Nebraska Trip 2017 - Day 4

It rained a little last night and when we woke-up this morning it was overcast but dry.  The weather forecast for Cheyenne and points west was for severe weather later in the day. The forecast for North Platte, NE, our destination for tonight, was not so bad and would only be on the fringe on the weather hazard area.  As we headed east the skies were partly cloudy and by the time we arrived in North Platte around 2:00 pm local (we are now in the Central Time Zone) the skies were clear and the sun was out.

After we hooked-up at the RV park, we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a late lunch then decided to look around North Platte.  It is an interesting town with a rich history.  It sits at the confluence of the North Platte and South Platte Rivers and has been a gateway both east and west in the Platte River Valley for a very long time starting with Native Americans and continuing with the emigrant pioneer migration, the Indian Wars, the railroad and autos on the Lincoln Highway (Old US Highway 30). The city is still a major hub for the Union Pacific Railroad and the home to literally thousands of railroad cars and engines waiting for loading, unloading and routing throughout the Union Pacific rail system.

North Platte is one of those places you drive by on your way somewhere else and seldom stop to see what is there.  We stopped this time because it worked out on our trip route planning.  Judy had read a book about North Platte, Once Upon a Town.  It is a story about how the town of North Platte set up a canteen at the Union Pacific Passenger Depot in North Platte during WW II from 1941 to 1946, offering refreshments to military personnel traveling on Union Pacific trains east and west.  Almost unbelievably, the residents of North Platte and the surrounding area served over six million servicemen and women during that period.

So, we decided to check out where that happened and learn a little more about the history of it all.  Unfortunately,  Union Pacific demolished the passenger depot in 1973 without a lot of coordination with the city or consideration of its historical significance. Now, there is a small memorial park at the site of the depot.  We did find out there was a historical exhibit about the canteen at the local county historical museum so we decided to go there and see what they had.

The Lincoln Country Historical Museum and Village is a ways out of town.  The museum has a cross section of the history of the area as well as an excellent exhibit of the WW II canteen with pictures, letters, artifacts and a video of the history and accomplishments of the people who made it all happen.  The village adjoining the museum is a collection of buildings related to the history of the area including nearby Fort McPherson, a Civil War era fort that played a large part in protecting pioneer emigrants in the westward migration and subduing the Cheyenne during the Indian Wars in the late 19th Century.  It is a great museum and well worth the visit at another one of those unexpected stops along the road.

North Platte Pictures

It is on to Lincoln tomorrow and Brian's ceremony on Wednesday.  The weather looks good although hot and muggy is in the forecast.