Homestead National Monument of America
October 9, 2006
Last night was a good trivia night; Will got on the local board three times for Wipeout. Mary and Connie, we missed your competition.
We got up to a cloud-covered day and hit the interstate. We were flying! 50mph. We got off there the next exit after crossing the Platte River. In Elmwood we learned about Bess Streeter Aldrich, author who portrayed life on the prairie in Nebraska. Kathy made a navigational error and we ended up on country road 4, a gravel road for over six miles. The good news is that we saw a herd of bison. The bad news was the white dust. The dust seeps in every crack.covering every inside and outside surface with white. Sueann you would not like the dust! The fields of rusty red sorghum, dried straggly soy, newly planted winter wheat and golden corn are being harvested. Fields spotted with balls of rolled corn stalks. A tractor pulling a husker dumped his fill of corn kernels at an egg ranch. We past a whole field of sunflowers, about 60 acres we figure. Dee, this is farming country!
Our “Ship Travels The St. Claire River” movie has a 5-star rating on U-tube! Thanks Jen! You can check it out in our Movie Gallery.
We found the Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska. It commemorates the Homestead Act of 1862 that brought people to the grasslands of the west. The act declared that any citizen or intended citizen could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. After five years claimants had to have improved the plot with a dwelling and grown crops. If they did that they owned the land free and clear. One of the first was Daniel Freeman, a Union scout from Iowa. It is on his homestead land that the monument stands today. So just one hundred and fifty years ago our government was giving land away; today there is none to be had without a large bank account! We had a good visit doing the Jr. Ranger program we learned lots and received our badge for our effort. One of the activities included a gps.
Plymouth, Nebraska was established in the 1800s to emulate the colony of Plymouth, MA. The railroad refused to build track to the town because of a hill so all that remains of old Plymouth is the cemetery. Today the town is up where the railroad crossed. The land changed abruptly to cattle grazing on rolling hills with deep ravines and gullies just west of Ragan as we putter along state route 4. Darkness came and we found a dirt road we thought we would pull off for the night. It was so muddy from the rain we sank and decided to keep driving. We found a paved spot near a railroad crossing and pulled in. It was great; the trains came all night long. The ding ding of the crossing bell was first as the gate came down. Then came the whistle from the train that sounded all the way as the train crossed the road. And last was the clickety clack of the wheels going across the track. These trains were long and they were fast!
Last night was a good trivia night; Will got on the local board three times for Wipeout. Mary and Connie, we missed your competition.We got up to a cloud-covered day and hit the interstate. We were flying! 50mph. We got off there the next exit after crossing the Platte River. In Elmwood we learned about Bess Streeter Aldrich, author who portrayed life on the prairie in Nebraska. Kathy made a navigational error and we ended up on country road 4, a gravel road for over six miles. The good news is that we saw a herd of bison. The bad news was the white dust. The dust seeps in every crack.covering every inside and outside surface with white. Sueann you would not like the dust! The fields of rusty red sorghum, dried straggly soy, newly planted winter wheat and golden corn are being harvested. Fields spotted with balls of rolled corn stalks. A tractor pulling a husker dumped his fill of corn kernels at an egg ranch. We past a whole field of sunflowers, about 60 acres we figure. Dee, this is farming country!
Our “Ship Travels The St. Claire River” movie has a 5-star rating on U-tube! Thanks Jen! You can check it out in our Movie Gallery.
We found the Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska. It commemorates the Homestead Act of 1862 that brought people to the grasslands of the west. The act declared that any citizen or intended citizen could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. After five years claimants had to have improved the plot with a dwelling and grown crops. If they did that they owned the land free and clear. One of the first was Daniel Freeman, a Union scout from Iowa. It is on his homestead land that the monument stands today. So just one hundred and fifty years ago our government was giving land away; today there is none to be had without a large bank account! We had a good visit doing the Jr. Ranger program we learned lots and received our badge for our effort. One of the activities included a gps.
Plymouth, Nebraska was established in the 1800s to emulate the colony of Plymouth, MA. The railroad refused to build track to the town because of a hill so all that remains of old Plymouth is the cemetery. Today the town is up where the railroad crossed. The land changed abruptly to cattle grazing on rolling hills with deep ravines and gullies just west of Ragan as we putter along state route 4. Darkness came and we found a dirt road we thought we would pull off for the night. It was so muddy from the rain we sank and decided to keep driving. We found a paved spot near a railroad crossing and pulled in. It was great; the trains came all night long. The ding ding of the crossing bell was first as the gate came down. Then came the whistle from the train that sounded all the way as the train crossed the road. And last was the clickety clack of the wheels going across the track. These trains were long and they were fast!
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