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Published: July 22nd 2010
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Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhh...........my bottom was hurting this morning when I woke up !! I'm thinking there just wasn't enough cushion on that saddle yesterday. Thank goodness the pain got a little better as the day went on. We were in Scottsbluff, Nebraska at the local Wal-Mart when we got up but we wouldn't be there long. It was an early morning for us and we were up and at it at the crack of dawn. Not only was I hurting from the horseback ride yesterday but I was also still feeling a little anxious about the rattlesnake incident. I just couldn't get that rattling sound out of my head or the vision of the rattler itself rattling. Hopefully, in time, I will be able to put it all out of my mind and forget about it. Tim had found something that looked interesting on the internet so we were headed over to Alliance,NE to check it out. Soon we arrived at a place called Carhenge. It looked like a bunch of cars randomly sticking up out of the ground to me but I came to find out that they were actually strategically placed there by a man named Jim Reinders. Carhenge is a
replica of Stonehenge, England's ancient alignment of stones that chart the phases of the sun and the moon. It is created from vintage automobiles and the dimensions of Carhenge replicate Stonehenge. The cars are primarily from the 1950's and 1960's. They are planted trunk down and rise 15 to 17 feet and the cars are about 7 feet wide, the same size as the standing stones of Stonehenge. It was pretty cool and I actually learned a lot about Stonehenge that I didn't know. As we were walking around, we came upon several snake skins and that gave me the creeps. I was trying to forget about the dang snake incident but I couldn't with all these snake skins around. There was even one hanging from the wheel of one of the cars. I had seen enough and was ready to get the heck out of there so we finished up and headed back to the motorhome. We like finding neat things and places like Carhenge and that's what makes our trips so much fun. We get to see and do things that no one has ever heard of before and then share it with them and that's pretty cool.
Well, we were off in search of our next adventure and it would take us just outside a small Nebraska town called Bayard. Chimney Rock is part of the National Park Service and U.S. Department of the Interior. It has become one of the most famous landmarks in the American West. It is a huge formation, out in the middle of nowhere, that has a rock standing on top of it and the rock looks like a chimney. It signaled the end of the prairies for the travelers who were on the Oregon, Mormon and California trails and that the beginning of the second phase of their journey was about to begin. Once again, I had found myself learning more and more about the Old West and to my surprise, I was enjoying it. We made our way into the visitor's center where we toured the museum and shopped a little in the gift shop. On the pathway to the front door we noticed several signs that said "Warning: Rattlesnakes are common in this area." Well you know that freaked me out but I thought to myself, what are the chances of seeing another one today ?? So we proceeded
on and into the center to check it out. I asked the clerk about all the signs and he said it was definitely true and that they encounter about 3-5 snakes a week. I'm thinking to myself, that is pretty common and now I don't want to walk all the way back out to the motorhome !! No one is allowed to walk out to Chimney Rock because of the rattlesnakes so we just watched the short film, finished up the museum and headed out the door. Just as we're walking past a couple of stacked stone columns, off to the side, on the freakin' sidewalk is none other that a big fat rattlesnake sitting there just minding it's own business !! I guess you could say I was pretty much "done" at that point !! I thought I was going to DIE !! As if it wasn't bad enough almost stepping on one yesterday, here I was again having to face another one.......thank God it was several feet away this time !! I threw the camera to Tim and took off towards the motohome like there was no tomorrow. Tim said the guy at the visitors center came outside
and warned everyone to stay away and go on about their business so that's what he did but not before snapping a few quick photos. When Tim got back to the motorhome I just looked at him and told him to get me the heck out of Nebraska ! I know it's supposed to be known for all the corn that comes from there but it should also be called rattlesnake country. I had no idea there were so many snakes in Nebraska. We couldn't get out of there fast enough and onto Highway 2 headed towards North Platte. We traveled down Highway 2 and then onto Highway 61 for over 200 miles passing through the Sandhills along the way. Just before making it to North Platte we came across a sign that said Buffalo Bills Ranch was just a couple of exits away so we decided to go check it out. I'm so glad we did because it was really really nice. The house itself was already closed for the day but we were able to walk around the grounds and see the barn, the river, the buffalo and all that kind of stuff. This place was immaculate and
very well groomed. The grass looked like a golf course and the bushes and trees were trimmed to perfection. We strolled around the grounds for a while and then made our way over to the town of North Platte. Here we found an awesome place for dinner called the Whiskey River Steakhouse. Tim and I both ordered a big fat juicy steak and they were delicious !! It's so nice to find a great restaurant and sit down and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. We cleaned our plates and then made our way over to the Wal-Mart in nearby Lexington, Nebraska. We sat around for a little while talking and cuddling and then headed off to bed. Another great day on the road has past and tomorrow will bring a new adventure. Take Care !! :-)
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Renee
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Enough of the snakes ...
OK, I'm with ya on the snakes! However, I can't help but laugh at the image in my head of you running back to that motorhome! Tim asked if you got a picture of the snake yesterday, I want to know why Tim didn't get a pic of your ass and elbows running back to the motorhome!!