North Platte, Nebraska

Good morning, my friends. We beat feet out of Beatrice yesterday morning in order to make the 250-mile drive to North Platte, Nebraska. Our mission was to see the Bailey Yard, and it was to close at 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays. No problem, we thought. We could wait and see it Sunday morning. Well, no, actually. It doesn't open until noon on Sundays, and we need to be on our way sooner than that. We had just one night here in North Platte. So, we left plenty early and drove safely. 

Of course, we started seeing barns right away. 

Most of the Nebraska we've seen has been agricultural. As an aside, I got a little chuckle when I visited the quilt shop in Beatrice. A radio was playing an ad for an orthopedic clinic that began with "Long days spent bring in the harvest on the combine or tractor can leave you feeling..." Yeah. We don't hear that sort of thing where I live. Once again, my "city girl" is showing.

We had to drive north, returning to Lincoln, where we passed over I-80 heading to the on ramp. Below was just a taste of what we'd see later on in the afternoon. Also, note the state capitol building on the right side of the image below.
 

But the whole day wasn't just about trains. I had my eye on something else in the little town of Cozad, just off the interstate.

On one of the Facebook groups I follow for "RV Quilters," someone had written about this 50 State Barn Quilt Display. Now that I had to see. The display is located near the corner of 7th and Meridian in downtown Cozad, Nebraska, on the side of the Mead Lumber storage building. You can read more about the why's and how's at that link I've given you. Here's a photo of the whole thing.

I wanted to get a picture of all the states so that everyone can find their state. The side of the building was in shade, but the sun was shining in my eyes as I tried to get these photos. It was hard to see, and I needed to overlap in areas to get all of them. Just scan through these next few images to find your own state.

My state of Oregon is in this next image.

There were other barn quilts on various buildings in the downtown area. This next one was the only one I captured. It was on the side of the building that housed Cozad's police department.

If you're traveling on I-80 in western Nebraska, Exit 222 is the one you want. There was a big quilt shop in town too, but we needed to continue on our way if we were going to get to the train yard. 

Reaching North Platte just a little ways down the road, the exit for the RV park was two exits before the one for the train yard. We took some time to drop off and set up the RV before heading to the train yard. We didn't know what the streets of North Platte would be like, and towing a big RV through a strange town is always stressful. We were glad to lighten our load before doing our sight-seeing. It was just about five miles from where we stayed for the night.

There was a hand car and some other railroad memorabilia on the far side of the driveway from the sign.

Approaching the visitor center, it looked like this.

To the right of the visitor center was this railroad car.

We paid our admission ($7 each for seniors), and then headed up to the 7th and 8th floor viewing platforms. Inside was a "museum" of sorts. Included among the things we saw there was this aerial photograph of the entire yard.

Be sure to notice the statistics at the bottom of the image. The yard handles 10,000 train cars every single day. Looking left, there was an area with nothing but locomotive engines.

Looking out and panning the whole yard, we saw what you will see in these next several images.

Here's a short video where you can see some of the trains moving about. (If you can't see the video, then click on the title to this post to be taken to the actual blog. You'll see it there.)

And of course, all around us on the opposite side, and as far as the eye could see...acres and acres of cornfields.

Regarding the museum, there were a few items of interest. First, the dining car.

Here were some of the dishes one might see if eating in a dining car.

We once took a train from Portland to San Diego at Christmas. We were trying to save some money, and it also seemed like a grand adventure. We had one dinner in the dining car, and it was surprisingly delicious and elegantly served. And let me just say, if your children are this age...

taking the train a significant distance is a very bad idea. We could let Erik (on the right) roam the train safely. Matthew (on the left) was a bit of a handful. And speaking of children, Erik is celebrating his 43rd birthday today. Happy Birthday, Kiddo!

Okay, and moving on, Mike had to manipulate this switchboard display. Manipulating buttons is just one part of human behavior that is located on the "Y" chromosome.

The golden spike was driven into the rails in Promontory, Utah, but the tower was given the name "Gold Spike," in its honor.

This graphic was interesting. Sorry about the glare from the windows behind me.

There was a long timeline regarding significant events in the yard. I've only included a few that I thought were interesting. This was the first point on the timeline.

And this display about the building of the railroad tracks was interesting. The sign explains the image that follows.

And here's a little map of the Bailey Yard.

Okay, so we'd spent about an hour there before our eyes were full. From there, we visited a quilt shop.

I'm sad to say I over-wrote my pictures when I downloaded them to the computer. It was a case of "user error." My pictures of the place cannot be retrieved, and believe me I tried. I can't really tell you much about the quilt shop except that it was a good one. If I ever find myself in North Platte again, I'll come back for a second round. 

Edited to say that my friend Wendy sent me a link to the post she wrote about her visit to the same shop. You can read it right here. Thanks, Wendy.

There was lots of beautiful fabric to look at. I was looking for something train specific to mark our time in North Platte. Finally, I asked for help because I was coming up empty. The woman working there (sewing, actually) showed me four different bolts. I chose this one. I liked the inclusion of the historic buildings since we've seen them everywhere in Nebraska, including North Platte.

And that was our day. It was a good day too.

Today we're in no hurry to head out, but we have another drive of just over 200 miles to reach Chadron State Park in Nebraska. We're staying there mainly to get a chance to see nearby Fort Robinson State Park and Toadstool Geologic Park. I wanted to camp in Fort Robinson State Park, but the only spaces open required that we have our horse with us. I inquired if having a cat as big as a horse counted. At first, my question was met with silence, then gales of laughter. And Smitty wanted to know what's so funny?

Okay, so it's past time for breakfast and some slow-stitching. We can't check in at the next place until 4:00 p.m. We usually sneak in a little early, but we don't have to leave this place until 1:00 p.m. We'll just hang out here for a leisurely morning, and then be on our away. Since we're heading to a state park, we're not sure what the internet situation will be. If you don't hear from me, then I'll see you when we get to South Dakota in a few days.