Shelton, Nebraska, a little west of Grand Island, was a pretty town with its own Lincoln Highway Information Center. I took some photos, but I didn't have time to call the number on the door and see the info center, so I headed on down the road.
At Interstate 80 near Kearney, I toured the Great Platte River Archway Museum. This thing was built right beside the interstate, then they re-routed the traffic one night and moved it into place with those creepers like they move the rockets at the Space Center. You ride up an escalator to start the tour, then put on a pair of headsets. The commentary, which sounds like people who traveled to Oregon, California, or Utah in the old days, is radio/digitally controlled room-to-room, so you hear a new commentary as you walk into each exhibit/room. It was way cool! At one point, in the "diner," you can look out two windows onto I-80 below.
Fort Kearny State Historic Park, about 5 miles from Kearney, is the actual site of the fort which was placed here by the U. S. government to help protect settlers moving west. It was, for all practical purposes, the "starting point" for those taking the "Overland Road." Many traders, families looking for new lives, Mormons seeking a new start, and miner-49ers stopped here for supplies or protection.
From the fort, I traveled south into Harlan County. There's a dam and reservoir there; and, at each end of the reservoir, they've protected a "town" of prairie dogs so that people can view them. They get wise to you, so only the ones farther away from the viewing area do much scurrying around while you're around. Still, it was SO cool!! I bet the farmers look at them as pests.
