Friday's weather was calm, at last. Our goal today was Scottsbluff, and we made it! We are almost in Wyoming. Along the way we passed the 100th Meridian at Cozad. This is supposedly the point which divides the wetter eastern topography from the drier western climate. Not long after that, we gained another hour and are now in the Mountain Time zone.
A stop for lunch at North Platte after visiting the Buffalo Bill Ranch. It is owned and run by the State of Nebraska and thus suffers from low funding so that exhibits are poorly labelled, if at all. And recent funding cuts meant personnel cuts, so they no longer have anyone to show the video with actual film clips from one of his Wild West Shows. Still, it was fun to see the house and the barn, with an exhibit relating to Annie Oakley and Frank Butler in the farthest corner.
Our last stop before reaching Scottsbluff was at Chimney Rock, which you really can see from miles away. On our route we could see it from about 20 miles; the pioneers saw it from at least 40 miles. It was the most noted landscape feature in pioneer diaries. It really looks like an upside down funnel. We did manage to see the video and were about 2/3 through the exhibits when they announced closing time and threw us out with no pre-warning.
Scottsbluff was not much farther and has more of those wonderful rock formations, which we will explore tomorrow. It also has cousins we will meet for the first time tomorrow. We had dinner at Whiskey Creek, across the street from the motel. The kind of place where you throw your peanut shells on the floor. I had a great steak. After all, we are still in Nebraska.
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