This past Memorial Day weekend, MOM and I went to back to Nebraska to place flowers in various cemeteries where are friends and family are buried. Our journey took us to Loop Valley Cemetery which is located in the in Nebraska hills in-between Arnold and Stapleton, Nebraska. As I walked around this small country cemetery where my Uncle Leroy , my Aunt and Uncle Nuzem and my Grandma and Grandpa Oliver lie, I took in the beauty of the rolling green, vast Sandhills and talked to my Mom about the days when my family and myself once lived near there, on the Oliver Ranch, west of Loop Valley Cemetery.
For the first four years of my life, I was a country girl who got to experience all the great outdoors has to offer. When my dad was alive, he loved to tell the story about me and my first experience of a cow giving birth. My dad had gotten word that one of our cows was having difficulty giving birth. Grabbing me, we headed out to pasture where he had pull the calf out of cow. After we got in the pickup and drove away, my dad said I asked him, “Aren’t you going to put that cow back together?”
My Mom had many recollections as well. She said we had to learn to like each other as there were no other kids to play with for miles around us . Her best memory of me besides the day she went into labor with me and had to be driven to North Platte which was about forty miles away is my many cat friends.According to Mom, I was obsessed with the cats. She on the hand, didn’t care for them as they often jumped off the roof of home onto her head when she came out the front door! She also said that when we lived there, she drove the car to town and back! This was something that I was unaware of , as she never drove when I was growing up except the day we moved from the country to town. On that day, I remember looking at my Mom and thinking, “You can drive?” I also recall going to a school fair and seeing a doll that was being raffled off. She had long brown hair and was the most beautiful doll I ever saw. Oh, how I wanted that doll! I also recall going over to a another ranch and jumping up and down in the silos full of corn with my friends. When their dad found out about it, we were quickly made to get out! I was so mad at him as we were having so much fun; jumping up in down in the corn and throwing it up in the air.! I now know, we easily could have died in those silos from the corn burying us. My mom has told me, that I had many cat friends. I was obsessed with the cats. She on the hand, didn’t care for them as they often jumped off the roof of home onto her head when she came out the front door!
After placing flowers on our families’ graves, and bumping into a couple that turned out to be indirectly related to my family, we started our drive back to the motel in North Platte.
Many times on the drive back, I pulled over and took pictures of the rich green rolling Sandhills that are as high as 400 feet, as long as 20 miles, and slopes as steep as 25 percent, and encompass 19,300 square miles and stretch 265 miles across Nebraska. Once when I got out of the car, to snap a picture, I was nearly blown away!
Thankfully, due to vegetation that consists mainly of grasses, the sand from the hills didn’t blow into my face. The rest of the drive back into town I reflected on how many people believe Nebraska is nothing but flat, boring cornfields and how wrong they are. Here is a link to Hidden Valley Campground that is located in the Sandhills. http://www.hiddenvalleyoutfitter.com/... At Hidden Valley, you can hunt, swim, fish, and camp while enjoying the beauty of the Sandhills.
In addition to camping, hunting, and fishing, you can also take a scenic drive. The most popular route through the Sandhills is Nebraska Highway 2, deemed the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. For the westbound traveler, Highway 2 heads northwest from Grand Island, passes the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, crosses the lake country of the western Sandhills, then exits the region near Alliance and turns north toward the Pine Ridge. This byway is rated in the top 10 scenic routes in the United States and is listed as one of the highways to drive in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Or you can drive North of North Platte on US highway 83 and just drive....Happy Travels!!!
Family Travel Consultants
This past Memorial Day weekend, MOM and I went to back to Nebraska to place flowers in various cemeteries where are friends and family are buried. Our journey took us to Loop Valley Cemetery which is located in the in Nebraska hills in-between Arnold and Stapleton, Nebraska. As I walked around this small country cemetery where my Uncle Leroy , my Aunt and Uncle Nuzem and my Grandma and Grandpa Oliver lie, I took in the beauty of the rolling green, vast Sandhills and talked to my Mom about the days when my family and myself once lived near there, on the Oliver Ranch, west of Loop Valley Cemetery.
For the first four years of my life, I was a country girl who got to experience all the great outdoors has to offer. When my dad was alive, he loved to tell the story about me and my first experience of a cow giving birth. My dad had gotten word that one of our cows was having difficulty giving birth. Grabbing me, we headed out to pasture where he had pull the calf out of cow. After we got in the pickup and drove away, my dad said I asked him, “Aren’t you going to put that cow back together?”
My Mom had many recollections as well. She said we had to learn to like each other as there were no other kids to play with for miles around us . Her best memory of me besides the day she went into labor with me and had to be driven to North Platte which was about forty miles away is my many cat friends.According to Mom, I was obsessed with the cats. She on the hand, didn’t care for them as they often jumped off the roof of home onto her head when she came out the front door! She also said that when we lived there, she drove the car to town and back! This was something that I was unaware of , as she never drove when I was growing up except the day we moved from the country to town. On that day, I remember looking at my Mom and thinking, “You can drive?” I also recall going to a school fair and seeing a doll that was being raffled off. She had long brown hair and was the most beautiful doll I ever saw. Oh, how I wanted that doll! I also recall going over to a another ranch and jumping up and down in the silos full of corn with my friends. When their dad found out about it, we were quickly made to get out! I was so mad at him as we were having so much fun; jumping up in down in the corn and throwing it up in the air.! I now know, we easily could have died in those silos from the corn burying us. My mom has told me, that I had many cat friends. I was obsessed with the cats. She on the hand, didn’t care for them as they often jumped off the roof of home onto her head when she came out the front door!
After placing flowers on our families’ graves, and bumping into a couple that turned out to be indirectly related to my family, we started our drive back to the motel in North Platte.
Many times on the drive back, I pulled over and took pictures of the rich green rolling Sandhills that are as high as 400 feet, as long as 20 miles, and slopes as steep as 25 percent, and encompass 19,300 square miles and stretch 265 miles across Nebraska. Once when I got out of the car, to snap a picture, I was nearly blown away!
Thankfully, due to vegetation that consists mainly of grasses, the sand from the hills didn’t blow into my face. The rest of the drive back into town I reflected on how many people believe Nebraska is nothing but flat, boring cornfields and how wrong they are. Here is a link to Hidden Valley Campground that is located in the Sandhills. http://www.hiddenvalleyoutfitter.com/... At Hidden Valley, you can hunt, swim, fish, and camp while enjoying the beauty of the Sandhills.
In addition to camping, hunting, and fishing, you can also take a scenic drive. The most popular route through the Sandhills is Nebraska Highway 2, deemed the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. For the westbound traveler, Highway 2 heads northwest from Grand Island, passes the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, crosses the lake country of the western Sandhills, then exits the region near Alliance and turns north toward the Pine Ridge. This byway is rated in the top 10 scenic routes in the United States and is listed as one of the highways to drive in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Or you can drive North of North Platte on US highway 83 and just drive....Happy Travels!!!
Family Travel Consultants
