Where the Buffalo Roam, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

I'm not sure if those lyrics have ever felt more real than they did today. We saw buffalo (perhaps raised ones, sure) munching on prairie grasses and deer and antelope feel right at home in wide-open fields. They all felt so comfortable even, that when a small crew of them considered crossing the road, and I came to a complete stop, they took a full minute to consider their options and calmly chose instead to stay on the same side of the road.

State 46

Our goal today was to get safely from Colorado into our next destination of North Dakota.  One route took us through Nebraska, which was a new state for me.  So, that meant it was important to ensure we did something there, because driving through doesn't count.  Our first stop was Scotts Bluff, a National Monument in southwestern Nebraska.  After miles and miles of continuously flat lands, we approached obtrusive buttes, jetting straight up from the plains.  Scotts Bluff was once an important landmark for the pioneers who set out on the Oregon Trail, helping to guide their journey as it was easy to spot.

Like all National Parks properties, it was well-taken care of with great signage.  We were able to drive up to the top of the Bluff and walk around for a few minutes where the views went on for miles.  In fact, Chimney Rock, another milestone on the wide-open prairie was clearly visible twenty-three miles away.  There were a few longer trails that we could take, but we had a long drive ahead of us, and, well, the nice ranger warned us from the start about rattlesnakes, so, that was enough of a deterrence.

Scotts Bluff was a perfect stop for Nebraska, but there was much more fun to be had in Nebraska!  When Atlas Obscura mentioned Carhenge, we knew we needed to stop.  Jim Reinders had lived in England for years, and like the rest of us, he became enthralled with Stonehenge.  So, upon his return to his small town of Alliance, Nebraska, he decided to honor his late father with an art tribute of extraordinary standards.  With his family's help, they constructed Stonehenge in just a few days.  We could see it a mile away, and remarkably, it truly resembles the real thing that sits across the ocean.  Tacky?  Sure.  Bizarre?  Absolutely.  Astounding?  For sure.  Definitely worth the slight detour.

After that, it was five hours of open road through northern Nebraska and South Dakota.  We made a pit stop for a mouth-watering burger in Rapid City (mine included fried cheese curds), but otherwise, it was wide-open.  By wide-open, I mean we went miles without seeing a tree.  We went miles without seeing any sort of structure other than a fence.  And yet, even more remarkable was the distance that we could see.  Vast expanses of open fields, rolling gently into the sunset as far as the eye could see.  

Excuse the bug-filled windshield

Our cow game was a huge success today, the only difficulty was knowing when one herd ended and the next one began to count our points fairly.  

State 47

Tomorrow, we set off to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park where we hope to roam and play with even more buffalo, deer and antelope (and if we're lucky, a porcupine, too!).