Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2: Day 28 #DetourNebraska Challenge

I am feeling a bit apprehensive tonight. Suddenly it hit me that by the end of next week, several people may have finished reading my book. That is exciting and maybe a bit scary. I am hoping that I represented my state well. One thing that I want to be absolutely clear about: I have not been to every place mentioned in the book. Although I wish I could have made that happen, I would have had to travel full time. I would like to think that if you read the book, you cannot necessarily tell which places I visited and which ones I researched online. To ensure accuracy, I did contact most of the places to have them proofread. Because I did not visit every place, now I have a Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2.

I did write a similar post of Nebraska places that I want to visit awhile ago, and someday soon I will update that. (I can say that I am halfway done!) But with writing my book, my list has grown rather lengthy. Telling you all of the places that I want to go might get rather long. But I thought it might be fun to write a Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2. Like I did before, I have picked one place per region. Since my book is organized by regions, that is how I organized the list. And not so coincidentally, that is also how I organized all of my previous #write31days 2017 posts. The map is a bit more detailed than the one in my book, but the regions are still the same.

Without further delay, here is my Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2 …

Bess Streeter Aldrich House (Metro Region)

I read my Bess Streeter Aldrich book in junior high. I loved A Lantern in My Hand. Since she wrote primarily magazine articles, her book titles is fairly short. Someday I hope to read through all of them. The section on the Aldrich home is found on p. 24-25 in Detour Nebraska. As I look at the pictured desk, I feel a bit of longing. What is surprising to me is that I have never taken a tour of the Bess Streeter Aldrich even though Elmwood is less than an hour from my house. I am planning on visiting the home around Christmas. Since they decorate every year, I think it will be a perfect home for my “Home for the Holidays” series.

Old West Trails Center (Pioneer Region)

Before writing Detour Nebraska, I am not sure that I had ever even heard of the Old West Trails Center in Odell. Their collection seems interesting. I am especially intrigued by their 100 foot mural. In Detour Nebraska, I only wrote a short paragraph about the location on p. 48-49. But I am certain that if I visit, I will have much more to say.

Genoa Indian School (Lewis and Clark Region)

This is another area that was unfamiliar to me. The Genoa Indian School was one of the largest boarding schools in the United States. Researching this location was quite enjoyable, and the result was almost two pages (62-63) on this location that was also once an important part of the Mormon Trail. Yesterday I was teaching some of my students about Nebraska Native American history. Telling them the story confirmed that I definitely want to visit sometime soon.

Arthur Bowring Sandhills Ranch State Historical Park

I actually did make it to the Bowring Ranch on my 1,700 mile trip. But as you can see by the picture, the ranch was not currently open for visitors. (In fact, the photograph looks a bit fake!) I drove out to the ranch with the hopes of taking some amazing night time star shots. I did not have any luck. But God definitely put on quite the star show for me. I have never seen such amazing stars!

The Bowrings led interesting lives. And I want to go inside the ranch as opposed to parking in the driveway. Page 76-77 in my book confirms my wish to go back to this area again soon!

I am over halfway done on my Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2? How am I doing so far?

Robert Henri Museum (Frontier Trails)

I almost cried when I arrived several hours after closing time at the Robert Henri Museum. As I have presented several workshops featuring “Art Across Nebraska,” this location has been on my radar for quite awhile. And it was probably a good thing that I did not have the director’s number, since I would have begged for her to open up for me. Robert was a leader in the Ashcan movement. Although I have seen some of his pieces in books and at other museums, someday I look forward to seeing his work at his museum. His story is on p. 102-103 in Detour Nebraska.

Haigler (Prairie Lakes Region)

At first, I was not sure what to make of Haigler. After all, the town is small. But they are making so much effort to welcome visitors. In fact, how several sisters earned money to open up a museum might be one of my favorite stories in the whole book. To learn that tale, please read about Dundy County on page 115.

Lake Minatare Lighthouse (Panhandle Region)

When I was on my trip, I accidently forgot about visiting this lighthouse. I had watched the Nebraska Stories “Prairie Lighthouse” episode and knew that was one place I wanted to visit. Perhaps it is okay that I forgot as I really did not have time for that #DetourNebraska. Now I have an excuse to head that direction again someday. This building is a unique one in landlocked Nebraska.

How did I do on my Nebraska Travel Bucket List Volume 2? Have you already been to any of these Nebraska locations? Which ones would you like to visit someday?