H.A.G. Corps of Discovery II Road Trip Day 7

The lonely road. Hwy 385 in Nebraska between Mitchell and Harrison

Today was probably the most diverse day for topography and weather. We awoke this morning in Sidney, Nebraska to high winds and snow.  The good news was there wasn't any snow accumulation.  The bad news was that we were going to drive north into more snow and colder, windier weather.

After a good breakfast at a very small, family type restaurant in downtown Sidney, we drove north with the eventual goal of reaching Custer, South Dakota.  Along the desolate, windswept way, we stopped at Chimney Rock and read about the rock as a marker for those who traveled, in the 19th century, from points east to points west.  Chimney Rock was a waypoint on the Oregon and Overland Trails to help guide the correct way.

Later, we drove to Scott's Bluff and visited the National Park Service's facility there.  Scott's Bluff was not on the original Oregon and Overland Trails, but became  so after the general store to the south closed.  The snow was heaviest here as we estimated the very wet snow was about 6" deep.  I don't know how deep it was when it fell, but it had compressed as the day had gotten above freezing.  Really interesting seeing this much snow in the middle of May.

From Scott's Bluff, we drove north on a very desolate Nebraska Highway 385, stopping in the town of Harrison for lunch.  Harrison is located in Sioux County.  Sioux County has about 1500 residents (yes, the entire country) and Harrison has about 250 residents.  There was one restaurant there.  Small as it was, we each had one of the best hamburgers we have ever tasted.

Along the way, because the freak snowstorm covered the spring growing grass, there were hundreds of birds sitting along the shoulders of the highway, which was the only grass not covered by snow.  As I drove my vehicle on the highway, the birds, as you would expect, would take off to fly away from the perceived danger of an approaching vehicle.  Unfortunately, the vehicle killed two birds and a tumbleweed!  Not good.  I think, because of the winds, which were around 20-25 mph, the birds misjudged their flight path.  I hate when that happens.

As we proceeded north into South Dakota, we took a route that took us through the western edge of Custer State Park.  We saw several herds of bison with their young.  It was a bit nerve racking when coming upon a calf bison standing in the road with mom standing, eating grass nearby. We didn't know what kind of threat she would perceive the vehicle to be.  Do you drive forward slowly hoping the calf moves?  Do you sit and wait? Do you back up?  Fortunately, none of the adult bison came after my vehicle so we stopped and we all photographed the many calves with their mothers.  The calves still had the remnants of their umbilical cords attached so we knew they had been born very recently.  Very exciting to see this spectacle.

Now, it was about 5:30 p.m. and we finally reached Custer, South Dakota, where we checked into our hotel, had a nice meal at a fine restaurant across the street, then went back to our hotel to enjoy each others' company and drink some wine together.

All in all, it was a fine day full of interesting sights and lots of history.  I drove all day and I'm really tired.  More tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.