Picture This....

Beauty and WOW!

Hydroelectric Plant at Lake McCauneghey,  all right, all right, all right!

My husband Don did a splendid job of planning our adventure. No drive is to exceed 5 hours, most campsites are water focused, some include WiFi and with one notable exception all include water and electricity.  Pretty cool, right? I was singing his praises until we arrived at the location pictured at left.  Obviously water focused, great view and that's just the access to the Ogallala State  Recreational Area in Nebraska. But, the road we were on in this picture goes over the spillway that separates two lakes and the spraying

Toasting to no smell and a successful tent raising

 water you see in the picture is part of a hydroelectric process. The road is under construction so there was an interminable wait while a lady in apparent nuclear protective gear spoke on her cell phone and waited to receive a walkie talkie message from the other side to let OUR side proceed across the remaining single lane.  So why was it so remarkable? There was the most awful stench; rotten egg, sulfur and outhouse all combined into one. Naturally we both started speculating as to whether or not the "fragrance" was going to be a central part of our campsite...clearly visible from our vantage point high above the dam. Frankly, our jokes and ribbing were abundant and only lightly served to veil our sincere doubt regarding the suitability of our next campsite. But, I am happy to report that the smell did NOT migrate to the campgrounds!

The lake where fish were jumping to be caught

 Early the next morning I traipsed over to the bathroom facilities and happened on a very polite man who was eager to converse.  He was an employee of the campground and was extremely affable, eager to know where we were traveling from.  When I told him we were from Texas he launched into a long tale about a hurricane in Texas back when he was working on some sort of field work.  I am not clear exactly what he said as he was missing most of his teeth The narrative went something like "Yup. That was a turble tahm. We was out in the field all daynaht cuttin' them fribbins' n then the storm hit and we had to get back to the field. Ya shudda seen the fribbins' and the whole mithrake that allus had to do affer that."  He then stared at me with that obvious expression that says "I'm waiting for a reply".  Since I had no idea what he had said and asking him to repeat it did not promise to shed any additional light on what a 'fribbin' was I smiled broadly and said with great respect and enthusiasm, "Well, you gotta' do what you gotta' do!" and he seemed quite satisfied.   I did venture, however, to ask him what the smell was.  "Oh, the lake is turning!" OK.  Mystery solved? Upon returning to the campsite I grabbed my fishing rod and tried to catch one of the multiple taunting fish just begging to be caught...they literally were jumping out of the lake.  But I caught nothing! I was patient though.

From Ogallala we drove to Hermosa, South Dakota but not before stopping at a couple of remarkable places.

 Gothenburg, Nebraska has one of the original Pony Express stations. It was dismantled and reconstructed at this site. A truly amazing example of early American building techniques. The docent attending the museum was not only very knowledgable but also extremely passionate about the Pony Express.

Did you know that the Pony Express lasted a mere 18 months and that the transport of 1 ounce cost $5?

Most of the business came from government transport of documents and the $5 per ounce was way too much. Gradually the cost was brought down to $1.00 an ounce but the cost of of maintaining the horses, the riders and the stations made the endeavor far too expensive for popular support.  After the telegraph was introduced

the Pony Express was put out of business.  The backers lost more than $100,000 and for those times that was a tremendous amount of money. But take a good look at the construction techniques shown here.Very interesting, indeed.
For more information: http://www.ci.gothenburg.ne.us/

After our little educational interlude we had a whimsy break...Carhenge. 

 Located near the city of Alliance, Carhenge is a whimsical display that certainly is a reflection of the American pop culture.  Created as a reproduction of Stonehenge it is made entirely of cars!  The idea came about as a memorial following the deathof Jim Reinders' father. The family came up with this remarkable idea, in part because Jim Reinders had studied in England and had been fascinated by the famous Stonehenge.  

Construction of Carhenge, with cars placed exactly proportionate to the original Stonehenge began in 1987 and in the ensuing years the family has gifted the town with the land and the structures.

 Independent artists have been invited to contribute their artistic use of automobiles as well.  According to the literature available at the site, the collection of artistic statuary created from automobile parts is intended to grow with more and more contributions.  

 Click here for more information: http://carhenge.com/

Next up: Mount Rushmore...truly awe inspiring and awesome.

Please leave me comments as it helps to keep me motivated!