Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff AND Carhenge

Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff AND Carhenge.

We were camped at the Sunset Motel & RV Park for three days. One of the days we were in Alliance was spent taking a day trip to Chimney Rock And Scott’s Bluff.


These pictures can be accessed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jackbarbic/19ChimneyRockScottSBluffRS#

Chimney Rock is located along Rt. 92, southwest of Alliance NE. It is 300 feet high and was a landmark used by the pioneers as they went west following the Oregon Trail. Depending on which claim you want to believe, the pioneers first saw Chimney rock when they were two to four travel days away. Since the wagon trains traveled at walking speed and covered about 15 miles a day, Chimney Rock was visible from 30 to 60 miles away.

I thought that the Rattlesnake warning was a clever way to keep visitors from wandering on the plant life.

Chimney Rock is an impressive work of nature in terms of how erosion shaped it. However, you might wonder why it was significant to the pioneers. The explanation we read was that after the pioneers left a jumping off point, like St. Joseph MO the pioneers entered the prairies and plains where the topography was mostly flat, with shallow, rolling hills. It was mile after mile of a land that did not have the hills & trees, the things that the people were used to seeing. So, there was great joy and relief when they saw Chimney Rock for it meant that the trek across the plains was over. Ahead were the mountains, not that they didn’t present problems but at least the plains were behind them.

The Visitors Center is packed with information about the pioneers, the clothes they wore, their tools, the Indians. Snippets for information and a time line from 1812 to modern times. Surprising to me was that dogs did not survive well on the trip and that the oxen were the preferred animal to pull the wagons.

From Chimney Rock we continue northwest on Rt. 92 toward Scott’s Bluff. The day was windy. There was a steady wind of about 20 - 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. The result was areas where there were “dust storms” with the visibility getting quite low at times. We imagined what it must have been like during the “Dust Bowl” days.

Soon Scotts Bluff came into view. There is the town of Scott’s Bluff and then there is Scotts Bluff National Monument. Being a senior and having one of those geezer National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, all it took was showing the pass & ID and in we went. The person staffing the gate told us that a road that went to the summit was open so up we went.

What a great view from the top. There are paths, one that would be called strenuous ( I like the “Short, Easy ones) and tidbits of information. The wind driven dust could easily seen in many places.

 There was a plaque explaining how Scotts Bluff got it's name, along with a lesson about “companions. There is a gage device that measures the erosion of the bluff. The Visitors Center had great display and a video about the area that was well worth seeing. Outside the center there were wagons, tool etc that the pioneers used. As we returned to Alliance, there was a truck that was hauling a very large tank. I couldn’t resist a picture and the feeling that I was glad I didn’t meet him on some two-lane road.

The following day we went to Carhenge, guarded by strange beasts(where the mysteries of time & space may someday be explained). See pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jackbarbic/20CarhengeAllianceNERS#

We are now at the Hart Ranch Resort, which is one of the nicest RV parks that I have ever been at. It is a little south of Rapid City SD, in the Black Hills. This is the third time we have been here. I have taken a lot of pictures in previous visits, some of which I have already sent out on line. There is a weathered farm house nearby that I’ll take a picture of for comparison. Also, I want to see how much progress has been made on the Crazy Horse Memorial since 2007. We arrived here Saturday, June 19 and plan to store our motor home here starting July2 while we take the car to visit our kids/grandkids in Superior Colorado. They will be here next week and will leave a day before we head to their house. Grandma needs more time with the grandkids. We will be there 5-6 days then return, get the motor home out of storage and continue on our trip. More as we go.