Knight Museum & Sandhills Center - Alliance 

 

This is a really nice pioneer museum.  It certainly ranks as one of Nebraska's best on early life in the state.  The range of topics is quite varied; natural history, famous people, ordinary households, Indians and more.  Everyone who visits Alliance owes it to themselves to stop in at this museum.  Us old folks will go down memory lane and the youngsters will wonder how any of us survived.

Just take a look at some of the rocks found in Nebraska. The state is a "gold mine" for petrified wood.  There's also fossilized bones or other evidence of ancient life that can be found just about everywhere.  When I was in college, I was to find some poor soil and bring it to a soils class for testing and examination.  I stopped at a road cut in a hill and scooped up a small bucket of soil from about 10' below the surface.  When we looked over what I brought in, we were all surprised at a number of snail shells in the sample.

Just imagine working in this kitchen compared with today.  But in it's day, this is what they had and used.  Can you sew your own clothes?  Everyday dresses and men's clothes sometimes appeared so fancy to me when I see photos of how pioneers dressed.  

Does anyone remember seeing a cream separator work?  I do but ours used an electric motor.

The Homestead Act of 1862 was of special interest in Nebraska with the first claim made by Daniel Freeman near Beatrice NE.  The Kinkaid Act was especially for western Nebraska.  It was determined that 160 acres wasn't enough out here so 640 acres became the new claim.

There are many photographs of western life, as well.  

Of course, we all know how important railroads were to our state.  Almost everyone has a relative or friend who has or is now working for a railroad.  In Nebraska, we have around 10,200+ railroad employees.  This has decreased very significantly over the years as technology has improved.

Here's a display what was very interesting to me.  Look at how the Ogallala Aquifer has changed, or not!  I've read for years how the aquifer is drying out in various places so I was surprised that such vast areas have remained unchanged.  If you drive through the Sandhills on highway 2 you may be surprised at how mane lakes are visible from the highway.  Imagine how many more must be in the area you can't see from the road.

Powerhouse Social & Suites - Scottsbluff 

 

This has a certain elegance to it.  I think it's the building and how it has been designed.  We intended to have a meal here but we arrived too early.  I did check, though, and the steaks are flame grilled and some people know how much I like that.  Since we go through the area often, I hope to get that steak here in the near future.

The chairs look very comfortable but I didn't sit in one to check.

There's also a very nice outdoor area when the weather is appropriate.  This whole area of Scottsbluff has been redeveloped, with lots of fun places to choose from.

Hangar 39 - Potter 

This is the fourth year with the Nebraska Passport and I think we've been to Potter every year.  This year Potter also has one of the 15 favorites, which I will cover in a separate section. 

Again, just like the Beans & Steam Coffeehouse in Sydney, our friends like this business, too.  So, we were actually here before this. Because we get introduced to all these fun and unique places by friends or the Passport, they have become normal stops for us when traveling through.  I'm not an Interstate fan because I like seeing the small towns and what they have going on.  Unless I have to hurry somewhere.

We were amazed as soon as we walked in on how it's decorated.  A lot of pipes went into this contraption below.  This tap house is located in a historic Conoco Station in Potter, NE.  We walked into the building and were greeted by a very friendly person behind the counter.

The owner told us that the bar is the original car lift from the 1930's.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a good photo of it.  We sat at the bar and visited with her for a while.  I often marvel at the extent of decorating that so many places do.  Growing up, it seemed that most places were always content to be relatively clean but to be modern and attractive for their respective generations, that was just not very important.

Beans & Steams Coffeehouse - Sydney 

We've paid this business a couple visits before they became a Passport stop.  We have some friends who live nearby and this is one of their favorite places to go.

It seems to be a popular place whenever we've been here.  There are several friendly people behind the counter and we were greeted immediately when we entered.  A quick, friendly greeting is a common characteristic in all the customer-oriented businesses.  It certainly isn't just because of the Passport because the greeting always comes before anyone even knows why we come in.

 In this photo, I had a nice conversation with some ladies sitting below this sign.  You're probably thinking, "Well, where are they then?"  They decided to move but we chatted for several minutes afterward.  One of them wanted to take my picture instead.

They were a lot of fun talking to so I had to do it.

There was a bit more private of an area in the back.  The whole Coffeehouse is very nicely decorated, as you can see.  If you notice the timestamps on the photos, you'll see how much time I spent chatting.

Cheyenne County Museum - Sydney 

We arrived here on what was supposed to be an open day but found the museum closed.  In September, they changed operating days.

Wildeflour Baking Co - Lodgepole 

 

We kind of messed up here.  They weren't open when we stopped.  However, when I went to the door, I saw someone inside and she let me in and stamped our books.  I was also able to take a couple photos for the blog.  This person was not the owner and did this out of kindness, which is what you can often find in small towns across Nebraska.

She said the business has been open for some time now and it has it's usual local patronage which find it a great place to spend time.  It is always great to see small towns find a way to continue creating new and inviting places to keep their towns relevant.  Who knows what can be accomplished when you find a way to provide people with a value they want.  Especially when it's in a comfortable setting such as this.

The rolling pin wall is unique, as far as I've ever seen.