Adventures with Wolfgang: The Center of the U. S. of A.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Center of the U. S. of A.

Location: Lake Ogalalla State Park, NE

We woke this morning to a beautiful red sunrise. Seems like the old saying is right, "Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning..." because by the time we rolled out of the campground at about 7:30, the wind was gusting like crazy and there were all kinds of beautiful, ominous cloud effects happening in the sky. Since it was Father's Day, Debi insisted that we go out to breakfast, which we did. Here's me with my Father's Day french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, at a breakfast place in Kearney (pronounced "Carnie"). We then continued west along the old Lincoln Highway, which parallels Interstate 80 but at a much calmer pace through most of Nebraska.

Laurie's journal reported "A little before noon we reached the exact center of the United States, geographically speaking. It is 1730 miles from either coast at this point. Here was a little resort by a little lake with pavilions, picnic grounds and some amusements." On my trip with Nancy in 1999, we had been delighted to find that this spot still existed. There was no pavillion or lake anymore, but lots of signs boasting about it being the center of the U.S. I think the little tourist store was closed, but Nancy and I took photos of everything, including the ferro-cement depiction of a covered wagon pulled by a pair of oxen. As we neared this spot today, I saw how updated all the houses looked and wondered if the tourist spot would still be there. Moments later we came upon the spot, now with only one sign, but Nick and Rosa are still pulling the wagon, 86 years since my father's family passed this same place.

A little further down the road we drove through downtown Lexington, which still has brick lined streets, and a surprisingly vibrant bunch of businesses, especially compared to many of the little ghost-like towns we see throughout the midwest. You can see in this photo some of the ominous skies we were under at this time. Not much later, we drove out of all the weather and were blessed with blue skies.

Another place which Laurie mentioned was their lunch spot in Cozad. We stopped there to admire the beautifully restored train station which commemorates the spot where the construction of the Trancontinental Railroad was completed to this point on the 100th logitudinal line west of Greenwich on October 5, 1866. This big event was celebrated by a trainload of 250 dignitaries who arrived at this place three weeks later on the first passenger train to travel west of the Missouri River.

A nice Union Pacific Logo above the station doorway.

Here's me practicing my Harry Truman "whistle stop" skills.

A little further west we checked out the Pony Express Station in Gothenburg. It operated here only from 1860-1862, since when the Overland Telegraph was completed they were put out of business.

Across from the Pony Express Station, Debi practiced her skills as a fireman.

In North Platte, we stopped at the Buffalo Bill State Historic Park where Buffalo Bill Cody built his home in 1886 at the cost of $3900, during the heyday of his famous Wild West Show.

We also liked the mural on the way out of town paying tribute to the Lincoln Highway and a sweet little former gas station, which might have been operating in 1929. Parts of the Lincoln Highway remind us of Route 66 with iconic symbols of America's love of road trips.