Day 4 - Ogallala, Nebraska to Casper, Wyoming. Miles ridden today - 332. Total Miles From Indianapolis - 1341.

As soon as the guys departed Ogallala they followed the Oregon Trail.

What a beautiful day!

While meandering along the Oregon Trail they happened upon Chimney Rock National Historic Site.

Chimney Rock, the most famous landmark on the Oregon Trail.

Of course the guys, along with their iron horses,  had to "have their likeness made" with 

Chimney Rock in the background.

Nothing creepier than a sign warning of the creepy crawlers.  Poisonous ones at that!

That sign didn't make the fellas feel too welcome so they loaded up on their bikes.

Mikey says, " Snakes, I'm outta here!"

Moseying on down the road.

Mike

 Still following The Oregon Trail, they came upon Scotts Bluff.

Chock full of so much history.

 

Stu and Mike at the entrance to Scotts Bluff National Monument, 

which is operated by the National Park Service.

Try to imagine how difficult traveling in a covered wagon through this rough country would have been. 

Those brave pioneers heading west for free farm land, better health or to escape problems back east got more of an adventure than most of them expected.

All of your possessions packed into that wagon, your spouse, children, meager furnishings, cooking utensils and provisions that were expected to last along the trail. 

 That team of oxen was mighty valuable to those pioneers.

Stu's trying his hand at being Trail Boss.

David is checking out this covered wagon.

RP better stick to that motorcycle for transportation.  This wagon lost its cover and oxen.

Joe, Stu, Mike and David walking along a portion of  The Oregon Trail.

Think those covered wagons were slow?  Most of the pioneers chose to walk along the trail because the wagons were so miserable to ride in.  Bumpy, bumpy, bumpy...

 Granite monument marking where The Oregon Trail enters into Wyoming.

Joe, Stu, Fred, David and Ron have now crossed over into Wyoming.

At this point, Mike broke off from the group.  

He was going to meet his daughter Chris and grandson Oliver for a visit.

Chris and Oliver met Mike at Ayres Natural Bridge Park.
Ollie got to "drive" the tractor at the playground.




Chris, Oliver and Mike.


Meanwhile, the rest of the group had stopped for lunch and was back on the road heading towards Casper.
They passed the most interesting thing.  They turned around and headed back, hoping to get a better look.




He looks pretty comfortable.

This is what they turned around to see,  Dinklage Custom Feeding in Torrington, Wyoming.

Having dabbled in cattle on a small scale this operation was of great interest to Ron.  

He was really hoping that he would be able to have a tour of this facility.

They happened to meet this gentleman, Dale, who was on his way out of the feed lot as the boys were on their way in.  It turns out that Dale was a partner in this operation.  When the guys explained where they were from, where they were going and that they'd love to arrange a tour, they could've been turned away or tossed out on their ears.  But no, Dale was happy to tell them a little bit about Dinklage Custom Feeding and give them a brief tour.  He did ask them to go slowly, on those bikes,  as to keep the cattle mellow and not get 'em all riled up.





Uh oh, we've got a couple of lookers, that Angus type seems a little skittish. 

 Probably never saw horns on a motorcycle before.

They really shouldn't be all that eager to belly up to the bar.

This isn't going to end all that well for them, if you know what I mean.

There were approximately 10 miles of roads in and around this feed lot.  

At present there are 24,000 head of cattle in the lot.  They turn cattle three times a year.

That means that this facility handles 75,000 head of cattle per year.

They bring the calves in around 500 pounds and finish them to 1,250 pounds or so.  If they are shipping overseas they bump that finish weight up to about 1,700 - 1,800 pounds per animal.

There are eight cow/calf operation ranches in and around  Wyoming that supply calves for Dinklage.

One of those ranches has 18,000 brood cows on it.  That's a lot of mamas.

Dinklage Custom Feeding raises their own crops for grain and silage. 

 They do have to purchase some of their hay.

Dale, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy day to show these nosey guys around.

They really appreciate the education, as well as, your time.  And, so will our readers.  

This has been extremely interesting.

And so, the guys have ended their day in Casper, Wyoming.  Mike has returned to the group.

They are ready for dinner, a good night's sleep and tomorrow's adventure.

Day 3 - Beatrice, Nebraska to Ogallala, Nebraska. 340 miles today. Total from Indianapolis - 1009 miles.

The guys left bright and early this morning!  By 7:30 a.m. they were on the road.

Wow! Blue skies, smiling at me.  Nothing but blue skies, do I see.

When planning their route, the guys selected Route 136 out of Indianapolis.

 Route 136 in Indiana is also called Crawfordsville Road.

 Staying on Route 136 through Illinois and Iowa, they rode this until it ended in Nebraska.

In Nebraska, Route 136 is called the Heritage Highway.

Mike is not hitch-hiking, that's just a good old fashioned thumbs up.

As they followed this Route 136 from Beatrice towards their day's destination of Ogallala the scenery remained basically the same.  There were fields full of corn and soybeans.  If you have corn and beans then you're going to need to have some of these,

to store those harvested crops in until they go to market.

The guys also began to see lots more of these,

cows.  You can also store that corn in cows.  But it doesn't stay in there very long.

Stopping for lunch.

From L to R:  Ron, Joe, Fred, Mike, David and Stu.

After lunch they rode on, and  on, and on.  Until they had to stop

 for a seat break.  Stu and Joe are checking Ferdinand to make sure he hasn't caught any more arrows.

They finally reached Ogallala, Nebraska.
They are now on Mountain Standard Time instead of  Real American Time, which is more commonly known as Eastern Standard Time.

Yes, parts of the mini series Lonesome Dove were filmed, just north of Ogallala, on a privately owned ranch.

Why, is that Stu  picnicking?  No, it's Augustis "Gus"  McCrae and Clara from Lonesome Dove.

Ogallala is full of history!  It was founded in 1870.  This town is where Wyoming, Montana and Texas Cattle kings met to haggle and bargain cattle prices.  The first white men to this area were trappers from St. Louis.  Those trappers got along famously with the friendly Pawnee Indians.  Not so much with the Sioux who lived just to the north.  The Sioux were always looking to pick a fight or be just menacing.

The Ogallala Aquifer is the world's largest underground water supply.  Lake McConaughy is the largest irrigation lake in the mid-west.  Those ranches and farms in and around Ogallala produce wheat, corn,
 sugar beets, Milo, soybeans, hay and cattle.

By 1876 the town consisted of a railroad, businesses and saloons.




The jail, obligatory gift shop and General Store.  The business strip was just south of the railroad tracks.

The town continued to grow as did its history.

The town Sheriff even drove a modern looking police car.  Also, just because you stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night does not mean that you are savvy to the local laws, Fred.

 The Livery Barn, Crystal Palace Saloon, Cowboy's Rest and the Undertaker (you might need his services in case you got caught up in a gunfight with some disgruntled cowboys).

The Front Street Steakhouse looks like a great place to go if you have a powerful hankering for a steak.
  The Crystal Palace Saloon offers a dinner show in the true spirit of the old west.  This is where the guys headed for dinner.

 

 Well, well,well.  Will you get a load of who is up on that stage?!

 Is he hitch- hiking again?

Joe was called up on stage for a possible lynching.

 Luckily he was released, back into the audience, on a technicality.

The guys ham it up with the dinner show cast at the Crystal Palace Saloon.

After enjoying dinner and the show at the Crystal Palace Saloon the guys headed back to the hotel.
All in all, another great day.  

Day 2 - Keokuk, Iowa to Beatrice, Nebraska. Miles today - 334. Total miles ridden - 669

Shortly after leaving Keokuk, Iowa the group crossed into the state of Missouri.
 You say, "Show me."  Okay, there it is.  On the big blue sign.  Missouri, the show me state.

Oddly enough the scenery didn't change dramatically since yesterday.

There were some pretty cool grain storage facilities along the way.  This one looks like it is all concrete.

This one, not concrete.

 So, the guys are working their way west and you all know that Fred has been in Omaha, Nebraska to watch a baseball tournament.  The plan all along was for the five to meet Fred along the way.   This morning Fred started riding towards the east, while the guys were still traveling west.

Running low on gas the group of five needed to fuel up.  They found a gas station/truck stop in Maryville, Missouri that had a little diner in it.  After fueling the bikes it was generally agreed that everyone was hungry.  Since this little diner was right there they decided it would just be convenient to grab some lunch.  As they're sitting in this truck stop diner getting ready to order in walks Fred!

Neither a plan, nor place had been established to meet.  Fred just kept his eagle eyes open searching for a group of bikes, when lo and behold, he spotted them.  Now there are six and the group is complete!

Instead of table top flat, gently rolling hills began to appear.
Now don't get me wrong the guys have reported seeing about 80% corn and bean fields.
  Trees, farm ponds, barns, cattle and horses filled in the remainder.

Barn roof - rusted!  

 Crossing the Illinois River into Nebraska.

 Did you know that Nebraska is the Home of Arbor Day?
The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska on April 10, 1872.
The same year that Fred and Stu were born.

There's Fred riding along with the group.

Trick photography in action by a trained professional.  Do not attempt this yourself.

We know where you're going and what you're going to do.
Um, Stu.  The gel in the little bottle is to remove grease from  your hands.
Bet you'll remember that from now on.

Wind farm.

Beatrice, Nebraska.  A good place to stop for the night.  The guys had plenty of time to catch up on laundry, take a dip in the pool, grab some dinner and check out their bikes.

David and Joe are cooling off and relaxing in the swimming pool after a long day on the road.





The horn on David's bike was loose and about to fall off.
Stu tells him how to tighten it while Fred watches.
Looks like a state job.

Sunset, a beautiful ending to a great day.