Day Four – September 12, 2018
A beautiful but breezy Nebraska day, another good breakfast, and we pour over the maps and tour books to see what sights we might want to take in as we make our way towards Colorado. We know we want to stop at North Platte, but what else? We’ll wing it!
Packed, gassed up, we hit the road. Nebraska is so much flatter than Iowa. Several cattle ranches – is that Omaha Steak? The wind mills seem to be the stereotypical placard and then some are actually working to provide water for the livestock.
There is a roadside sign for an original Pony Express Outpost in a few exits – why not? Gothenburg, NE is proud to house this exhibit and the signage to the exhibit is very good.
And it is so much more than we had even imagined. Adelle, the docent, was so knowledgeable and so eager to share information and stories. The North and South Platte Rivers provided for the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express used that route to move mail east and west. Riders were chosen for their weight (less than 135 pounds) and orphans were the preferred hire.
This building is the original, but the roof has been replaced using western cedar. There is a gift shop and assorted artifacts depicting what life was like in the 1800’s. The counter is filled with pennies so Dale wonders just how many pennies are under that glass counter. $37.97 worth of pennies!
A great stop. Now on to North Platte. A very good thing we have an address for this next stop because there is no signage and it is way out of town!
But here we are at the Golden Spike Tower – the largest railroad yard in the world! We are very excited to learn about this and take as many photos as possible. We start with an 11 minutes introductory video giving us the background and scope of the operation. Then up to the 8th floor enclosed observatory and a docent to explain what we are seeing.
Bailey Yard is a magnificent example of efficiency and organization. As trains come in from the east or west they stop on a “hump station” where they are uncoupled and then sent to the right track for the next leg of their journey. This is about a 30 foot mound of earth that the cars roll down.
The engineer of the locomotives uses a remote to move the locomotives forward or backward as he needs. He doesn’t even need to be in the cab to perform these tasks!
Then we go down a floor to the open-air observatory and this is where it gets real – the sights are now matched with the sounds and the smells of the yard and it is almost dizzying. There is so much to take in d comprehend. There are 2,850 acres, 315 miles of tracks, about 10,000 rail cars a day and so many people working here. They try to hire NASCAR pit guys to work on the trains because of their fast training and their attention to detail.
The locomotive house (huge) can house hundreds of locomotives for regular maintenance. A separate area is designated for engines needing repair.
Trains coming and going, getting reassembled, moving down the track without and engine – WOW! A profound respect for all these people!
A large group of New Zealander’s is coming in so we wrap up our visit and continue on towards Denver! Westward Ho!
More cornfields, more John Deere equipment, miles of irrigation lines, and a few livestock.
These are the grand prairies! All along I-80 there are signs that the road will be shut down due to weather and there are railroad crossing gates to block entrance to the highway.
As soon as you cross into Colorado the terrain changes – no more grassy prairie land – hilly, more than the rolling hills of Iowa, but not mountainous.
Seeing something that looks like stock yards along the way here.
And of course, more corn fields along with some fields that are very green and getting further irrigation – perhaps soy?
As we get closer to Denver, the altimeter in the navigation system keeps climbing. But it doesn’t look like we are going up!
And then 50 miles from Denver the Rocky Mountains just suddenly start to appear. Very subtle at first and then – a quiet wow as we see mountains everywhere.
Traffic picks up, there is construction, and there is limited time to make the choice for the next leg of the trip. We opt to get to the other side of Denver and then try to decide what’s next.
The roads through the Rockies are good – but scary! Trucks are being warned about the grade downhill, there are runaway truck ramps, and signs that say “Avalanche Area” = not feeling warm and fuzzy about this – and then there are the tunnels under and through the mountains.
Chains are required for commercial vehicles in the winter – there are Chain Changing stations along the way with timed parking spots to install the chains. WHAT????????
It seems like this is resort after resort after resort in the Rockies – Breckenridge, Vail, and lots of ski trails. Really beautiful area.
We find a nice place just past Vail and settle in for the night. Dinner at Bob’s Place produced the biggest baked potato we have seen filled with steak, peppers, cheese and onions! HUGE! Plus a very good Buffalo Chicken Salad!
Dale, I thought you did NOT eat breakfast.
Anyway – looks like you are having a great trip and seeing some amazing things.
Keep on rolling.