Scottsbluff, NE

July 7, 2011

My first night at Barn Anew B&B was spectacular.  Slept like a baby.  I am looking forward to two more nights in this history filled restored, repurposed, converted barn/historic home.  The owners, Allan and Cher are delightful people.  Both are retired teachers.  Allan is the history buff and taught high school, while Cher is a fiber artist and middle school Language Arts teacher.  Insert “It’s a Small World” from Disney here—now you will all be humming that song in your head for the rest of the day.

The picture is a view from the balcony overlooking the Oregon Trail which runs past their house. 

I shared my plans for a story quilt for The Outsiders with Cher and she told me that she taught that book the first year it was published and for every year thereafter.  She also confessed that she got tired of teaching it, but the kids loved it.  Which is exactly how I feel.  When I told her what I was thinking of for my quilt design she chuckled and said that she would probably be thinking about it all night long.  She did promise to share any ideas that she generated with me.

After a delightful breakfast and while the air was still relatively cool, I headed for Scottsbluff National Monument.  The bluff is almost unimaginably huge.  I cannot imagine being a pioneer walking beside the wagon and realizing that you have to go around the bluff, because there is no way through it.

My visit began with the one of the rangers driving me to the summit trailhead of the Saddle Trail.  Then I began my 1.6 mile decent to the bottom.  Of course, there are signs warning of rattlesnakes in every direction.  They told me not to be surprised if I saw one as they are plentiful, but they would not seek me out.  I didn’t see any—thank God for small favors.  The hike was unlike anything I have ever experienced.  The wildflowers are blooming and everything is still green as the area has had an overabundance of rain this summer.  The acoustics were amazing.  I could hear people talking at the top when I was nearing the bottom and I could understand what they were saying.  I thought they were right behind me. 

I started at the top of the picture and worked my way down.  It was strenuous because of the steep slope.  You can see the path that cuts across the picture.  This was the easy part.  Cher from the B&B goes up and down the trail a few times a week.  I don't know if Anita and I could do that, but it would be fun to try.
 

 With one trail completed, I was eager to do the Oregon Trail loop that would take me on the actual trail and I would be able to walk through the swale that was formed by the roughly 250,000 pioneers.  Examples of the different types of wagons were also on display.  The one I found most intriguing is the Mormon hand cart (below).  Can you imagine pulling or pushing a handcart that is slightly larger than an oversized wheelbarrow----for months across the prairie?  A family would have to have more than one and the kids would also have to take a turn.

The Scottsbluff area is magnificent.  The sky seems so big and you can see for miles and miles and miles. The bluff area is quite large. Pioneers would see the bluff and get excited about the change in landscape only to realize that it would take a couple of days to reach it and then they would have to go around it as there was no way through it.  Eventually, some brave souls figured out a tight way through Mitchell Pass.  The wagons scraped through the rocks on both sides and by the end of the westward movement some 250,000 pioneers went through this area.