6427 Miles: A Tour of America by Car


By Gerard Forgnone

Day 12

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Cheyenne, Wyoming to Gothenburg, Nebraska.

As I woke up in the Cheyenne, Wyoming KOA Kampground, I found this outdoor cooking area.  The eggs and bacon I'd been carrying since San Diego needed cookin', so I took advantage of the facilities!



This is an AWESOME feature! 



Yum!  Hot breakfast!



At Cheyenne, the old train station is now a museum.  It was raining, so I didn't get a good outdoor shot of the place.  Anyway, these are some of the placards they had on display.











My brother Fred always talks about "Big Boy" locomotives.  Here's a pic of one.  HUGE!



Here's model of a Big Boy.  Awesome!





I was kind of disappointed that a large railroad facility like Cheyenne didn't have any rolling stock on display.  Once a year, they have a community-appreciation day, but that's it.  I was walking around, somewhat disappointed in not seeing anything full-size, when I ran across this information about the wooden model.  If they say "Holliday Park" without mentioning the town, then it must be in THIS town, right?  So, I GPS'd Holliday Park, and it was just a few blocks away!



As I was leaving the museum, this was in the floor of the former terminal.  Awesome!



Terminal Floor.



Former train terminal.  Beautiful!



So, here's the information placard at Holliday Park



And Big Boy at Holliday Park!  It's enormous!!!!



Out of Wyoming and into Nebraska.



I didn't get any photos of this next event, but it was a life-changing event, nonetheless.  I stopped at a WalMart in North Platte, Nebraska, and saw a motorhome with California plates, getting ready to set up for the night.  I drove over and talked to the driver, who was from Riverside.  He handed me a brochure from a place further east called "Pioneer Village."  He said it was great.  Hmm...never heard of it.  For a second, I thought, "How hokey can THIS be?"

Then I slapped myself and said, "Self, you're on this trip especially to see these types of places that locals and fellow travelers recommend.  Just GO!"  So, off I went, and stayed the night in Gothenburg, Nebraska, at a KOA right next to a river.  Lots of water.  Did you know Nebraska has more river miles than any other state?  I think I found them all, and the mosquitoes that go with them!

Major, huge event tomorrow!

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