Sandhills | An American Songline

I used to be like a lot of you out there in the US who had stereotypes about Nebraska. I always made the joke “Do you want to drive Nebraska by day to see how boring it is, or do you want to drive Nebraska at night to smell how boring it is?”

I can’t say that anymore. I saw stuff in Western Nebraska that was amazing, and all I had to do was leave the interstate and drive the Lincoln Highway. As Kevin Patrick noted at the LHA conference, “Friends don’t let friends drive the Interstate,” and I think I’ll start to embrace that motto after this tour is over.

The main people I have to thank for this part of my journey are Muriel (Nebraska Outback is her blog), her husband Mark, and Rob with N Route Entertainment (Muriel helps with this organization as well). They opened my eyes to seeing the beauty of their area, and they support live music and musicians with a passion I haven’t seen anywhere else so far. I left Western Nebraska with a whole other state of mind, and ready for what lies ahead.

I have to admit that the road caught up with me after my performances on the 4th of July. I was a little under the weather for a few days at this point of the tour with a sore throat and ear/sinus pressure. Luckily, it was all caught in time, and I was able to sing for a group of touring Norwegians, Swedish and Danish folks driving across the country.

There’s around 70 pictures in this post (get comfy), but here’s a few highlights of the area that I want to write about before you see the pictures:

1) While this is not directly on the Lincoln Highway, the Sandhills are truly a magnificent experience that’s close to the route. It is a region of mixed-grass prairie/grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska, covering just over one quarter of the state! You can pretty much Google and see several websites to learn more about it. Muriel has strong family ties to this area, so my driving tour both her and Mark took me on was made that much more magical.

2) If you’re a fan of anything of the Old West, definitely take the time to stop in North Platte. You’ll find plenty of things to do and see there, and you won’t be bored!

3) You’ll cross into Mountain Time Zone west of Sutherland, NE (my favorite time zone). I noticed on some of the original routes as well as some auxiliary roads you’ll see the sign “Minimum Maintenance Road”. Believe what they say! I wanted to go see some old wagon ruts on “California Hill” and my car got stuck in mud right off of the paved main route. Luckily I wasn’t in too deep and could back myself out of the mud by myself, but this warning as well as a few others is a note of caution for anyone driving the Lincoln solo. When in doubt, don’t drive it!

My view from the stage at the Ft. Cody Trading Post in North Platte, NE. This figure was originally a “Muffler Man” and when the store went out of business they turned him into a “Native American”.

View of the Trading Post from the outside. While it is now located on the interstate, the original location of the post was west of town on the Lincoln Highway.

Buffalo Bill stands tall in North Platte!

This was a special Lincoln Highway display the trading post had up to mark the centennial of the road.

A photo of Buffalo Bill’s Miniature Wild West Show. Over 20,000 tiny hand-carved figures populate dioramas of Bill’s show, were created by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist over a 12 year period. It was really neat to see all of the details!

Just outside of North Platte sits Buffalo Bill’s Scout Rest Ranch. A place of retreat for Bill from all of the touring, this home was built in 1886, with the “new” edition built in 1909.

Here’s the barn on the grounds. It was a working farm with over 4,000 acres at its largest point in time.

Here’s Muriel and I dressed up for my performance at the Oregon Golf Course in Sutherland, NE (about 20 miles West of North Platte). Pretty cool to perform with an Oregon Trail marker so close!

The Sutherland Reservoir is right next to the golf course, and it was the perfect spot to celebrate the 4th of July.

While this was a nice depiction of the West, it unfortunately was viewed while I was in a Doctor’s office.

Welcome to downtown Sutherland! You’ll see in the next few pics it’s quite the Lincoln Highway town.

This mural is a reproduction of the famous Franklin Grove, IL mural, the only difference is the mileage between the cities.

This is an excerpt of a mural that the town of Sutherland painted for its Sesquicentennial.

Of course if it’s got the word “Otto” in it, I have to take a picture!

This mural was created by Sutherland school children. Muriel’s son helped paint it!

This is the oldest building in Sutherland. It is currently vacant, but people hope to reopen it again soon.

Burma Shave Signs don’t have to just be along the road…

Mural in progress next to an old gas station that is in the process being restored.

Another Sutherland gas station gets another face lift!

Another great recreation of a famous Lincoln Highway mural (more on it in my next post).

The Sutherland State Aid Bridge was built in 1912, and is in danger of being torn down.

Here’s a view of the bridge from the side.

If you look closely, you can see the wagon ruts from where the Mormons went through this area in the 1840’s.

Sand of the Sandhills. As you can see, it’s pretty fine stuff.

There will be several landscape views of the Sandhills coming up, and this is #1.

Mark hands me some Yucca plant to try. Not my favorite thing to eat, but not horrible either.

This is the Schoolhouse where Muriel said she went to school. She also mentioned that dances would be held here once a month.

Closeup of the Schoolhouse. Note the cows are very interested in us…

Here’s what Muriel’s family homestead looked like from the outside.

Love this old stove! It is not original to the home, but has been donated for its restoration efforts.

As I learned from Muriel, we must always help the turtles find their way across the road.

Three people from the tour who came to my Saturday afternoon performance – they were all from Denmark.

Here’s a shot of a few of the cars that the tour drove. I loved the Imperial in the middle.

Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse is very well known as a must stop not only along the Lincoln but in all of Nebraska as well. It opened the day after Prohibition ended in 1933.

All of the animals in Ole’s were caught by the original owner himself.

Love this old lamp at Big Ole’s Steakhouse

The Spruce Street Station in Ogallala, NE has been restored back to its original glory.

Ogallala’s Boot Hill Cemetery is a great little stop along the road.

View of the Cemetery with the “Cowboy Boss” looking on.

This woman and infant were the first people to be buried at Boot Hill Cemetery.

One of the last Lincoln Highways I might see for a while…

Here’s a shot of the road from my car as I was driving in the Panhandle.

This building in Lodgepole, NE has one of the best ghost signs I’ve seen so far. Hopefully the Opera house will be restored again soon.

The Potter Soda Fountain supposedly is one of coolest places to stop an experience an old soda or tin roof sundae. Too bad it was closed when I drove through.

The original Lincoln Highway went under the railroad here. Lucky for me a train was going by!

One of the biggest gas stations in the US was the State Line Gas Station on the Nebraska/Wyoming border. There are 18 pumps in total.

While standing at the abandoned gas station, both a train a few Norwegian cars went by!

Here’s where the line was drawn for the border.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Up next I’ll talk about the infamous “Colorado Loop”. Until then, enjoy your week!