Thursday, May 25, 2023 (continued)
Oh, boy! Now we are in Nebraska, and we can get a Runza!
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| A Runza is a pocket-sandwich filled with a mixture of ground beef, onions, and cabbage; we also ordered "Frings," which was just a combo of French fries and onion rings |
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| The Runza Restaurant had an art display from a local first grade class doing a study of The Great Wave (c 1830-1832, by Katsushika Hokusai), which we thought were impressive |
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| The Mile Marker 159 EB rest stop on I-80 had wagon wheels to represent an original section of the Great Platte River Road along which early settlers traveled by covered wagon (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| These ruts are supposed to have been made by wagon wheels by users of the Oregon Trail (1811 as a foot and horseback trail, then in 1836 as a wagon trail), Great Platte River Road (1841), Mormon Trail (1847), and Pony Express Route (1860) |
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| Pony Express Station Museum (2016) is located in the Sam Machette Station (1854 as a fur trading post, then 1860-1861 as a Pony Express station, 1931 moved to Gothenburg, NE) is all original except the roof (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| Inside the Pony Express station (KSS) |
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| Inside the Pony Express station (KSS) |
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| The Pony Express mailbag had four padlocked pockets and was transferred from horse to horse on a route from St Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA that required over 170 relay and home (room & board) stations; each rider would travel 75 miles/121 km per day |
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| I-80 passed under the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument (2000) in Kearney, NE |
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| The Archway is actually a history "museum" with dioramas explaining the history of the Great Platte River Road (KSS) |
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| Bison sculpture (2002, by Gary Ginther) was commissioned by Ted Turner, who has the nation's largest bison herd spread over 14 ranches |
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| The Great Platte River Road was to become part of the Lincoln Highway, and here we see the Hammer Hotel sign, the blue arrow of a highway marker (erected by Boy Scouts in 1928), and the bricks from a section of the Lincoln Highway in Canton, OH (salvaged and brought here by a Boy Scout for his Eagle project) |
We apparently followed parts of what would become Lincoln Highway from Carson City to Reno, then to Fernely, NV. We picked it up later in Rawlins, WY and will follow it to just past Kearney, NB. Later we will follow the Lincoln Highway on US-30 from near Greensburg to Napier, PA.
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| A Narrow Escape (2011, by David L Biehl) illustrates the story of the Martin brothers who lived on a farmstead in Nebraska when the Plains tribes were being pushed off their homeland by settlers; Sioux or Cheyenne attacked and the brothers fled on horseback, but were struck by four arrows, one of which pinned them together; they tumbled off the horse and were left for dead, athough they both survived |
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| "Anton" is glad to have a plow and two horses to cut sod to build a house on his 160 acres of free land provided by the Homestead Act of 1862; the horses, Molly & Jack, are by David L Biehl, DVM |
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| Ester has to drive the wagon to the creek every day to water the horses and fill the water barrels; some of the water she will use to water the cottonwoods they transplanted to be next to their sod house |
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| Joseph is planting seeds and hopes for rain, but not hail as they need the crop to feed themselves and the livestock in the winter |
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| Anna laments how windy and dusty it is, and although she has her stove for cooking and heating in the winter, there is not much wood around, so she will send the children out to collect buffalo chips |
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| Elizabeth helps her mother, but wants to finish the chores quickly so that she can learn her letters and numbers, and maybe someday there will be a real school |
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| Nebraska State Capitol (1922-1932, by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in Classical style, but for something different he added touches of other styles including Art Deco, Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic) in Lincoln, NE |
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| The architect also added a tower as a beacon effect in such a flat landscape; the tower is topped with the statue The Sower (by Lee Laurie) |
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| Bison relief with names of local indigenous tribes |
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| The Main Portal with a relief (by Lee Laurie) of The Spirit of the Pioneers (KSS) |
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| View of the rotunda ceiling |
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| The Labors of the Head (1956, by Kenneth Evett) (KSS) |
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| The [West] Legislative Chamber; since 1937, Nebraska has had a unicameral legislature |
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| The doors to the East Chamber (by Lee Laurie) depict a Lakota couple standing with a corn plant symbolizing the Tree of Life |
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| Kent at the skinny elevator |
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| On the east side of the Capitol stands the Lincoln Monument (1912, by Henry Bacon, statue by Daniel Chester French) |
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| The Lincoln Monument was required to be part of the new State Capitol; Bacon and French later collaborated on the Lincoln Memorial (1914-1922) in Washington, DC |
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| Governor's Mansion (1957, by Selmer A Solheim in Modified Georgian Revival style) |
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