It was a beautiful day, and I made the requisite visit to the town's main attraction, an actual Pony Express depot that has been moved to this site in the local park. It's actually only the second floor of the original depot, there being no reason to have the lower level barn area on hand.
There are a few artifacts -- and many souvenirs -- inside, the most interesting to me being this advertisement from March 1860 newspapers in San Francisco:
I had a good chuckle, because except for the fact that I was never a "skinny wiry" young fellow, was never an expert rider and was not an orphan, I think I might have enjoyed work as a pony express rider. Long, hard days on the road, living by your wits and with an element of risk… What's not for me to like? Plus, $25 per week is pretty good for me!
Another highlight was an hour-long visit I had with these nice ladies at the town's historical museum. They were both born here -- one of them is descended from original 1860's settlers -- and I got pretty much the whole inside story about the town. The other 50 minutes we spent just having a lively conversation on a variety of topics and looking at a few of the artifacts.
Also today, I had a salad for lunch at a popular local diner, complete with "Dorothy Lynch" salad dressing, a popular French-style recipe that is native to Nebraska. The temperature wasn't too high, so I had a nice stroll around a nearby lake/park, then made a ten minute stop at the sod house which is the town's other main attraction.
I wrapped up my day with "Happy Hour" at McDonalds, where it seems the entire town goes every afternoon to get any beverage on the menu for a dollar. I had to settle for an iced mocha, due to the fact that McDonalds has not yet added Scotch whiskey to their offerings!
I'm continuing west tomorrow, and since I'm feeling like I may have reached my quota for Nebraska culture and history, I may re-enact a bit of the pony express myself… If you catch my meaning. Stay tuned!
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2 comments:
I cant' wait to hear all about the stories the ladies told you! The history of that place must be awesome!!
Bet you did get some great stories! I will wave at you as you travel on 30 westward. I am south of Ogallala about an hour or so in Imperial.. so if you ever do a north to south route on hwys 61 and 6 shout out. Started following your stories while you were with SP Kennels..
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