Chimney Rock...

Before I get started today I’d like to throw out a big thank you to the people who’ve responded by e-mail to the columns I’ve written the last two weeks. Evidently there are quite a few readers of the Metro News who either grew up in Nebraska or have family members who still live there.
I gotta be honest with you. When I came up here I really didn’t expect much. Actually, I figured I’d hate the place. Well, like usual, I was wrong. I’ve been here almost a month now and I’m starting to understand why so many people wrote me about growing up here. And why so many of you still think of it as home. It’s just a really cool place with a lot of really good people.
Last Sunday, rather than sit around my motel room, I took another road trip. It was another trip back in time, so to speak. I took Hi-way 26 west out of Ogallala. It pretty much follows the North Platte river to the Wyoming border. It’s the same route the settlers traveling the Oregon Trail used back in the mid 1800’s. But it’s a little easier to do it today than it was back then though.
Once you get out into the panhandle of western Nebraska, the scenery starts to change. About 90 miles west of Ogallala, close to Bridgeport, is about where the bluffs that are so famous start. Just south of the hi-way is where two formations known as Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock sit. You’d have to see them yourself. I pulled off the hi way long enough to take a couple of pictures but didn’t stay long. The things I really wanted to see were a little further down the road. Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff.
About 15 minutes later, there it was on the horizon, Chimney Rock. It’s funny, I was really excited to see this thing. As a kid, I’d seen it in the background of so many western movies and the whole time I figured it must be in Arizona or some other mountainous state. Nope, there it was straight ahead.
It was still pretty early in the day so the Visitor’s Center hadn’t opened yet but there was a road that led around to the back side of Chimney Rock. It was just a small dead end road that took you within about a mile of it. At the end of the road is a small cemetery that became the final resting place of some of the travelers of those early days on the Oregon Trail. It was kind of sad but very interesting. I got out of my truck, took a few pictures, and just stood there trying to imagine how difficult things must have been back then.
About 25 miles to the west of Chimney Rock is another formation known as Scottsbluff. It’s a huge bluff that stands about 800 feet over the plains that surround it. The Indians of the day called it Ma-a-pa-te, or “hill that’s hard to go around.” To the travelers on the Oregon Trail, they saw it as a sign that they had finally reached the end of the Great American Desert. They were now about a third of the way into their 2,000 mile, 6 month journey to Oregon.
To get this to this point, they had traveled so far and had faced so many challenges, I’m sure they considered it quite an accomplishment But I really doubt that many of them had any idea what to expect once they finally reached the Rockies, which lie ahead of them.
Today you can drive right up to the top of Scottsbluff and once you get there you can see for miles in any direction. About 90 miles to the west you can see the mountains. I still think there were enough people back in those early days who just decided they had gone far enough and decided to call Nebraska home. And I think the descendants of those early pioneers are the people who live there today. Very proud and very independent. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that.
I’ll be heading home to Kansas tomorrow and don’t know when my travels will take me back to Nebraska but I’m very glad to have gotten to know the place and some of it’s people. I’ll never forget it. Stop on by the blog this week and join in on the conversation www.rm235.blogspot.com or e-mail me at www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

How The West Was Really Settled

Sorry if I bummed you guys out last week by talking about the guy killing himself up here in Nebraska. I’ll try to keep it a little more upbeat this week.
I’m still in western Nebraska, and from the way it looks, it would probably be cheaper for the company I work for to rent me an apartment up here than it is to pay for the motel, but I‘m not about to suggest it. Besides, if they did, who’d clean up after me and make my bed?
I came up here not really knowing anything at all about the place. Well, that all changed last Sunday. I had all day to kill and was getting pretty tired of sitting around the room so I decided to take a little road trip. It was a trip that took me back in time. It took me back to a time when things weren’t quite as easy as they are today. It was a time before we had hi-ways and bi-ways all across the country. It was a time when a cross country road trip could take 6 or 7 months to make, and that’s if you even survived the ordeal in the first place. And this road trip led me to a theory. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure I now know how western Nebraska was settled in the first place. I’ll get to that later though.
About 30 miles or so west of Ogallala (that’s where I am this week) there’s a place called Ash Hollow. I guess you could call it a rest area, only it was a rest area along the Oregon Trail back in the mid 1800’s.
This was the last place that wagon trains could cross the North Platte river on their way from Missouri to Oregon. For the most part, the river was pretty shallow (about two feet deep) at this point but depending on the weather, it might be as much as two miles wide. The place got it’s name from a huge grove of ash trees surrounding it. There was a natural spring that, according to some, had the best drinking water in the world awaiting the weary travelers. They’d set up a trading post and started using it as one of the first post offices on the new frontier. Depending on how they were doing on time, wagon trains would spend several days at Ash Hollow, allowing the settlers time to regroup and make any necessary repairs to their wagons before heading farther west.
I bring up the part of repairs because of the ridiculously steep hill they had to negotiate about 3 miles east of this oasis on the prairie. This hill was given the name because they had to use what was called Windlass winches to lower some of the wagons down the hill. Others used different methods such as locking up the rear wheels of their wagons with chains and such to negotiate the hill. Some were successful some weren’t.
It was a very cool trip. The wagon ruts these early pioneers left behind are clearly visible to this day, and I actually walked across the river at the exact same point they used when they crossed it all those years ago. Very cool, if you think about it.
Oh yeah, my theory about how western Nebraska was settled in the first place. I’m sure historians will disagree but there’s a little town called Lewellen about four miles west of Ash Hollow. I believe there were enough men in those early wagon trains who were married to women who were a lot like my wife.
They woke up early one morning only to find their wives had unloaded all their stuff and announced, this is the end of the line. You’re crazy as hell if you think for one minute me and the kids are going another mile in that damned wagon. And that my friends, is how Lewellen, Nebraska became the town it is today. But then, I could be wrong.
Ever heard of Ash Hollow before? Maybe you’ve also seen the place. Stop by the blog this week and tell us your story: www.rm235.blogspot.com or e-mail me at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

Welcome to Nebraska...

Ever been to Ogallala, Nebraska? Well, neither had I before I so stupidly answered my phone last Wednesday afternoon. My boss called me about 3:00 last Wednesday and said I need to be in Ogallala by 3:00 Thursday morning and be ready to go to work.
Hell, I didn’t even know where they were sending me. In the old days, I would have looked it up on the map. But now that finding things on the internet has become so simple that even an old guy like myself can handle it, I googled it.
Crap! It’s clear out in western Nebraska. It said it was a 7 hour, 441 mile trip. So off I went. I took highway 75 north to Nebraska City where I took a left onto some other highway that took me to Lincoln where I caught I-80, headed west and drove and drove and drove.
It was one of those hell trips. I stopped one time in Grand Island for gas and to go to the bathroom. Other than that, I just sat there, smoking, steering, and pouting. I was really jacked out of shape because of the late notice they’d given me. But most of all, I guess I was jacked out of shape because of where they were sending me. Why in the world anybody would want to go anywhere in Nebraska was beyond me.
Well, that was a week ago. To tell you the truth, Ogallala, Nebraska is a pretty cool little town. And from what little I’ve seen, Nebraska’s a pretty cool state. I’ve met a lot of good people out here. Like people everywhere today, they’re very concerned about the economy. That’s probably the biggest issue everywhere I go. For the most part they’ve been willing to help an old, out of town guy out with directions to the next stop and a lot of them were quick to ask about Topeka. I’ve had several conversations about our esteemed Governor leaving for Washington. But I also found out that if you’re wearing a Jayhawk T-shirt while eating supper at the local Valentino‘s, you’re going to attract a lot of attention. It’s kind of like wearing a Bronco’s jersey at Arrowhead. You’re surrounded by a sea of red. Even that went okay. Well, there was that one drunk guy, I’m pretty sure he was serious when he told his friends he ought to kick my ass. I’m just glad his girlfriend was there. I think next time, I’ll leave my jacket on just in case though.
They have their problems too. That was driven home on my second day up here. I met a guy named Bob (not his real name) and his wife the first day I was up here. They seemed like any married couple I’ve ever met. The guy I was working with told me later about the big fight they were having. I guess there were a lot of money problems. But you know, what married couple hasn’t had money problems, right? Anyway, we did our thing and told Bob we’d see him in the morning. He told us to have a good day.
We got to our first stop at 4:00 the next morning and rang the bell. The guy I was with was a little irritated when Bob didn’t answer the door as fast as he normally did. He rang it again then called the store. The lady who answered apologized and said she’d open the door as soon as she could. No problem, he told her. About five minutes later she opened it up. The guy I was with jokingly asked her, what’s the deal, Bob call in sick again?
You could see it in her eyes there was something wrong. She told him Bob had gone home yesterday around lunch time. Evidently he called the store and asked his wife to bring home an ace bandage. It was almost quitting time anyway, so the boss told her to go on home if she needed to, said he’d see her in the morning.
She stepped in the house and the first thing she saw was her husband lying on the floor. He had stuck a shot gun in his mouth and blew his head off.
I didn’t know either one of them and I know it’s none of my business. But damn! I’m not trying to pass judgment here either, but how anybody could do something like that to their husband or wife is beyond me. I guess knowing the world we live in today, it’s a good thing he didn’t kill her too.
Look, I know life can kick us in the gut from time to time. But suicide isn’t the answer. Yeah, I guess it gets you out of whatever mess you’re in at the time. But what about your husband or wife? What about the kids? How are they supposed to go on? What about your mom and dad? What’s it going to do to them when they have to bury you?
Sorry to bum you out this week guys. But this really bothered me. I’ve had two good friends commit suicide and I never have understood why. It’s been said before but it’s worth repeating. “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”
Want to talk about it? Stop on by the blog: www.rm235.blogspot.com or e-mail me: www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

What's That Sucking Sound...

You know, people are funny. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear someone claiming to be outraged over something going on down at City Hall. Over the last couple of years they’ve been outraged by the police helicopter issue. I supported the idea. I still believe a helicopter does and has saved the lives of officers who routinely put their lives on the line while they’re looking out for the rest of us. Some of the most vocal people saw it differently. They were outraged by the price tag that went along with the helicopter. They saw it as a waste of tax payer’s money. They claimed to be outraged over the software thing. Remember that one? They’re outraged by the condition of our streets and demand the council do something about it. They want us to believe they’re outraged by the way the this city’s being run. They’re outraged by the non-stop fighting that goes on between council members. They complain that the city’s wasting our tax dollars. There’s talk about recall elections and boycotts because they’re outraged by the way someone on the council voted about one thing or another.
More recently they’ve been outraged by the proposed sales tax increase. They’re convinced the city’s needlessly squandered millions of dollars in the past and this time will be no different. How about the whole fight over four books at the public library? According to some of these outraged people, it’s either censorship, booking banning, book burning, anti-gay, or just simply an attempt to destroy everyone’s constitutional rights.
So, where was all this outrage Tuesday when they had the chance to actually do something about it instead of just complaining. Come on Topeka, is 13% voter turnout the best we can do?
I know, a lot of people will say they didn’t bother because it was only a primary and they’ll get out and vote next month in the general election. Whatever.
I wonder how many of these outraged people who didn’t bother to vote have stopped to think that a small group of people like myself have decided who they even get to choose from. That’s okay with me. But I know first hand there are a lot of people who don’t agree with a lot of things I believe in. But hey, if they’re okay with that, so am I. Just don’t complain the next time you don’t get your way about something.
Before I wrap this up today, I’d like to throw out a congratulations to Governor, Kathleen Sebelius on her new job. And yes, I’m serious. It’s a good opportunity for her. She worked hard to get it and now it’s all hers. I doubt there’s a politician out there who would have done it any differently.
I’m not going to get into all the things I’ve disagreed with her about over the last six years. I’ll just say she’s the prefect fit for the Obama Administration. She’s a far-left Governor and is now joining a far-left President’s cabinet. What else can I say?
I know Kansas Democrats are excited about her being on the national scene and all. She’s literally been the leader of their party for years now. Why wouldn’t they be excited?
I have to wonder how long their excitement will last once they realize that giant sucking sound they’ll be been hearing once she leaves them behind, is the sound of the wind literally being sucked right out of their party’s sails.
Anyway, I’ve been working on what I think is an appropriate farewell to the Governor as she leaves Kansas and moves on to her next assignment in Washington. Here goes. Bye!
Stop by the blog www.rm235.blogspot.com if you have something you’d like to add to the conversation. Or e-mail me with your thoughts at www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net