Saturday, June 8 Gothenburg – the Pony Express Capital of Nebraska! The little way-station was used as a Pony Express Station from 1860-61 and has served as a museum since 1954. It was moved to this lovely little park in 1931, is carefully cared for and tells the story of the Pony Express . . . which was only in existence for 18 months! We enjoyed this informative historical stop, and the dogs enjoyed the green grass of the park. The great Pony Express Reride (a yearly event) is set to mount up June 10-20 (westbound) starting at St. Joseph, MO. You can follow along at www.nationalponyexress.org. We weren’t paying attention when I-80 split with I-76, and we took a wrong turn . . . ending up in Colorado! Not to worry, as within a few miles we discovered the mistake and rerouted back to I-80 . . . where we were in Nebraska again. But the exit was closed where we wanted to get back on . . . we followed along beside I-80 on US Route 30 with the Union Pacific Railroad tracks between! In another 8 miles we were back on I-80. It was listening to our audio book on the Transcontinental/Union Pacific Railroad that led us off track to begin with, and it was fun to see an east-bound train on those very tracks! At mile-marker 367 just outside Cheyenne, Wyoming at 1:16 pm we suddenly saw mountains in the distance – tall, very snow-covered mountains! Proof that we were making our way WEST! We detoured off of I-80 and headed for downtown Cheyenne for a little exploratory visit. We were within an hour of our final destination, and had plenty of time to fritter. We went up over an overpass past the Union Pacific railroad and train yards. It would have been nice to go in the State House, but it was under major renovation and completely shut down. With all the construction we even had trouble walking around the outside. A sudden spurt of fat raindrops chased us back to our truck, and we drove around downtown Cheyenne noting the display of cowboy boots. Then back onto I-80 for a quick drive to Laramie for the evening. We found our KOA right along the interstate – nothing fancy except for the price! A flat field of dirt roads with rows of pull-thru sites with minimal strips of grass and gravel. We walked the dogs and left them as we plotted some things we wanted to see in Laramie. Number one on our list was the Historic Railroad Depot Museum – we had just finished the audio book about the Union Pacific and Transcontinental Railroad. The whole museum was shut down for a wedding. We ducked inside for a quick look while the bride/groom were out posing on the station platform. It was all set up for a banquet. Next on our list was the Historic Ivinson Mansion. Once again we walked the outside perimeter! We managed to locate the old downtown area and walked a short couple of blocks and scouted a few stores. The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up – prompting me to check the weather. It was to be down to freezing by 6:00 am! We returned to the KOA and decided on Cornish Hen for supper. The bathroom facilities are nice and the TV reception is good, the INDY cars are racing tonight, and that probably hints on what is in store for us the rest of the evening!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |