Two Mile Creek | The USA: Landscapes and Urban Spaces

Before crossing the Colorado state border into Nebraska, we stopped at Two Mile Creek. Along the north bank of the creek, a sandy outcrop had been eroded into low cliffs with unusual rock formations. Hundreds of swifts flew through the air; the cliffs were their nesting site. Thousands of crickets jumped in the grass as we walked around. About a dozen bikers passed on their way to Sturgis in South Dakota, their Harley-Davidsons purring efficiently in the otherwise quiet surroundings.

Two Mile Creek, at the border between Colorado and Nebraska

We were going to Scotts Bluff National Monument, but, because the direct route was being up-graded, had to follow a detour. The detour took us onto a dirt and gravel road for about 5 miles. Because the road crossed gently undulating ground and had only a few bends, it presented no real challenges to Hilary or the car. We soon returned to Highway 71, the direct route to Scotts Bluff, and entered the attractive Wildcat Hills. The scenery grew even more interesting as we approached Scotts Bluff itself, a dramatic eruption of rock surrounded on two sides by hills almost as high. Scotts Bluff and its neighbouring hills were heavily eroded. They overlooked the valley of the North Platte River, which formed part of the Mormon and the Oregon trails. Below Scotts Bluff was a museum and three wooden wagons, the latter in the open air. The wagons provided an insight into how people in the 19th century made their way along the trails. One wagon was full of the clothes, bedding and household items that a family might have had as they travelled west. Pretending to pull the wagons were fibre-glass oxen. We were told that, in contrast with Hollywood’s interpretation of journeys on wagon trains, oxen pulled most of the wagons. In the movies, the wagons were usually pulled by horses.

Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska

For $5, we drove the car to the summit of Scotts Bluff, from where there were excellent views in every direction. The summit was extensive enough to have three short hikes, which allowed us to engage more intimately with the dramatic cliffs and attractive wild flowers. One of the hikes took us through a short tunnel in the cliffs, but walkers had to watch out for rattlesnakes. We chickened out. Later on the trip, such warnings did not discourage us.

Alliance was our immediate destination because of nearby Carhenge, an unusual large-scale sculpture assembled from old cars painted silvery grey. But before arriving at Carhenge, we had to contend with Alliance itself, one of the day’s larger and more important towns. Alliance was dominated by the Burlington, Northern and Santa Fe Railroad and its enormous marshalling yard from where mile-long freight trains, many of which carried coal, were sent south, east and west. We never saw what passed for Alliance’s town centre, but the railroad and landmark buildings associated with it were reward enough.

Carhenge has been assembled in such a way as to resemble Stonehenge, the far more famous ancient monument in the Wiltshire countryside in the UK. Carhenge is well worth a detour and an hour of anyone’s time. Some cars and car parts unrelated to the original sculpture have been added to the site in recent years. The additions manifest a variety of colours, rust included. They compromise the impact of the original sculpture, but can be excluded from the views at certain angles. However, some of the additions are interesting in their own right.

Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska

Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska

We drove north and then west from Carhenge to Highway 385, which took us to Pine Ridge and the attractive Nebraska National Forest. We descended from the ridge into Chadron where we hoped to stay overnight. The Super 8 Hotel wanted $129 for the night, which we thought was ridiculous. The more central Economy 9, which was organised as a motel rather than a hotel, offered us a room for $56, taxes included. The Economy 9 provided only tea and coffee to kick-start the day, but, at the price, who could complain? Fellow guests included a few bikers on their way to Sturgis. One biker travelled alone, but with his pet chihuahua. When in transit, the chihuahua had a bed in the trailer attached to the bike. On the back of the trailer was a “God and Guns” sticker. The biker was probably a Republican. More specifically, he may have been a supporter of the Tea Party.

According to signs as we entered Chadron, the town had a population of just over 6,000. But Chadron was home to Chadron State College, which must almost double the town’s population during term time. Because the academic year in most US colleges and universities began earlier than in colleges and universities in the UK, some of the students were on the campus and in the town centre. Some of the early arrivals were members of the football and soccer teams. They engaged in training before classes began.

We had assumed that Chadron would be little more than a place in which to sleep and grab some food before bed, but this was not the case. A considerable number of notable brick and stone structures were on Main Street and 2nd Avenue. Some such buildings were originally hotels, but they now contained bars, coffee shops, restaurants and other business premises, as did their neighbours. The oldest structures seemed to date from the 1880s. At the north end of Main Street was a railroad where sidings, freight wagons, silos, elevators and other storage facilities added an extra dimension to the town’s character and appeal.