home again, home again jiggity jig

    The day started early, as I was able to pick up my sister at 8am, and head for home. We were raised not to take the same way twice, so we went home via Nebraska instead of I-25. I packed up most of the car the night before, so that I could get out early. It was easy going through the rural hills of South Dakota to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Re-Member location. 

    My sister was ready to go upon my arrival, and we headed out. She caught me up on all the things she had done during that week, and I told her what I had been doing (for the most part). We enjoyed the scenery, and eventually grew quiet. Until, I was driving along a 2 lane highway in Nebraska, and I looked to my left. What the heck was that? My sister read the sign as I was wondering what it was, and I found the nearest spot to turn around. 

    We had found CARHENGE!! Out in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, we came across this place where Stonehenge was made of cars painted grey and there were other car sculptures out there. We got out of the car, used the restroom, and began our exploration of Carhenge. It was corny, and yes! it IS on the roadside america list of curiosities and oddities, but I figured my sister would be too tired to go out of our way for too many things. Luckily, it was just there. We toured the location, bought our souvenirs, and got back on the road heading south.

    As we drove, we watched roadside signs for more interesting things to visit. On the way up, I had mentioned stopping to see Scotts Bluff National Park, and so we did have that as a small target on the route home. We passed through various little towns with cool little chapels and a train depot/museum, which was not open. Eventually, we noticed a sign for the Pony Express and for Chimney Rock NHS. We decided to check both items out, and get me more stamps for my National Park passport.

    From Chimney Rock, we made our way to Scotts Bluff, where we parked, used the restrooms, wandered through the historical information in the visitor center, and then wandered outside a bit. It appeared that the best thing to do was take the short drive to the top of a butte and check out the views from there. So, up we went with my sister gripping the dash and hanging from the "oh shit" handle of the car (she likes to be in control of the car when climbing up roads without guardrails). 

    At the top of the butte/bluff, we checked out the view, and happened to notice people walking a trail down below us, which seemed to disappear through a tunnel in the bluff. We decided we needed to check it out. In true outdoor enthusiast fashion, we headed out on this hike of unknown length without water or any of our 10 essentials we take when hiking the Rockies. Since we were at the top, of course the path lead us down, and we decided we would just go down to the tunnel and then back up; however, as we descended, we talked about one of us walking to the bottom and the other driving. It ended up that my sister would walk down (which was better in the end because I like taking photos while I'm driving sometimes, and she is anxious when not in control), and I would drive down to the visitor center and pick her up. 

    Before I headed down in the car, I completed the loop trail of the top taking in the views from the various designated points. It was very pretty and you could see for miles. On the way down, I paused, checked my rearview mirror, took a couple photos of the tunnel and the road, and then continued the rest of the way to the visitor center to get my sister. It was a neat and free park that I would say does not see the tourism that other national parks do, and I think it should. I could have explored a bit more, if I had the time. 

    Back on the road towards home, we enjoyed singing out loud, cussing at the traffic, and got the joy of seeing a double rainbow as we came back in to Colorado. I guess Colorado really is colorful. We made it to my sister's place in Highlands Ranch in time to pick up her youngest for a quick dinner at Wendy's before I headed home to my husband. Overall, it was an amazing trip full of adventure, information, and experiences.