Where's Vickie 2010, Volume 11

Pipe Stone National Monument

Elm-lined streets in Fargo. Apparently dutch elm disease has never reached here. Sad to think the streets in my hometown were probably like this at one time.

Corn palace artwork. Picture is corn cobs, frame and stars are some sort of straw

corn palace

August 2nd -- Mitchell, South Dakota

So, to my continuing surprise, much of Nebraska is beautiful.
Yesterday I spent several hours at Homestead National Monument. This is the site of the first homestead claim, made in 1863 by Daniel Freeman. I did not realize the homestead act was in effect for so long…until 1976 in the lower 48, and until 1986 in Alaska. The last homesteader claimed his land in Alaska in 1974. The park itself has several miles of trails through pretty prairie and woodlands, all of which I enjoyed even in the heat. Lots more fascinating information at http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/index.htm.

Last night found me in the unremarkable town of Grand Island. I never could determine where the name comes from…it’s near, but not on, the Platte river, and I did not see any islands, grand or otherwise. It’s the home of the Nebraska State Fair (at the end of August), there’s a lot of grain-processing industry around it’s edges, and other than that it seems to be a vast Wal-Mart-land. I did find a very good Thai restaurant (Vientiane) downtown, although I was their ONLY customer. And a Scooters Coffee, the Nebraska version of Starbucks.

This morning I headed north on Nebraska hwy 14. What a gorgeous drive! The area south of Albion is surely one of the prettiest roads I’ve been on. Big steep rolling green hills covered with corn, grass, and trees. This would be a fabulous area to bike through. No shoulders on the road, but little enough traffic that I don’t think it would be a problem.

Around lunchtime I stopped at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. Here’s the park’s blurb:
About 12 million years ago, a volcano in southwest Idaho spread a blanket of ash over a very large area. One or two feet of this powdered glass covered the flat savannah-like grasslands of northeastern Nebraska.
Most of the animals which lived here survived the actual ashfall, but as they continued to graze on the ash covered grasses, their lungs began to fill up with the abrasive powder. Soon their lungs became severely damaged and they began to die.
The smaller animals died first (smaller lung capacities) and finally, after perhaps three to five weeks, the last of the rhinos perished. Their bodies were quickly covered by the blowing and drifting ash.
Undisturbed except by an occasional scavenging meat-eater, the skeletons of these animals are preserved in their death positions, complete with evidence of their last meals in their mouths and stomachs and their last steps preserved in the sandstone below.

Lot of rhinos, horse-like creatures, camels, all still laying there in the ash after 12 million years. Quite interesting.

Pretty scenery continued on until I crossed the Missouri back into South Dakota, at which time it became flat and dull. I was racing a nasty looking black sky off to the west, and did not especially want to be caught in a thunderstorm out in the wide open, so stopped early today in the outskirts of Mitchell, whose claim to fame is the Corn Palace, which I will visit tomorrow, after which I think I will hightail it for Fargo.
August 5th -- Fargo, ND

The Corn Palace was only mildly interesting and very touristy. I took a few pictures and drove on over to Minnesota, where I visited Pipe Stem National Monument. (not to be confused, as I first was, with Pipe Spring National Monument, which is in Utah). This is an area where native americans quarried ( and still do) a red rock to make, you guessed it, pipe stems… and now, earrings, key fobs, paperweights, and various other tchotchkes. I suppose if you lived in the prairie, this ridge of rock, with a stream running through it, might seem remarkable. But for me, not so much. (Pipe Spring is nicer).

Got back to Fargo Tuesday night, where I have Ann’s house all to myself until tomorrow, while she and Ed are off riding CANDISC. Yesterday I returned the rental car and spent the day biking around Fargo. There are lots of bike trails here, some nice winding ones along the Red River, and others that are just glorified sidewalks, but still make it a very bike-friendly city. This was the first temperate day I have experienced since pedaling into the city 2 weeks ago… I don’t think it even got up to 85, and this morning it’s downright cool.

About 1pm, it was déjà vu all over again -- tornado sirens! But, but, it doesn’t look stormy…there are a few big clouds…. I’m biking through a park, where do I hide? I’m just about to panic when another biker assures me it’s the test they do the first Wednesday of every month.


I broke my multi-year avoidance of first-run movies, and went to see “Salt”.Have to admit I enjoyed it.