| s/y Nine of Cups Nebraska USA Summer 2010 |
Interesting Nebraskan trivia...
|
| Nebraska Facts... Capital: Lincoln Area: 77,358 sq mi (16th biggest state in the US) Population: ~1.8 million High Point: Panorama Point, 5,426' Low Point: Missouri River (Richardson County) 840' State Nickname: Cornhusker State, Tree Planters' State State Flower: Goldenrod State Bird: Western Meadowlark Nebraska was the 37th state in the USA and entered the union on March 1, 1867 |
| The name Nebraska is from an Oto Indian word that means "flat water" (referring to the Platte River, which means "flat river" in French). |
| We headed northeast out of Colorado along I-76, connecting with I-80 which would take us pretty much across the country. We detoured a bit and headed to Beatrice the first day in anticipation of David's birthday which we decided to spend at Homestead National Monument. In contrast to the mountains of Colorado, the road became straight and flat with seemingly never-ending prairie, cornfields and farms. |
| The story of John Deere, a blacksmith who developed the world's first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow, closely parallels the settlement and development of the Midwest US, an area that 19th century homesteaders considered the golden land of promise. |
| Nebraska has more miles of river than any other state in the US. Major rivers include the Platte, the Missouri , Niobrara River, Republican River and their tributaries. |
| Homestead National Monument - Beatrice, NE 40N28 / 96W83 |
| This award winning heritage center opened in May 2007 and celebrates the magnitude and worldwide impact of the US Homestead Act of 1862. It was fascinating. |
| The Homestead Act gave individuals the opportunity to claim free government land. Thousands rose to the challenge and 270 million acres were claimed and settled under this Act. This monument told their story. |
| According to park statistics, there are estimated 93 million descendants of homesteaders in the world today. David is one of them! Above, advertisements for "getting land the easy way"....NOT! |
| The heritage center is situated on the original 160-acre claim of the first official Homesteader, Daniel Freeman. |
| The Palmer-Ephard cabin was built in 1867 from mixed hardwoods, by George W. Palmer and is representative of local construction style. Measuring 14 x 16 feet, it accomodated Palmer, his wife and 10 children. More typical "first" homes were made of sod or built into sides of hills. |
| One of our favorite American authors is Willa Cather. Born in Red Cloud, Nebraska, her stories about frontier life are rich and vibrant. My Antonia and O, Pioneers are two of our favorites. |
| America's first rodeo celebrating the 4th of July 1892, was held by Buffalo Billl Cody in North Platte. |
| The legendary Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Mormon Pioneer Trail and the Pony Express route all ran along the Platte River before heading further west. |
| David checks out a replica of a "prairie schooner" ...Nine of Cups is bigger than this! |
| We walked numerous mown "trails" through the high grass prairie which offered a whole new world of wildflowers and native birds. |
| The highways were lined with fields and farms. Huge hay rolls lay drying in the fields. Wheat and cornfields, huge irrigation devices and neat farmhouses and barns were the order of the day. |
| This tiny brick one-room schoolhouse was used continuously from 1872 until 1967. |
| Purple cone flowers are typical of roadside wildflowers which caught our attention. See more wildflowers. |
| After a full day at Homestead, we hit the road back towards I-80 and spent the night just over the Iowa border. Now, we thought, we'd head directly east without delay, but of course, we found distractions that slowed us down a bit. Come with us to Winterset, Iowa and the Bridges of Madison County. |