We slept in for our last sightseeing day in Valentine. Our first stop of the day was Smith Falls. The falls are in a state park about 20 West of Valentine. The road out was a normal highway but turning off for the park we had another 5 miles of gravel road with the associated dust. We soon found the ranger station and paid our out of state park fees. It was $8 for us, Nebraskans get a $1 discount per person.
We did not know it at the time but our permit would come in handy later in the day. They said it was a hike down to the Falls but it was really a short walk. When we arrived we had the falls to ourselves which was rather nice. As we were leaving a bunch of people showed up so our timing was good.
The park had a nice historic bridge that crossed the Niobrara river. We first flew over the river on the way to South Dakota and it was fitting that we were ending our trip crossing it again.
After the falls it was lunch time. CC had seen a Frosty Drive In which she remembered from her childhood (I won't make any comments on this). Looking at the menu CC was surprised they served Oysters in such an inland location. What she did not initially see is that they were the mountain variety (I'll wait while you Google Mountain Oysters). She decided to go with the ice cream sundae and skip the oysters. It was a drive in so I went with a chili dog. They brought the food to the car and hung a tray on the window. It was so 1950s.
Our next stop was 60 miles down the road as in highway 20. We passed through several towns such as Kilgore (Pop 78), Nenzel (Pop 20), Cody (Pop 155) and Merriman (Pop 129). The area is called the Sandhills and while it is suitable for cattle it has a lower nutritional density so while other places may need 2 acres per cow, they need about 24 acres per cow. You see cows all along the route but not huge herds.
Our destination was the Bowring Ranch. The Ranch was founded in 1894 and when the rancher's first wife died in childbirth, he later remarried. His wife became the first female US senator and held a variety of important positions. She passed in 1985 at the age of 93. She willed the Ranch to the state to become a working monument and to preserve an example of ranch life.
Upon arrival, we paid the $2 per person tour fee and since we already had purchased a state park pass for the day, we did not need to buy a second. They have a visitor center that has a nice movie and artifacts. We then had a guide take us on a personal tour of her house. She was friend with President Ike and her walls were covered with pictures of influential people she knew like Nixon, Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover and many more.
She loved china, glass and silver and had an extensive collection. Part of the tour is a bit creepy, she and the first wife died in the house on their respective beds and the beds are preserved with the same linens from that time. There is even the book she was reading before she fell asleep for the final time.
There is a sod house which is a replica of the original ranch house. While it has been rebuilt, it contains artifacts from the late 1800s. Oh and the ranch had a gravel road for the approach as well. In between all this sightseeing I was studying the weather. I had been watching it all week and I was a bit unhappy as I was predicting a hard time getting home or possibly having to overnight somewhere en-route.
I didn't let the pending weather spoil the fun though and after returning to Valentine we decided to try a local place for dinner. We had prime rib, baked potato and salad. They know there beef and potatoes but the salad was basically iceberg, a cucumber slice and a few pretzel sticks on top. We guessed they ran out of croutons or maybe they don't exist in Nebraska. Luckily they were pretty expert in the beef department.
We filled our car with gas in anticipation of an early departure. Surprisingly the town has 3 gas stations. I guess the highway 20 traffic supports it as there was only one other station in the 60 miles we drove to the West.
We did not know it at the time but our permit would come in handy later in the day. They said it was a hike down to the Falls but it was really a short walk. When we arrived we had the falls to ourselves which was rather nice. As we were leaving a bunch of people showed up so our timing was good.
The park had a nice historic bridge that crossed the Niobrara river. We first flew over the river on the way to South Dakota and it was fitting that we were ending our trip crossing it again.
After the falls it was lunch time. CC had seen a Frosty Drive In which she remembered from her childhood (I won't make any comments on this). Looking at the menu CC was surprised they served Oysters in such an inland location. What she did not initially see is that they were the mountain variety (I'll wait while you Google Mountain Oysters). She decided to go with the ice cream sundae and skip the oysters. It was a drive in so I went with a chili dog. They brought the food to the car and hung a tray on the window. It was so 1950s.
Our next stop was 60 miles down the road as in highway 20. We passed through several towns such as Kilgore (Pop 78), Nenzel (Pop 20), Cody (Pop 155) and Merriman (Pop 129). The area is called the Sandhills and while it is suitable for cattle it has a lower nutritional density so while other places may need 2 acres per cow, they need about 24 acres per cow. You see cows all along the route but not huge herds.
Our destination was the Bowring Ranch. The Ranch was founded in 1894 and when the rancher's first wife died in childbirth, he later remarried. His wife became the first female US senator and held a variety of important positions. She passed in 1985 at the age of 93. She willed the Ranch to the state to become a working monument and to preserve an example of ranch life.
Upon arrival, we paid the $2 per person tour fee and since we already had purchased a state park pass for the day, we did not need to buy a second. They have a visitor center that has a nice movie and artifacts. We then had a guide take us on a personal tour of her house. She was friend with President Ike and her walls were covered with pictures of influential people she knew like Nixon, Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover and many more.
She loved china, glass and silver and had an extensive collection. Part of the tour is a bit creepy, she and the first wife died in the house on their respective beds and the beds are preserved with the same linens from that time. There is even the book she was reading before she fell asleep for the final time.
There is a sod house which is a replica of the original ranch house. While it has been rebuilt, it contains artifacts from the late 1800s. Oh and the ranch had a gravel road for the approach as well. In between all this sightseeing I was studying the weather. I had been watching it all week and I was a bit unhappy as I was predicting a hard time getting home or possibly having to overnight somewhere en-route.
I didn't let the pending weather spoil the fun though and after returning to Valentine we decided to try a local place for dinner. We had prime rib, baked potato and salad. They know there beef and potatoes but the salad was basically iceberg, a cucumber slice and a few pretzel sticks on top. We guessed they ran out of croutons or maybe they don't exist in Nebraska. Luckily they were pretty expert in the beef department.
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