I feel like in those hills I still belong
The morning began with a frost-covered windshield and a 27 degree temperature in Ogallala, a reminder that March in Nebraska isn't always spring-like. I spent the day bracing myself against a stiff north wind, attempting to stay somewhat warm while I explored. Fogged-over eyeglasses do not make for optimal photographs.
A man in Gurley, Nebraska saw me taking photographs of an old pickup truck and asked what I was up to. "Seeing what I can see," I said. He looked me over and laughed. "Not much to see here."
The day ended with a short hike through the remnants of this week's snow storm at Chadron State Park. It's a gorgeous, rocky place, and feels nothing at all like a person expects Nebraska to be. I'm excited to return to my Oglala project over the next two days in and around the Oglala National Grassland in Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
Chadron State Park from Oglala
near Big Springs, Nebraska
Julesburg, Colorado
Gurley, Nebraska
Visited: Brule, Big Springs, Lorenzo, Sidney, Gurley, Dalton, Angora, and Chadron State Park, Nebraska. Julesburg, Ovid, Sedgwick, Crook, Proctor, Illiff, Padroni, and Peetz, Colorado.
Post title: Woody Guthrie - Oklahoma Hills
Headed West
I'm taking an Easter weekend trip to the panhandle, meandering my way out to the Oglala National Grassland and back. Today was spent on I-80, wasting little time at 80 miles an hour through the Platte River valley to Ogallala. There was a blizzard out here just two days ago - yet only a few small piles of snow remain.
Northeast Colorado and US-385 to Chadron tomorrow.
Keystone, Nebraska
Ogallala, Nebraska
I face the horizon, everywhere I go
I spent an unseasonably warm February weekend exploring north-central Kansas and a few new places in Nebraska. It was a near-perfect two days of wandering, minus an obnoxiously persistent and forceful wind that followed me through Kansas' flint hills. Every time I got back in the car, I'd find myself chewing on wind-blown sand. In Ellsworth, I stood on main street next to a hand-painted sign for a western shop as a large tumbleweed rolled past at full speed.
So it goes in the mythic west.
Next up, I'll be returning to the panhandle and the Oglala National Grasslands in a few weeks' time to finish work on a project I started a few years back. I'm looking forward to getting out to Wyoming again.
near Marysville, Kansas
Haddam, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Ellsworth, Kansas
Riverton, Nebraska
Post title: Frank Turner - The Road