Western Nebraska isn't much different, visually, than Wyoming or South Dakota.
The previous night, mom had expressed interest in going to Agate Fossil Beds, saying it was "right next door" to the Robidoux RV Park. Well, the guide she was going by had mislocated Agate by saying it was in Gehring; it was over fifty miles to the north. Still, when I sat down and planned out our day, I figured if we left the RV Park by 7AM, we could do Agate, Scott's Bluff and the two Pony Express Stations easily.
So, we left just before 7, and headed up towards Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Like Fossil Butte and John Day, it is a post-Jurassic, Miocene era fossil site; no dinosaurs here. The visitor center also includes a rare look at Lakota Sioux artifacts given by Red Cloud and his family to the original ranch owner, James H. Cook.
Cook's "bone barn"
Paleocaster, an ancient burrowing beaver found within the strange daemonelix structures that were originally thought to be fossilized tree roots. We know now that the daemonelix is a fossilized burrow.
Hiking out to the two hills (University and Carnegie) where the bone beds were discovered was out of the question, partly because of mom's knee, but also because we'd been told there were no fossils on display any more due to past vandalism. I did stop by the Daemonelix Trail on the way out of the park, which was about a mile.
Flower along the trail
This daemonelix was over six feet tall
More flowers along the trail
From Agate, we headed back towards Scottsbluff and the National Monument there. In the visitor center, we saw quite a few fossils (especially turtles), and learned that the bluff was named for a fur trader who died there on the Oregon Trail.
A model of a wagon odometer. I didn't get a picture of the full-size thing when we were at the California Trail Interpretive Center.
Along the Oregon Trail
After exploring the visitor center and the Oregon Trail area, we drove up to the summit.
Looking down towards Scottsbluff and Gehring
While there, we were approached by a group of motorcyclists who asked about the RV. It turned out they were also from Maryland, and had been at the Sturgis Rally the previous week. Not only were they from Maryland, but one of the guys was from Glen Burnie, and another was from Frederick. Small world.
We drove past Chimney Rock on our way out of the area, towards I-80, and should have stopped. Mom thought it was just a state historic site, but it turns out that it actually is a National Parks Passport stamping location. Oh well.
Ogallala was where we got back on I-80, and we'd be on the interstate (80 or the linked ones 76 and 70) for most of the rest of our trip. Our last two stops for day fifteen were original-but-relocated Pony Express Stations, one in Gothenburg and one in Cozad. The Gothenburg one is in better condition, and is used as a gift shop. The Cozad one is just an historical stop in the town's park.
Gothenburg Pony Express station
Cozad Pony Express station, the Willow Island stop
The drive to Agate and extended time at Scottsbluff saw my anticipated stop in Council Bluffs not happening. So, we opted to call it a night in Grand Island, which wasn't very far from where the Rallycross Nationals were held. As a result, we did see several westbound rallycrossers on I-80 on Sunday afternoon/evening.
The obligatory "I'm driving I-80 west through Kearney" photo
With two days left, and the itinerary pretty much done, we decided to stop in Lincoln on Monday morning to see what the State Natural History museum at the University's Morrill Hall held. Turns out, it has a ton of fossils, primarily because Nebraska is apparently one gigantic bone bed.
Oh, yeah, Morrill Hall is just outside Memorial Stadium
Mammoths
Four tusker elephants
Equus excelsior
Poor turtles
Smilodon and dire wolf
Bone bed from Agate
Giant tortoise with recreated skin based off the Galapagos tortoise
Pleiosaur head. The entire skeleton was monstrous, and actually in the floor
One part of the fossil exhibit was Highway Paleontology. Like the Vore Buffalo Jump we'd visited earlier in our trip, many fossils in Nebraska are discovered during road construction. Because of that, there is actually a highway paleontology division that is present during road construction in the state.
The road they were found on is indicated
The latest highway paleontology find. This one was over two and a half feet long.
There were also some dinosaur fossils present. Not as many dinosaurs are found in Nebraska as in Utah or Wyoming.
Stegosaurus has a really small head
Allosaur
The museum also had a rocks and minerals display on the third floor, as well as a natives exhibit and an "Exploring Evolution" room. We didn't spend as much time on the non-fossils displays.
Frankly, I'm shocked that I didn't know how awesome this museum is until we visited. All the times I've been in Lincoln for Nationals, plus passing through on trips to Wendover and on the way home from Packwood....
A giant HIV model in the "Exploring Evolution" exhibit
See you.... sometime, Lincoln
From Lincoln, we drove as far as we could so that Toledo and home were doable for Tuesday.
A bed of flowers at an Iowa rest stop. Seemed to be a rest stop for a variety of butterflies as well
This meant our latest stop ever -- 9PM -- in Indiana at the Lakeside RV Resort. The manager was really nice though, and met us at the office and she and her son were really helpful with getting us situated for the night. We even were given a little gift bag (an insulated lunch bag) with cups and hot/cold packs, which was neat.
Toledo was the last point of interest, and we have two places to go. The first was a stop at the Fish Market to see if they had walleye.
The answer was "yes!" and so I bought two large fillets for Pat and we stuck them in the freezer.
Then we headed over to the Toledo Museum of Art. Mom's first experience as we entered wasn't exactly pleasant. An overzealous docent with a lazy eye looked at me and said that there was a "new policy" and "over-the-shoulder bags had to be hand held." And then she kept looking at me, and I put my hands out to the side, saying "What are you talking about? I don't have a bag!" Then she looks at mom and says, "Well, she does." So, mom sighs and moves to secure the bag (actually a convertible fanny pack) around her waist, and the docent says that's not acceptable either. I'm rolling my eyes, mom's ready to just leave, and I grab her bag and say, "Let's just go" to get away from the woman. Meanwhile, others are coming in with shoulder straps and none of the other docents are saying anything. I kind of wanted to hit the restroom, and started that way, when mom is still perturbed by the docent's attitude. Another woman going into the restroom overheard her, stopped and said, "Are you serious?" We both nodded, and the other woman said something to the effect of, "That's bullshit."
We went upstairs and then outside to cross Monroe Street to the Glass Pavilion. Mom took her bag back, slung it over her shoulder, and guess what? The pleasant docent there opened the door for us, remarked on the beautiful weather they were having, and didn't say a word about shoulder straps.
[for the record, the "collection safety" section on the museum's website only mentions "umbrellas, backpacks and other bulky items"]
So, mom calmed down and we perused the glass collections.
Nematocyst, Robert Mickelsen, 1998.
Greek Gods vs. Norse Gods glass chess set, part of the Play Time exhibit
We made our way over to the main building, and again, the docent welcoming us in didn't say a word about mom's bag. We checked out the ancient civilizations gallery, then moved back through the main lobby towards the Claude Monet mom had seen when we came in. The lazy eyed docent was now in the lobby, but we ignored her and I couldn't help but notice she wasn't saying anything to anyone. I have to wonder if someone finally said something to her superior for badgering the guests.
Anyway, we looked through some of the other paintings and finally headed out, as we needed to be on the road really by 12:30 to be home at a reasonable time. I had kind of wanted to see some of the interactive Play Time installations, but I was started to become annoyed by children who were allowed to run (literally run) around in the regular galleries, so it wasn't worth the irritation. I can't imagine how the guards hadn't already had heart attacks over potential damage to some of the artwork. We saw a small child running through gallery 35, trailing his hand against the wall, moments from trailing his hand across Monet's Water Lilies. As it was, he barely lifted his hand as he ran past the painting, and his mother said nothing. SMH
Children everywhere in the museum should have been accompanied by an adult, or someone who acted like one
The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful.
The Allegheny Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
We pulled into the driveway at nearly 8PM exactly, and we'd only been there for maybe five minutes when Pat pulled in. As soon as I saw him, I yelled, "Bruce!" and the spaz dog started jumping around in the cab of the Lightning.
It took about an hour to unpack things from the RV and transfer them either into the house or into the Camaro. Of course, it also took me nearly ten minutes just to figure out what I'd done with the keys to the Camaro. I still managed to leave several things behind, but oh well.
Sorting through the post cards I got and starting to put them in an album on Wednesday, it turns out that I came home with 248 cards. I did get an excessive number of post cards of various military planes and jets when I was at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, as well as from the Wendover Historic Airfield. It was still more than I expected.
It was a long journey, but oh, so short. It was sad. It was joyous. It was frustrating. It was awesome.
There were many times that I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I shouldn't be there, that it was dad's place to be in that bed. I dreamed of him several times during the trip. But I was also happy for the time with my mom, to be able to share some of my favorite places with her, as well being able to see things together for the first time.
I pretty much couldn't wait to get out of Lovelock. The RV park we'd settled for was rundown and sketchy, complete with a creeper sitting outside of his "motel room" that would just watch you walk to the keycode-protected restroom. We got on the road early, and stopped briefly in Battle Mountain to pick up some groceries.
Since we were still on our way to the next planned destination -- Wendover -- and it was a few hours distant, when we saw a sign for the California Trail Interpretative Center, I suggested we stop. If nothing else, we could stretch our legs.
The center is a Bureau of Land Management facility, and when I saw the National Parks Passport books for sale in the gift shop, I figured that meant they had a stamp. Sure enough, the stamping station was near the entrance to the exhibits, so I jogged back out to the RV to grab mom's book.
The exhibits focus on the hardships encountered by those traveling west, concentrating on the California Trail, but also the Oregon Trail. Of course, the infamous Donner Party disaster is covered in depth, including placing the blame on the Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California trail book writer, Lansford Hastings. His supposed shortcut, the so-called "Hastings Cutoff" actually added a significant distance to an already arduous journey, and led at least in part to the Donner Party debacle.
Hiking around the west end of the Hastings Cutoff
Back on the road, we were less than an hour from Wendover and the salt flats! Soon, we could see the white landscape in the foreground.
While we were checking out the Victory Highway, we saw four or five helicopters coming in from the west. When we went over to the Wendover Historic Airfield, we saw the helicopters and their crew gathered around.
The airfield's museum doubles as an office/airfield operations, which was interesting. We watched a short film about the history of the airfield, and it dawned on me.
It was August 6th. The 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
A model of the Enola Gay
A dummy bomb used in training. This one was a version of Little Boy, the bomb dropped by the Enola Gay
The hangar we used to lean on during impound at the Wendover ProSolos. It also housed the Enola Gay before it went to the Philippines, and from there, Japan.
We drove back through town, looking at some of the historic structures. There have been improvements to some of them since the last time I was here, and certainly since the last ProSolo that I attended, in 2008. It's amazing to know that at its height, Wendover was the home to over 20,000 military and civilians. Many of the old dormitories have fallen down, but there are active restorations going on at the air base. Maybe, just maybe, they'll achieve a National Historic Park status and federal funds will help with some of it.
From Wendover proper, we headed over to the Salt Flats Cafe for lunch before going to the salt flats themselves. Mom was impressed by the food, both the quality and the cost. While there, I looked at the SCTA/BNI website to see what would have been going on if Speed Week hadn't been cancelled. We knew before stopping here that the salt was deemed too wet and they hadn't been able to find a continuous area for the land speed trials, and August 6th would have been tech day.
The salt was certainly sticky, which meant it had a lot of moisture still in it. In any event, at least it wasn't an ocean like the last time I came by.
It seemed weird to not be driving out on it in my own car. I knew this would be the case, which is one reason why I brought the diecast Camaro with me.
It's not quite the same.
I also brought two diecast GT40s. And after consulting with mom, we decided it was time for another "deposit," though the airfield probably would have been a more appropriate area.
It was really hard to see. Between the tears, and the sun reflecting off the salt, I may as well have been blind.
Back on the road, we were supposed to be going to some Pony Express sites south of Salt Lake City to wrap up the day. However, the Garmin Nuvi directed us straight to a strip mall in South Jordan. Traffic around SLC had been terrible, and I was not in the mood to turn around and just drive through it again. Trying to find either Camp Floyd or Simpson Springs at that point showed we should have cut down from I-80 before even getting to SLC.
Mom suggested Timpanogos Cave in American Fork, so I keep going south on I-15. Then she changes her mind because the visitor center closed at 6PM, and the cave tours were long done for the day. I was flustered; at this point, I'm starting to be concerned about finding an RV site that isn't as downtrodden as the one in Lovelock. I suggest staying in the area and going to the cave first thing in the morning.
Finally, she says she has one, and it's over an hour south of American Fork. I shrug and keep driving. For some reason, she keeps looking for a place, and finally says she has something better. I'm a good forty miles south of American Fork at this point, and when I ask, "Where?" her response is "Park City."
I was floored. Park City was completely in the wrong direction. Besides the two Pony Express sites that I already knew were out of the question, the next thing on the itinerary was the Spiral Jetty, and that was north of SLC. Park City was east. And it also meant the cave was not happening.
I literally didn't say anything for the rest of the trip to Park City. Going up the mountain on I-80 outside of SLC was at a miserable 45mph, so that the RV's motor wasn't screaming at 5000rpm to try to maintain a more traffic-friendly speed. The exit finally came up, and after one wrong turn, we found the RV park and I got backed into our space. The showers were at least nice, even if the restroom for the lower-side RV people was a bit dumpy.
Fortunately, we were both still fairly full from lunch, so dinner wasn't necessary. I pulled out the road atlas, my cell phone, a notepad and a pen, and went to work plotting out exactly where we were going, approximately how much time it would take to get to each place, and finished with a list of prospective RV parks (and phone numbers) that I found via Google. I no longer wanted to deal with last minute-oh-my-god-there-isn't-anything-in-a-two-hour-radius-with-electricity. I hadn't done this previously because when I was working on the itinerary, mom had assured me that finding a place wasn't a big deal, citing her experiences during the trips with dad.
Lesson learned.
So, the next morning, we headed off to Promontory to see the Spiral Jetty. We had to drive past the Golden Spike Historic Site, where the road becomes unpaved, and continue for another fifteen miles. It was a rough going, as the RV felt more stiffly sprung than my WRX on the ASTs, but we finally arrived. To our surprise, there was actually someone else already there.
It doesn't look like the pictures when the water level is down
The structure actually is very large
I wasn't expecting such a huge structure. I walked down to it, but couldn't really take a picture that showed what I wanted.
Before we left, I remembered mom saying something about adjusting the air shocks on the RV after the tire installation, so I suggested softening them up. She seemed skeptical, but after dropping the pressures, the ride back to the Golden Spike site was immensely easier.
A receation of the scene
The Golden Spike visitor center is about the joining of two rail lines in Promontory after a Congressional push for a transcontinental railroad. What I learned is that because it was a Congressional push, there was government money involved, and so there was a bit of a money grab. The two railroad companies were paid by the mile, and actually passed each other by quite a distance before Congress put a halt to it and said that the lines should meet in Promontory.
A special laurel tie and four special spikes -- 3 of them golden, and one silver -- marked the site
Original piece of rail from the event
HO scale diorama
It was also at this visitor center that I broke down and got my own National Parks Passport. Of course, I got the "explorer" version, where you can add more pages as necessary, after seeing mom and dad's "three volume set" and mom always trying to figure out which book had room in which region.
Our next destination was Fossil Butte, which was about three hours away via US89 and some state roads. That actually made me happy, as I did not want to have to deal with I-80 outside Park City again, much less the more gradual hill heading into Wyoming.
A hawk outside the Golden Spike site
Rick's Spring, in the Cache National Forest
Some flowers near Rick's Spring
After driving through the Cache National Forest and around Bear Lake, we enter Wyoming and find ourselves on US30. We're maybe ten minutes from Fossil Butte, when I see a green sign that says SAGE with an arrow to the right. I hit the brakes hard enough that a six pack of beer that was sitting on the floor next to the beds slides up almost beside me.
An awesome diorama showing what the Fossil Butte area must have looked like millions of years ago
Since mom wasn't up for any of the hikes in the area, we rolled down US30 to Granger.
Rabbits in the pioneer cemetery
The South Bend stage station, which has new interpretative panels
The remains of a blacksmith shop
As we prepared to leave, a man came down the street to thank us for stopping by. He shed some light on the fallen structure (that it was the blacksmith shop), and told us that the interpretive panels had been installed just this past spring. He also asked how we found the site, so I told him that I was actually revisiting, but the first time was due to the brown informational sign on US30 on the way from Kemmerer. Maybe they are trying to entice more people to visit?
It looked like camping in the Green River area was out of the question, so we made our way to Rawlins for the night. It was more of a trailer park with a handful of RV spots, but it was a clean place to stay, and we had a spot right up front. There was even a strong enough wifi signal that I could backup some of the myriad photos I'd taken on my phone.
But first, I did the same thing I'd done the night before, and plotted out a detailed itinerary with times and possible RV sites.
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