# Traveling in Nebraska **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599 "2017-04-17T01:26:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/21 "2017-04-17T20:43:12Z")
My wife and I have spent a fair amount of time traveling throughout Nebraska (including through Valentine, so you know I have my _bona fides_). Yes, it’s a bit flat for those used to localities with variances in elevation but since you’re from Kansas it’ll look a lot like home. I can definitely second the recommendation of the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte – it’s a huge (not incredibly tall, but lots of square footage) observation room that’ll let you look at an amazing number of train tracks in use. The [Archway](http://archway.org/) is worth a stop if you’re around Kearney – it’s a U.S. Westward Expansion-oriented museum with some pretty good displays. The moon and sun didn’t plan the lunar eclipse to coincide with the annual migration of sandhill cranes through Nebraska, but if you’re ever back around Kearney in March or early April, the Audubon Society has a [nature center](http://rowe.audubon.org/) near Kearney that’s perfectly situated for seeing about 13 kajillion sandhill cranes. If you find yourself on the western side of the state, the national monuments for Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff are interesting – there’s a lot of Oregon Trail-related history that’s preserved in that corner of Nebraska and the southeastern corner of Wyoming (I can’t remember if there are actual ruts preserved in NE, but there are definitely some in WY). Also on the western side of the state, [Agate Fossil Beds National Monument](https://www.nps.gov/agfo/index.htm) near Harrison (“near” being a relative descriptor here in the West, as you know) has some really cool displays and some interesting hiking trails. That part of Nebraska is somewhere that you kind of have to want to go to – lots of lonesome roads. Since you said you’re up for something quirky, you could do worse than stop in at [Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse](http://olesbiggame.com/) in Paxton, which is just off I-80 in SW NE. ---
**Author:** ![catflea12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@catflea12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catflea12)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/22 "2017-04-17T21:37:06Z")
Also, close to Beatrice, there is the National Homestead Museum, and close to Auburn is Brownsville, oldest town in Nebraska and good place to find used books. Nebraska City is close to Auburn and has Lied Lodge and is the town Arbor Day started. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/23 "2017-04-18T00:11:44Z")
You can visit Sidney and wander through the original and largest Cabela’s. Other than that I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/24 "2017-04-18T00:13:50Z")
Thing you will probably notice right when you cross the border is that, compared to Kansas, Nebraska looks like people live there. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/25 "2017-04-19T06:47:18Z")
If you’re looking for Roadside Attractions, nothing beats [Pioneer Village](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Village_(Nebraska)) in Minden, Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/26 "2017-04-19T09:21:23Z")
Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will check them out, there’s plenty of time. c **hacoguy** , Pioneer Village sounds just like the kind of thing I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/27 "2017-04-20T08:52:24Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I live in Lincoln and I’m afraid you’re going to be sorely disappointed. But…but there’s the [National Museum of Rollerskating](http://www.rollerskatingmuseum.com/) down on South Street! A must-see! (Ah, who am I kidding? I lived in Lincoln for five years and was never remotely tempted to go in.) If you’re in downtown Lincoln you can spend a pleasant afternoon at the various UNL [museums and galleries](http://www.unl.edu/lincoln/museums-and-galleries) - I always liked the Sheldon and Morrill Hall, and they’re both small enough not to be a major time commitment. Also check out the Haymarket down by the train station - there are usually a few good restaurants down there. And if architecture is your thing, have a wander through the State Capitol building - it’s moderately interesting and [they do tours](http://capitol.nebraska.gov/visit). (And if you see a crazy old black guy in a t-shirt wandering the halls, be sure to say hello to [Ernie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Chambers).) Lincoln is a nice place to live but tourism-wise there’s not much to see. > [@](#): > > Nebraska City is close to Auburn and has Lied Lodge and is the town Arbor Day started. And who doesn’t love Arbor Day? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/28 "2017-04-20T12:18:48Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I understand there is [a meadowlark waiting on every post](http://poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/42625). I’m intrigued by this, but wonder if it’s entirely accurate. Please report back. Pretty close. It’s a ubiquitous bird. If you see them, it’s usually because they fly off the post as you approach. When they fly, they look like they have two nickels balanced on the corners of their tail. Also lots of western kingbirds and lark buntings. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I read that the pioneer settlers fouind the plains to be devoid of birdlife and silent of bird song, except in migration or following buffalo herds. And house sparrows and starlings had not yet been introduced to the Americas. The common resident birds there now flourished in contact with human agriculture and land stewardship. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599/29 "2017-04-20T12:28:26Z")
Anyone who travels to a new region of the country would be well advised to take along a birding field guide and a regional guide to wildflowers. And stay the hell off the interstate highways. There is a treasure out there that is so easily overlooked. The interstates make it possible to travel from coast to coast and see absolutely nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-in-nebraska/784599.md?page=1)