West by Northwest Day 12

Woke up to more trains across the way and headed out for a few hours on the bike to Alliance, Nebraska.

The drive from Cheyenne was pleasant, taking mostly state roads.  Predictably in this area, traffic was nonexistent.

The ride took us through the Sand Hills region of Wyoming and Nebraska.  The scenery is an arid landscape of rolling hills and towering bluffs.  This area is near the Black Hills and the badlands and is  somewhat similar in nature.  It really is a pretty area of the Country.

At one point, we passed a field of mobile homes, looking worse for age.  I always wondered what eventually happened to mobile homes once they reach the death stage.

We got to Alliance and found Troy and Sherri's house.  We unpacked and talked for a bit before dropping Cole off to school.  Alliance seems like a very nice small-town midwest city.  You could walk just about anywhere if desired, but it is still large enough to have many businesses.  It is the county seat for Box Butte County and has significant jobs in agriculture and the railroad.

Unfortunately, we got to see the local repair shop as Sherri got a flat tire.

After getting the car roadworthy, we toured through a local museum.  This is the kind of small-town museum that locals probably rarely go to, but as outsiders, it was interesting to see some of the local history.  The area is home to some interesting events and carries much in its history.  As with any place on the planet, there were sad episodes as well.

We picked children up from the zoo - I mean school and after a stop at the house to unload school stuff, headed to Car Henge.  Car Henge is a facsimile of the less-important British Stone Henge made out of old American Cars.  Originally, gearhead druids were thought to have built it, but the sculpture was actually created by Jim Reinders as a memorial to his father.  It is now operated by the Freinds of Carhenge.  This is a must-see of American kitsch.  It sits on 10 Acres just outside of Alliance, Nebraska.  It is currently for sale for a mere $300,000.  Hmmmmmm.

After a short visit to a park in downtown Alliance, Zane had a football game.  I'm not sure there were any strict rules but the kids seemed to have fun.  Pizza and catching up ended the night before turning in.

Next we really begin to head home.
The day's mileage was 165.9.