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| Where to sell your cattle in Ogallala |
After checking out the Kingsley Dam on
Lake McConaughy we fortified ourselves by having breakfast at
Kathy's Kafe, which just happens to be located in the
Ogallala Livestock Auction. While the auction was happening. I had the best pancake, sausage and bacon of the trip. Maybe ever. With cowboys walking in and out, and the auctioneer selling in the background.
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| Cowboy coming to get a "lot" of cattle for auction |
Our server was an older, salt of the earth woman who told us -- in between coffee refills and catsup deliveries -- that she had raised her grandson while her daughter lived in Breckenridge, Colorado. As an adult he moved to North Dakota. Once he had children, his mother (our waitress' daughter) reappeared and moved close to him so she could spend time with her grandson. Now our waitress rarely saw any of them. Ouch.
Ogallala Nebraska is just a few miles from northeastern Colorado -- and essentially the same in culture. The culture clash stood out again in her personal story.
Driving east, we then headed to North Platte, to see the
Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center (a giant image of a railway spike) . It overlooks the largest train yard in the United States. The volunteer guide we had had been a Union Pacific conductor for years before his retirement. He told us so many great stories, and helped us understand how this complex system works. For example, did you know that trains can never be closer than 2 miles apart? Or that train personnel can never work more than 12 hour shifts? So if the train is delayed for any reason and they don't make it to the station within 12 hours (to the minute), a truck brings a replacement crew to wherever they are on the track. And people still hop trains. In fact, rail cars that transport autos now have to be enclosed and locked. So many people were jumping on, breaking the car windows, starting the cars, and riding the train in the lap of Mercedes or Audi or Ford luxury. Fascinating!
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| Jan in front of the 8 story Golden Spike |
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| Up on the 7th floor observatory of the Golden Spike |
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| Hole marker at Wild Horse Golf Course |
From there we went on the Gothenburg to play at
Wild Horse Golf Course. A beautiful prairie course with rare pieces of fairway, horse skulls for yardage markers and rock hard greens; which we played in a 25 mile an hour wind. Double ouch.
Then, fortified by a Dairy Queen blizzard, we pushed on to Lincoln, the (you guessed it) state capitol.
While driving, we searched on
Trip Advisor for our next lodging.
Westview Bed and Breakfast, the highest ranked B&B in Lincoln looked good. Reviewers insisted that the place was worth it for the breakfasts alone. We reached the owner Tim, who confirmed that there was room in the inn, and went on to assure us that we would have a jacuzzi, fireplace and 57 kinds of snacks. The latter being the deciding factor, we took it. This place used to be a poor farm. Really. Now it's nothing but luxury -- at a very affordable price.
By the time we arrived, we had been traveling for 13 hours. (And what a great, varied day it was -- one of my favorites of the trip.) We immediately tested the jacuzzi in our room. We loved it so much we decided to stay until Saturday -- at which point we'll push on home. (We're staying in
Prairie Nook, in case you wondered.
Sounds like a great place to wind down and savor the variety of experiences you have had! You know, Rick's mom used to always refer to ending up on the poor farm, I guess it might have turned out ok!
ReplyDeleteWell this particular poor farm turned out all right. Interestingly, this wing of the building is fabulous. But it looks like they are trying to rehab the rest of the building and the grounds/out buildings. A monumental task.
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