Ogallala, NE

Tuesday, September 8

The Dickson’s are on the road again! We’re heading west this fall — this time to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho.

We left Wisconsin September 1 and drove straight to Nebraska, bouncing to friends and family’s driveways in eastern and central Nebraska. During the week, we celebrated my best friend Ashley’s birthday in Omaha and Tory’s 9th birthday with my parents in Beatrice. Then, we spent Labor Day weekend with my aunt, sister and cousins at Johnson Lake near Lexington. Now, we’re making our way through western Nebraska — and taking a little more time than planned to do so — as we wait for an early fall snow storm to pass. Temperatures were near 100 degrees on Sunday, then quickly fell into the 20’s and 30’s by Tuesday bringing cold air and freezing rain to western Nebraska and up to 15 feet of snow in some parts of Colorado.

This morning, we woke up at the Country View RV Park in Ogallala, Nebraska. We opted to stay at this campground in town vs. one near Lake MacConaughy as wind gusts last night were near 25 mph. With 25 mph wind gusts last night, Andi and I figured it’d be smarter to be parked in a protected campground than on a wide-open beach. Poor Tory sleeps above the cab in our RV and I know her bed swayed in the wind all night long.

After breakfast and schoolwork at the campground, and a quick stop to Wal-Mart for groceries, we drove to the Lake MacConaughy Visitor’s Center. I was interested to learn about the Kingsley Dam, the second-largest hydraulic fill dam in the world, and about the Ogallala Aquifer which is nation’s largest water aquifer, located right here in western Nebraska. Unfortunately, most of the visitor center’s exhibits were closed due to COVID-19 but we did pick up a few brochures to learn more about it ourselves and were able to drive past the dam itself to get a closer view.

From Ogallala, Andi drove west about 90 minutes to Chimney Rock near Bayard, Nebraska. Chimney Rock is one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks on the Oregon, Mormon and California Gold Rush Trail and a historic symbol of the great western migration of the late 1800’s. Chimney Rock itself is a natural geologic formation formed from erosion of the bluffs over millions of years. A tall, slender spire rises 325 feet from its base. Growing up in Nebraska and learning about Chimney Rock in my 4th grade Social Studies classes as a kid, I’ve always wanted to visit this historical site. Today was the perfect opportunity as we drove through western Nebraska, especially fitting since Tory, Aden and I have been reading about the Oregon Trail this summer. Seeing Chimney Rock in person really brought our homeschool lessons to life. Tory said it was a neat stop on our trip, and made me smile when she pulled out her big iPad to take a picture.

After our visit to Chimney Rock National Historic Site, we drove 30 minutes farther west to Scotts Bluff National Monument near Gering, Nebraska. Scotts Bluff is another historical marker along the Oregon Trail. Entrance into the national monument was free, so we decided to stop for a quick hike to stretch our legs and see panoramic views of the Platte River Valley. You can hike the entire 1.5 mile Saddle Rock trail from the visitor center to the top of the summit, which we probably would have done on a warmer day, but we haphazardly decided to drive to the top instead. I say “haphazardly” because the park ranger at the entrance gate said RVs weren’t allowed on the road, but that we’d “probably fit” since there weren’t many people visiting the monument at the moment. There are three tunnels through the bluffs on the way to the top and without realizing it, we were on the narrow two-lane road with nowhere to turn around before we could decide otherwise. To say Andi and I were sweating whether or not our RV roof would make it through unscathed would be an understatement! Fortunately, we made it to summit where we parked our RV and ventured off for a 1/2 mile hike around the rim.

It was a blustery 36 degrees outside and Aden wasn’t pleased with our choice to walk around outdoors. He belly-ached about being too cold most of the time, but the rest of us chose to ignore him and keep on walking. As a family, we’ve set a goal to hike 15 miles a week during this trip so every step counts!

A park ranger met us in the parking lot after our hike and gave us a friendly nudge to move along toward the exit. The national monument was past its closing time, so we didn’t get a chance to stop into the visitor center or walk on any of the other trails. We’ll save that for another visit, I guess.

We drove the RV Gering to pickup some chicken that we’d forgot to buy at Wal-Mart earlier today. Andi returned instead with cabbage burgers and a frozen pizza for the kids. Note to self: never send my husband into the grocery store hungry! Cabbage burgers are basically a homemade version of the popular Nebraska fast-food Runza. Soft bread dough is baked with seasoned ground and cabbage to make the perfect comfort food meat pie. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this past summer, we ate a similar dish called a pastie but it wasn’t nearly as good as this. Dare I say that our first “cabbage burger” tasted better than the popular Runza fast-food version. Less gut-rot and burping afterward, that’s for sure.

Tonight, we’re camped at Robidoux RV Park in Gering, Nebraska. Full hook-ups, paved RV pads and free internet for $28/night. Now, that’s a deal. Tomorrow, we’re planning to make our way into Colorado. Temperatures are on the upswing again. We’re hoping to avoid the snow and the wildfires.