll down the window rather than try to go outside. Sand blew into the interior of the car. Eventually I did fight the wind and get out of the car. I'm sure there was sand blown into the camera too.

When I finally got to the visitor center, the wind had really picked up. It was an ordeal to open my car door and actually took several minutes. I literally could not breathe outside. While there are many trails that allow people to walk up into the rock formations and walk in the actual wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail, I was not going to even try that. I would just see what is in the visitor center and then go.

This is not one of the most popular parks in the country, and being a weekday, the park ranger was glad to even see anyone. His computer was downloading updates and there was little to do. He told me many times he'd be happy to answer any questions at any point during my tour of the museum. He explained that the wind was up to 66 mph and that I was welcome to take the outside trails, but it would be a brave thing to do. I've done a lot on this trip, but I was not going to brave that particularly when I could not even breathe outside. The ranger further explained that opening a car window during this wind storm would mean all the air would be quickly sucked out of the car.

The museum was quite interesting. There were exhibits on dinosaur bones found in the area, the rumors about how Scott's Bluff got its name, the various trails, and a museum on western art. There was even a contest to pick the best picture. This was not as extensive as the North Platte Valley Museum, but still worth the trip since I couldn't do anything outside. As time went on, other park staff decided to close down the driving road leading back into the rock formations for safety sake. A huge tree branch fell into the parking lot and had to be removed with machines.

As I went to get into the car, I felt like the wind was literally pushing me towards the car. Getting the door open was another ordeal. After leaving the park, I went through some farm areas. There was another sand storm which severely limited visibility.

I stopped at a Subway for lunch. The people in the restaurant were concerned about whether the building was sturdy enough. And of course, they expressed the concern about power lines being knocked out.

My next stop was Chimney Rock. This is another site seen by pioneers. As its name suggests, it looks like a rock with a chimney sticking out of it. Visibility was limited because of the sand storms. To get to the park headquarters, you had to drive down a side road. I thought this was a national park, but apparently it's a state park. That meant that my national parks pass would at most give me a discount but not free entry. The visitor center had a museum. I just parked on the road and took a couple of pictures. I had a long drive ahead of me to the next hotel and didn't really feel like stopping at the visitor center anyway. In fact, I would cross into the Central Time Zone so I would be losing an hour during this drive.


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My next hotel was in Kearney, Nebraska. This is a city I've visited twice before on big trips. I stayed at the same Comfort Inn both times. I almost planned to make a third visit to that hotel since I already knew it was acceptable. However, I learned there was an Econo Lodge that took fewer points. There were no reviews on TripAdvisor, but it did get a Platinum Award from Choice Hotels. Thus it couldn't be all that bad.

The long drive to Kearney was mostly along I-80. The entire way was plains. I recall in my 2007 trip seeing some huge rock formations along I-80. One of the rock formations even had a cut out of a wolf howling on the top of it. I recall seeing these rock formations when I headed west and then east a few days later along I-80. I could not have been imagining them. But they were nowhere to be seen. It's possible that I missed them on the very narrow stretch of I-80 that is between Kimball and Sidney, NE. Still, I really thought it was closer to the point where the time zone switches from Mountain Time to Central Time.

The price of gas in Nebraska was interesting. In the west side, there was still the 85 (not E-85), 88, 91. Thus I had to buy the "plus" grade. In the more central part of Nebraska, it was the regular 87/89/91. However, some gas stations charged less for 89, indicating that 89 had ethanol while 87, at ten cents higher per gallon, did not.

When I finally got into my hotel, I found it to be well deserving of the platinum award. It was completely refurbished and basically could pass as a Comfort Inn rather than an Econo Lodge. The staff were extremely friendly. They went out of their way to open doors for me when tried to carry in all my stuff in one trip. The low point requirement must have been due to the brand name and the location. Kearney is not a high crime area, but it's also not exactly the most popular vacation spot in the country either. It's also not in the sticks either; there are lots of shopping areas along the way. But still, I was happy to pay the lowest amount of points required for such a nice hotel.