Road to Western Nebraska
Our honeymoon started with a drive north, through Oklahoma and Kansas.
Finally, we reached Nebraska, then turned west. In Nebraska, we stopped at several historic
and educational sites.
The first was the Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney Nebraska. In the 1830's and later, one of the most popular routes from the east to the west coast was to follow the Platte river through Nebraska. At Kearney, a monument has been erected to these early trails.
The early fur trapper's Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express route, the overland stage routes, and the military road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Laramie all passed through this area. Later, the first intercontinental telegraph, the transcontinental rail road, the Lincoln highway ( the first road from San Francisco to New York City), and I-80 also followed these earlier trails.
The monument is a massive bridge over I-80. It stands 8 stories tall. For a few dollars per person, you can go inside the archway, which is a museum to the travelers that went before. The arch itself weighs 1,500 tons or 3,000,000 pounds.
Look at the semi passing under the monument.
The next stop for the day was at Ash Hollow, an important landmark on the Oregon and California trails. Ash Hollow is one of the first resting points on the trail, and boasts a spring for fresh water. It is near the North Platte river. The Oregon/California trail followed the Platte River until it branches. It then follows the South Platte river for a few miles before crossing the South platte and heading north to follow the North Platte into Wyoming. Ash hollow is the point where the trail meets the North Platte River.
But the pioneers can't get to Ash Hollow until they descend Windlass Hill, "one of the steepest descents on the Trail". Pioneers reportedly would use chains to keep their wheels from turning as they slid down the hill, using ropes, manpower, and their oxen teams to control the wagon.
This sod house in the park is an example of the sod houses used by many early settlers.
Ash Hollow has been used by native Americans for thousands of years because of the combination of shelter ( a rock overhang or small cave ), fresh water, and firewood. It is an important archaeology site in this area of Nebraska.
After this, we went on to Scottsbluff Nebraska. We passed several other major Oregon Trail Landmarks, but we will come back to those in the next few days.