Ash Hollow

This morning we stopped in Ogallala to get fuel and attached to the station was an A&W with this sign on the door - "A&W will be closing at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 25th so that our employees can enjoy High School Prom. Thank you, Management". Management has the right priorities in a small town.

One thing about Kansas and Nebraska, you always can see where you are going.

Today we travelled the Western Trails Scenic and Historic Byway in the panhandle of Nebraska. Plenty of western trails cut through Ogallala on the eastern edge including the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Pony Express, Union Pacific, and Texas Trail. Originally an outpost for fur trappers,  pioneers followed. But it was the coming of the Union Pacific Railroad that attracted massive cattle drives from Texas to Ogallala in the summer months in the latter part of the 19th century, with ten to twelve herds, each with 2,500 head of cattle. 

Leaving Ogallala we travelled the same route that pioneers travelled and stopped at the Ash Hollow State Historical Park just beyond Lake McConaughey. Ash Hollow provided a haven for weary travelers for centuries. Prehistoric Native Americans used the area for encampments, and pioneer wagon trains would rest here for a day or two because of the fresh water springs and broad meadows. 

Ash Hollow Park is in two sections. We stopped first at Windlass Hill. The Oregon, California and Mormon Trails came through this part of Nebraska to follow the Platt River. In order to reach the Platt, Pioneers had to descend from the high prairie to the river by descending Windlass Hill 

I'm sure this sign was not here when the pioneers came through, but today it points out the direction that was followed by the wagon trains to reach Ash Hollow and the Platte River.

Marker placed by the state to commemorate the Oregon Trail at Windlass Hill.

This part of the hill was used so often that the wagon tracks created a path for erosion to form this gully.

We climbed to the top of Windlass Hill and could look out and see the track of the wagon wheels as they descended the hills. The descent of Windlass Hill was accomplished several ways - some tied ropes to the back of their wagons and used "people-power" to slow them; others used their oxen, and still others locked the wheels to make them slide.

The parking lot and Airstream from the top of Windlass Hill.

From Windlass Hill we drove the 2 1/2 miles to Ash Hallow. Pioneers were rewarded with a pleasant place to camp and fresh spring water to drink. Road-weary pioneers rested and repaired wagons and harness while their mules and oxen grazed the lush grasses. 

Emigrant guidebooks of the period indicated that Ash Hollow Springs provided the best water of any stop along the Overland Trail. 

There is a Visitor Center that is supposed to be open on Friday - Sunday, but it was closed today because today is a state holiday in Nebraska - Arbor Day. The first Arbor Day was on April 10, 1872  when an estimated 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska.  

No matter, we knocked on the door and begged Jeff, the superintendent of the park, to let us come in and view the exhibits. We looked so interested he allowed us in.

This is an arial shot of the overland trail coming across the ridge and descending Windlass Hill into Ash Hollow.

The exhibits were great with some bones of prehistoric rhinoceros, mammoths, and mastodons, all ancient mammals that once roamed the Great Plains. 

An artist's imagining of what that looked like.

Archaeological excavations in Ash Hollow indicate that early man used the area as much as 6,000 years ago. 

• Big Game Hunter Period ca. 10,000 B.C. - 6,000 B.C. - The earliest visitors hunted the mammoth and large species of bison. 
• Foragers Period ca. 6,000 B.C. - A.D. 1 - Nomadic groups still hunted bison, deer and small game. Evidence also indicated increased use of wild vegetable foods.
• Early Potters Period ca. A.D. 1 - A.D. 900 - Pottery, the use of bow and arrow, and the cultivation of corn and squash are diagnostic of this period. Village sites have been found where small structures, consisting of a circle of poles covered with mats or skins build over a shallow dish-shape depression, were used.
• Prehistoric Farmers Period ca. A.D 900 - A.D. 1500 - Communities ranging in size from one or two houses up to 30 houses were occupied during this period. The houses, called earth lodges, were square in outline with heavy post sub-structures covered by willow branch mats, grass thatch, and a sod and dirt outer layer. A variety of tools and well made pottery indicates specialization of labor made possible by a stable food supply. 
• Large Village Period ca. A.D. 1500 - A.D. 1800 - Increased population and warfare, possible due to population pressure, are suggested by the large, sometimes fortified earthen villages of this period. New styles in pottery were introduced and in the later part of the period trade goods begin to appear. 

Points and implements from the various periods - bottom row, Big Game Hunters Period; next row up, Foragers Period; Early potters Period; top row, Prehistoric Farmers Period.

Large Village Period.

The exhibits also featured a description of the various periods of westward expansion which we may address tomorrow. 

During this afternoon's drive we kept our eyes on the clouds which were beautiful but also the type of clouds that spawn thunderstorms. Railroad tracks travel this part of the Oregon Trail, too, and we saw many long trains.

The beginning of the bluffs, threatening sky, and more trains.

We made it to Lake Minatare State Recreation Area, outside Scotts Bluff, before the rain.

Like Minatare's landmark lighthouse was a beacon of hope in the dark days of the "Great Depression," when many Americans were jobless. It was built entirely of native stone between 1937 and 1939 by the Veterans ConservationCorps (VCC) Camp BR-1. The unusual structure stands 55 feet tall and was intended to serve as a combination shelter house and observation tower. Built to simulate a lighthouse, it is the only such structure in Nebraska. Frederick is there for scale.

We took our chances with the weather and walked on the beach. Those are some pretty threatening clouds.

Heading back up the beach to the Airstream.