Day 3 – Scotts Bluff (yes, this is still Nebraska)

It was a stellar day! It was another brisk morning but we didn’t have far to go to reach the Scotts Bluff National Monument. We were both shocked at how stunning it was. Hard to believe we were still in Nebraska! We ended up spending the entire morning there. I did get some video footage of the decent from the summit road. I’ll try to get something posted to YouTube once we’re home and I have time.

Towering 800 feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff has been culturally and historically significant for centuries. First serving as a landmark for Native Americans and later as a pathmark for the hundreds of thousands of emigrants who traveled westward on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails; as well as riders of the Pony Express.

From Scotts Bluff, we turned north. Rode up past the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and then on through the Oglala Grasslands at about 94 degrees. It’s just hard to comprehend just how vast and open the plains can be. Mile after mile of just rolling grassland as far as the eye can see. No buildings, no trees, just an occasional cattle-gated driveway disappearing into the distance. I like living in the country, but I can’t imagine living that secluded. And pioneers moving westward day-after-day, week-after-week, with a never changing landscape took tremendous fortitude.

We did cross into the Black Hills this afternoon. Only had to dodge one bull buffalo standing on the edge of the road as we came through Custer State Park. Camped at Horsethief Campground near Hill City.