Scotts Bluff National Monument, SD
The significance of Scott's Bluff is that it was a landmark travelers used to gauge their progress along the trail. Once past Scott's Bluff, they knew they had completed the first 1/3 of the trail.
Scott's Bluff became a symbolic gateway to the West, serving also the Pony Express and the Mormon Trail.
Today, Scott's Bluff is the site of a National Monument with a museum, hiking trails, and a short road that takes you up to the top of the peak. There's also the towns of Scottsbluff and Gering nearby.
Sash and I had pulled into Scottsbluff a couple of days earlier. I had developed a bad cough a week before after getting dowsed by a crop duster in Iowa. By this time, Sash picked up the same cough, and determined it was strep throat. We visited an urgent care center the next day, who set us up with antibiotics and codeine cough syrup. We slept in our hotel room for an entire day trying to recuperate.
By the next day, I felt much better, but still had the cough. Sash was feeling a touch better and felt she was OK to get going.
At Scotts Bluff National Monument, for whatever reason, they weren't charging entrance fees. We spent some time perusing the museum and reading the whole story of the Oregon Trail, Pony Express, and Mormon Trail. Then we jumped on our bikes and rode Summit Road which took us up to the top of the Bluff.
At the top there are hiking trails and view points for great views of the North Platte River Valley.
Sash stayed by the bikes and spent her time photographing a dragonfly while I hiked one of the trails and found myself at the South Overlook. After five months on the road, through rain, hail, cold, wind, and fighting off illnesses and even fighting each other, it felt really good to finally arrive in the West.
For us, Scotts Bluff was our gateway back to the West, where we came from and where we grew up.
Scotts Bluff National Monument
190276 Old Oregon Trail
Gering, NE 69341
(308) 436-4340
http://www.nps.gov/scbl/
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| Old Oregon Trail takes you to the entrance of Scotts Bluff National Monument |
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| Inside the museum are dioramas telling the story of the Oregon Trail, Pony Express, and Mormon Trail |
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| Summit Road takes you up to the top of Scotts Bluff |
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| Summit Road goes through several tunnels |
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| Parking lot at the top of Scotts Bluff |
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| Scotts Bluff overlook towards the South |
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| Scotts Bluff looking to the north, visitors center at the right |
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| Atop the South Overlook, looking south-west. Visitors center in the middle. |
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| Painting of Scott's Bluff by William Henry Jackson depicting migrants moving west. |
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| Not sure what plant this is, but it looks cool. |
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| This fuzzy white plant grows everywhere up here. |
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| Sash took a great photo of this dragonfly from a good distance away |
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| Along Highway 71 heading south through Nebraska |
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| Asphalt Annie finds creative ways to ride bitch |
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| Sashing through the corn fields |
Nice, I haven't been there either. Was close but never made it. I like how Asphalt Annie rides, my kind of girl :-)
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Wow. As much as I will argue in favour of some of those East Coast spots y'all weren't too keen on, you can't beat the American West for amazing views.
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