Nebraska

Day 81:  Our drive eastward through Nebraska cornfields was pretty monotonous, but we did find a nice campground and bike ride at Johnson Lake.  The 12-mile loop around the lake was at least half on a paved bike path with the rest on quiet country roads.  The campsites were scattered under big old cottonwood trees, and a swim at the beach after our ride was very refreshing.

Day 82:  After more vistas of cornfields, we managed to find another decent campsite (we didn’t have reservations and it was the middle of Labor Day weekend).  Then we visited Homestead National Monument on the site of the first homestead claim after the law went into effect in January 1863.  Land grants were made under the Homestead Act in most of the states outside of the original 13 colonies, and the acreage was considerable, particularly in states like Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.  The National Monument has a nice visitor center, one of the early homesteader cabins that was moved from nearby and restored, and walking trails around and through a big field restored to contain the kinds of prairie grasses and other plants seen by the original homesteaders.

Day 83:  On our way out of Nebraska we stopped for a hike in Platte River State Park.  The Platte is the dominant geographic feature of Nebraska, and its valley was followed by the wagon trains heading west in the 1840s and 1850s.  Our hiking trail meandered around a lot and was too deep in the woods for a clear view of the river, but there were nice tall deciduous trees such as oaks and walnuts.  After the hike we had a good view of the river from a 10-story tower at the park, from which on a clear day one can see where nearly half of all Nebraskans live.