Winning the West: 10 stops on a three-day tour of Nebraska
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In early May, two reporters set off for a three-day trip to western Nebraska. Our goal? A journey of discovery (paired with sampling plenty of pizza). We had some ideas about which of our state’s many attractions we wanted to visit, but we also wanted to be able to stop and explore when we spotted something shiny on the side of the road.
We accomplished both.
We returned home road weary -- Nebraska looks so much smaller on the map! -- and with a top 10 list to share.
-- Peter Salter and Cindy Lange-Kubick
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We didn’t actually make it into the mine (it was closed), but we can recommend a hike up Happy Jack Peak, where a beautiful view of the North Loup River Valley awaits (if you can climb 300 steps). We spotted wildflowers at our feet, a bald eagle above and a troop of deer as they made their way up the hillside. They were surprised to see us -- a picture perfect deer-in-the-headlights moment -- before they turned tail and fled.
Happy Jack is now open for the season from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission: $6.50 adults; $5.25 seniors; children 4 and under free. (According to the attraction’s reviews, you get to leave with a piece of chalk.)Â
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We’d written about the art gallery in North Loup recently -- but we’d done all of our reporting by phone, the 402 calling the 308 -- so we stopped in to simply say hello. We left with two paintings and a piece of stained glass.
Betty and Bud Carlson bought this historic building three years ago -- it had been a bank, and then a post office, and then a crop adjuster's office -- and turned it into a charming gallery, mostly for members of the regional art club, the Artissimos.
It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, or by appointment. And it offers something for every budget -- the price of pieces range from $1 to about $650.Â
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On the first night of our adventure, we stopped in this Rock County cow town with a hotel that will charm the city out of you. Built in 1951 with heated tile floors in the lobby, art deco fixtures and finely patterned wallpaper from Omaha, the lodge is an oasis along the route west. Relax on cowboy couches or in the shady courtyard. Do not miss breakfast at the Range Cafe, where the potatoes are fried to perfection and the ambiance is authentic western diner.
Rooms are reasonable: $65 for a single; $75 for two queens. Ask for the redbird room if you feel like 1950; or a corner room if you need space to spread out.Â
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Bag two waterfalls in one pass through the scenic Valentine area:
The 45-foot Fort Falls is minutes from Valentine on Nebraska 12 in the (free) Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. You might have to stop for bison in the road, and watch for prairie dogs (because they’ll be watching you). The falls is short, steep stair climb from the parking lot.Â
Nebraska’s tallest waterfall -- the 70-foot Smith Falls -- is a little farther down the road (25 minutes on gravel, 30 if you head back to the highway) and is an easy, half-mile walk from the Smith Falls State Park office. Parks pass required.Â
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Ten minutes west down U.S. Highway 20 from Bassett is the town of Long Pine, population 284 and home of “where the cool waters flow.†That would be Long Pine Creek, which cuts a canyon through the Sandhills and is a favorite of trout-fishers and tubers. A dirt road takes you down to Hidden Paradise, a popular resort 100 years ago and now a collection of creekside homes. If you see this sign -- A heavenly place, please don’t drive like hell! -- you’ve found it. Gawk at the geology and dip your toes in the water.
Camping available at Long Pine State Recreation Area. For a history of Long Pine and Hidden Valley, and a list of cabins for rent, go to:Â
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Good luck finding it. But if you persist, like we did -- calling our friend Stan in Lincoln, who hails from the area -- you’ll find yourself at the source of Long Pine’s pure drinking water supply, courtesy of the Ogallala Aquifer. (Our advice: Get a beer or homemade cookie at the Sand Hills Lounge in Long Pine and have them draw you a map.) The springs flow toward the creek in a sublime setting, 50 shades of green when we visited. On our walk to the creek, we ran into Long Pine’s water man, who invited us into the pump house to see where the seven springs flow together. He pointed us in the direction of a pipe pouring fresh water into the creek -- we heard it before we found it -- and we filled our bottle.
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This was our base of operations in far-west Nebraska, but we only scratched the surface of what this 22,000-acre park offers. We didn’t take the trail ride, or the Jeep tour, or swim in its pool or take in a performance of the Post Playhouse.
But we did stay in a clean, high-ceilinged room in the 1909 enlisted men’s quarters, and watched the sun set from our Adirondack chairs on the broad porch (later, distant coyotes would sing us lullabies). We also drove up into the Pine Ridge, forded a creek with a Hyundai, toured the Trailside Museum of Natural History -- its pinnacle display two mammoths that died 100 centuries before, their tusks locked in a testosterone-fueled frenzy -- and finally stood, in silence, on the very spot where Crazy Horse was killed 140 years ago.Â
- Updated
Take us to the moon, Sioux County. We’d long known of the millennia-old exposed landscape that is Toadstool, and now we can cross it off our list -- not that we won’t return to ogle and also visit the nearby  (Tip: It’s great to travel in the off-season -- fewer people, fewer people -- but it also means some doors are still locked.)
To get to Mars, we mean Toadstool, travel north and west of Crawford on an unpaved road for 18 miles and be repeatedly grateful it hasn’t rained. At the park, you might see a few campers (and you might want to camp yourselves; the stars alone would be worth the gas from Lincoln).
A handy pamphlet served as our tour guide, explaining the area’s otherworldly landscape of badlands, the river that once ran through it and the prehistoric wildlife that roamed here -- and that left its fossilized tracks. We set off on the mile-long trail marked with signposts shortly before sunset, and the mix of light and shadows on the rocks was pure poetry. Don’t miss it.
- Updated
Yes, we had to turn right at a road called Breakneck Hill to get to a ghost town to see a 700-foot railroad tunnel chiseled through stone.
And yes, we were still in Nebraska.
When the state's only railroad tunnel opened in 1889, the Crawford Tribune rejoiced: “Daylight is now streaming through the Pine Ridge tunnel from end to end.†But it had taken more than a year for 1,200 laborers – most of whom were said to be Italian – to chip through the rock and carry it away in carts. The Belmont Tunnel had finally connected Alliance with Crawford, and the line stayed in service for nearly a century; in the 1980s, the railroad would route a double track up and over the rise.
Today, daylight still streams through the Pine Ridge, but past the recent graffiti – “Peace to all who enter here†– and the angry barn swallows that swoop and dive and tell you to stay away.
Drive about 11 miles south of Crawford on Nebraska 71, turn left on North Belmont Road, right on Breakneck Hill, left on East Belmont and into the short-lived boom town of Belmont. The tunnel is just north. A friendly farmer gave us permission to view it from his property (“Find the broken-off tree, walk to the fence and look that way,†he said, pointing), but then we got even closer by following a narrow road paralleling the east side of the tracks (so narrow we had to back out for a quarter-mile).
- Updated
°Õ³ó±ðÌý was our impetus for this trip. We’d both written about the place in the past year, and about Jim Hansen -- the son of one of its founders -- and were intrigued enough to want to check the museum out for ourselves.
We’re glad we did. The museum’s world-class collection of traps, knives, firearms, wares and clothing dates back centuries, and it tells the history of an important international economy -- with an emphasis on the role by Natives on both sides of the fur trade. (When the producers of “The Revenant†needed historically accurate props, it found them here, on the east edge of Chadron.)
Check out Fur Trade Days, if you can. We hear it’s a blast, especially if you’re into buffalo chip-throwing contests. This year’s festivities run July 6-10. Toss your buffalo chips on Saturday:Â
Eating on the Road: We are calling our trip the Pizza Tour: Three pies in three days. Start with  in Grand Island (a boogie board pie is plenty for one; two, if you add an appetizer). Not many places have a VW bus in its dining room.
For a culinary change, the aforementioned  in Bassett is open for breakfast and lunch daily and for dinner on Fridays. (Listen to your mother and don’t skip breakfast.)
Farther west, we can recommend a woodfired pizza at the  in Rushville -- a warm oasis of hip and craft beer in cow country -- as well as the nightly special at the  in Long Pine (be sure to snag one of owner Lisa Dillon’s fresh-baked cookies).
In Chadron, the  features much more than coffee -- although, sadly no pizza. Give the fritatta of the day a try; it comes with a hearty slice of homemade toast that will steal your gluten-loving heart. As you head home, swing by Loup City Lanes for another pizza -- loaded with cheese and bowling alley ambiance.
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We didn’t actually make it into the mine (it was closed), but we can recommend a hike up Happy Jack Peak, where a beautiful view of the North Loup River Valley awaits (if you can climb 300 steps). We spotted wildflowers at our feet, a bald eagle above and a troop of deer as they made their way up the hillside. They were surprised to see us -- a picture perfect deer-in-the-headlights moment -- before they turned tail and fled.
Happy Jack is now open for the season from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission: $6.50 adults; $5.25 seniors; children 4 and under free. (According to the attraction’s reviews, you get to leave with a piece of chalk.)Â
We’d written about the art gallery in North Loup recently -- but we’d done all of our reporting by phone, the 402 calling the 308 -- so we stopped in to simply say hello. We left with two paintings and a piece of stained glass.
Betty and Bud Carlson bought this historic building three years ago -- it had been a bank, and then a post office, and then a crop adjuster's office -- and turned it into a charming gallery, mostly for members of the regional art club, the Artissimos.
It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, or by appointment. And it offers something for every budget -- the price of pieces range from $1 to about $650.Â
On the first night of our adventure, we stopped in this Rock County cow town with a hotel that will charm the city out of you. Built in 1951 with heated tile floors in the lobby, art deco fixtures and finely patterned wallpaper from Omaha, the lodge is an oasis along the route west. Relax on cowboy couches or in the shady courtyard. Do not miss breakfast at the Range Cafe, where the potatoes are fried to perfection and the ambiance is authentic western diner.
Rooms are reasonable: $65 for a single; $75 for two queens. Ask for the redbird room if you feel like 1950; or a corner room if you need space to spread out.Â
Bag two waterfalls in one pass through the scenic Valentine area:
The 45-foot Fort Falls is minutes from Valentine on Nebraska 12 in the (free) Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. You might have to stop for bison in the road, and watch for prairie dogs (because they’ll be watching you). The falls is short, steep stair climb from the parking lot.Â
Nebraska’s tallest waterfall -- the 70-foot Smith Falls -- is a little farther down the road (25 minutes on gravel, 30 if you head back to the highway) and is an easy, half-mile walk from the Smith Falls State Park office. Parks pass required.Â
Ten minutes west down U.S. Highway 20 from Bassett is the town of Long Pine, population 284 and home of “where the cool waters flow.†That would be Long Pine Creek, which cuts a canyon through the Sandhills and is a favorite of trout-fishers and tubers. A dirt road takes you down to Hidden Paradise, a popular resort 100 years ago and now a collection of creekside homes. If you see this sign -- A heavenly place, please don’t drive like hell! -- you’ve found it. Gawk at the geology and dip your toes in the water.
Camping available at Long Pine State Recreation Area. For a history of Long Pine and Hidden Valley, and a list of cabins for rent, go to:Â
Good luck finding it. But if you persist, like we did -- calling our friend Stan in Lincoln, who hails from the area -- you’ll find yourself at the source of Long Pine’s pure drinking water supply, courtesy of the Ogallala Aquifer. (Our advice: Get a beer or homemade cookie at the Sand Hills Lounge in Long Pine and have them draw you a map.) The springs flow toward the creek in a sublime setting, 50 shades of green when we visited. On our walk to the creek, we ran into Long Pine’s water man, who invited us into the pump house to see where the seven springs flow together. He pointed us in the direction of a pipe pouring fresh water into the creek -- we heard it before we found it -- and we filled our bottle.
This was our base of operations in far-west Nebraska, but we only scratched the surface of what this 22,000-acre park offers. We didn’t take the trail ride, or the Jeep tour, or swim in its pool or take in a performance of the Post Playhouse.
But we did stay in a clean, high-ceilinged room in the 1909 enlisted men’s quarters, and watched the sun set from our Adirondack chairs on the broad porch (later, distant coyotes would sing us lullabies). We also drove up into the Pine Ridge, forded a creek with a Hyundai, toured the Trailside Museum of Natural History -- its pinnacle display two mammoths that died 100 centuries before, their tusks locked in a testosterone-fueled frenzy -- and finally stood, in silence, on the very spot where Crazy Horse was killed 140 years ago.Â
Take us to the moon, Sioux County. We’d long known of the millennia-old exposed landscape that is Toadstool, and now we can cross it off our list -- not that we won’t return to ogle and also visit the nearby  (Tip: It’s great to travel in the off-season -- fewer people, fewer people -- but it also means some doors are still locked.)
To get to Mars, we mean Toadstool, travel north and west of Crawford on an unpaved road for 18 miles and be repeatedly grateful it hasn’t rained. At the park, you might see a few campers (and you might want to camp yourselves; the stars alone would be worth the gas from Lincoln).
A handy pamphlet served as our tour guide, explaining the area’s otherworldly landscape of badlands, the river that once ran through it and the prehistoric wildlife that roamed here -- and that left its fossilized tracks. We set off on the mile-long trail marked with signposts shortly before sunset, and the mix of light and shadows on the rocks was pure poetry. Don’t miss it.
Yes, we had to turn right at a road called Breakneck Hill to get to a ghost town to see a 700-foot railroad tunnel chiseled through stone.
And yes, we were still in Nebraska.
When the state's only railroad tunnel opened in 1889, the Crawford Tribune rejoiced: “Daylight is now streaming through the Pine Ridge tunnel from end to end.†But it had taken more than a year for 1,200 laborers – most of whom were said to be Italian – to chip through the rock and carry it away in carts. The Belmont Tunnel had finally connected Alliance with Crawford, and the line stayed in service for nearly a century; in the 1980s, the railroad would route a double track up and over the rise.
Today, daylight still streams through the Pine Ridge, but past the recent graffiti – “Peace to all who enter here†– and the angry barn swallows that swoop and dive and tell you to stay away.
Drive about 11 miles south of Crawford on Nebraska 71, turn left on North Belmont Road, right on Breakneck Hill, left on East Belmont and into the short-lived boom town of Belmont. The tunnel is just north. A friendly farmer gave us permission to view it from his property (“Find the broken-off tree, walk to the fence and look that way,†he said, pointing), but then we got even closer by following a narrow road paralleling the east side of the tracks (so narrow we had to back out for a quarter-mile).
°Õ³ó±ðÌý was our impetus for this trip. We’d both written about the place in the past year, and about Jim Hansen -- the son of one of its founders -- and were intrigued enough to want to check the museum out for ourselves.
We’re glad we did. The museum’s world-class collection of traps, knives, firearms, wares and clothing dates back centuries, and it tells the history of an important international economy -- with an emphasis on the role by Natives on both sides of the fur trade. (When the producers of “The Revenant†needed historically accurate props, it found them here, on the east edge of Chadron.)
Check out Fur Trade Days, if you can. We hear it’s a blast, especially if you’re into buffalo chip-throwing contests. This year’s festivities run July 6-10. Toss your buffalo chips on Saturday:Â
Eating on the Road: We are calling our trip the Pizza Tour: Three pies in three days. Start with  in Grand Island (a boogie board pie is plenty for one; two, if you add an appetizer). Not many places have a VW bus in its dining room.
For a culinary change, the aforementioned  in Bassett is open for breakfast and lunch daily and for dinner on Fridays. (Listen to your mother and don’t skip breakfast.)
Farther west, we can recommend a woodfired pizza at the  in Rushville -- a warm oasis of hip and craft beer in cow country -- as well as the nightly special at the  in Long Pine (be sure to snag one of owner Lisa Dillon’s fresh-baked cookies).
In Chadron, the  features much more than coffee -- although, sadly no pizza. Give the fritatta of the day a try; it comes with a hearty slice of homemade toast that will steal your gluten-loving heart. As you head home, swing by Loup City Lanes for another pizza -- loaded with cheese and bowling alley ambiance.
More like this...
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