
Southwest USA
Retirement Trip
September 2019
29 Days – 6,500 Miles – 19 States
7 National Parks
Several State Parks – 6,000+ Photos
1 Trillion Insects Squished by Car Windshield
From 108 Degrees to Snow
From 282 Feet Below Sea Level to 12,000+ Feet
Bison, Elk, Prairie Dogs, Lizards, Wild Horses
Elvis, Aliens, John Wayne Westerns
Walking In The Footsteps of Forrest Gump
And More!

LOVELAND, COLORADO TO NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA

This morning, we said our goodbyes to Jean and Lee (and Gherkin!). We really enjoyed our visit with them.
Today we are driving to North Platte, Nebraska, which is about halfway to our home from 1996-1999 at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.
Our plan is to go north for a short bit and see the far Southeast corner of Wyoming before getting on the old
Lincoln Highway (Rt 30) 2-lane through farmland and fields of Nebraska.

Too early in the morning for a factory tour and free samples. Dang!

Hard to imagine the 12,000-foot peaks of Rocky Mountain NP are just 30 miles to the west.


Keep going straight north for 250 miles and these rocks grow much larger – Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills.


(Look closely and you can see the vertical segments of the tower.
There is a bison farm here, so it fits right into the countryside.

Sorry, we’ll only be here about an hour.


dinosaur discoveries. Apparently, it was quite a popular place in its day.

I’m sure many of them looked around at Wyoming and said, “This looks pretty nice. Let’s stay here.”




Although it looks like “the prairies”, we are still at 5,300-5,500 feet elevation (higher than the highest point in West Virginia!)
PINE BLUFFS, WYOMING
At the last exit eastbound in Wyoming, we got off at Pine Bluffs to get on the Lincoln Highway (Rt 30).
We much prefer taking the 2-lane back roads rather than the interstates.

Just ahead, we will turn right on Rt 30 as it parallels the interstate.



There was a ton of old stuff from the mid 1900s gas stations and more.
I could spend an entire day here!!
I thought some of the items looked better in Black & White, so I’ve included both color and B&W – I’ll let you decide.






Mmmmm…… Tetraethyl Lead. (Not sold since 1976)


Final sale: $9.00 for 34 gallons. Those were the days!


There were other items lying around, like this old sewing machine.


And this old wringer washing machine.


Close-up of the wringer washer.
I’m going to have to drive out to Wyoming sometime so I can spend a day here looking through “stuff”.
In the meantime, we still have quite a way to go, so it’s back in the car. For now.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY – Rt 30
We pulled out of town and were now on the Lincoln Highway (Rt 30).
The Lincoln Highway is one the oldest transcontinental highways in the US. It opened in 1913 and runs 3,389 miles from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California. It was America’s first national memorial to President Lincoln, predating the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. by 9 years.
It’s interesting to note that this road (along with other cross-country routes like the National Road Rt 40) was built in part on old wagon trails that became obsolete when the railroads offered much quicker transportation to the west. Then, 60-70 years later, many parts of these roads are nearly abandoned and used very little because the interstates supplanted them. Yet, some sections are still very busy.
Read more about the Lincoln Highway Rt 30 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Highway

(This is why it takes us all day to go 284 miles)

Ted and Marjorie Trefen of Cheyenne, Wyoming talked about erecting a Marian Shrine in Wyoming for many years. After touring numerous shrines of the Old World, including Medjugorje, Lourdes, and Fatima, the vision became a reality.
Robert Fida was commissioned to design and sculpture Our Lady Of Peace. The sculpture weighs 180 tons and stands over 30 feet tall. It is one of the largest Marian Statues in the United States.
Ted Trefen passed away shortly after the completion of the project, but Marjorie and her 7 children maintain the site.
For more information: http://www.ourladyofpeaceshrine.com/




Time to keep moving east.


Although we are in Nebraska, we are still 440 miles from our destination for tomorrow (near Omaha).
That’s why we are splitting it up and staying in North Platte tonight. It’s only 180 miles to go from here.


It seems like we pass one every 30 minutes.









These windmills pump water up for the cattle.

Small town values – Big Time Opportunities.




We stopped at this roadside marker and found an interesting bit of history.
In the 2nd photo, you can see the trail going over the hill in the distance.

SUTHERLAND NE

As we approached the small town of Sutherland, we passed this old gas station. Gotta stop!







NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA
Tonight, we are staying at North Platte, located near the center of Nebraska.

connecting the rails to the west coast was in Utah (Promontory Summit), so we wondered what this was.

Hmmmm… kind of sneaky. But, while you’re here, you can pay $$ and climb the tower to look at the big rail yard across the road.
No thanks. Bye-bye.

For as far as you could see, there were hundreds of locomotives and rail cars waiting to be serviced.
I didn’t know there were this many locomotive cars in the entire country.





From there, we checked into our hotel for the night. Tired, but our tummies were full.
Hope you enjoyed riding with us today. Please join us tomorrow as we visit our old home near Offutt AFB (1996-1999).
Mileage Today: 284 Miles
Trip Total: 5,063 Miles
PROCEED TO DAY 23 – NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA TO OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, (OMAHA) NEBRASKA