Seeing new stuff

I traveled through much of Nebraska many years ago but never through the Sand Hills so we planned to travel from Lincoln to NW Nebraska. We had lunch with friends in Lincoln who gave us info about a few places to stop along the way and told us about Ft. Robinson State Park. So, with a new destination we headed off.

The Sandhills, often written Sand Hills, is a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska, covering just over one quarter of the state. The dunes were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1984. 

So it's no surprise to see lots of sand hills and open country...cattle country. Wind mills supply water for the cattle.

Fort Robinson State Park turned out to be a rather unique place.  There is a great campground so we decided to stay a couple nights. 

The post was an historic calvary outpost during the the Indian Wars in the late 1800's. It was the site of the 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak and the location of the death of Chief Crazy Horse.

During WWII, Ft. Robinson was used to house German POWs. The POWs worked in the fields. Today, the only evidence are concrete rooms scattered around the fields. Nobody knew what they were used for but one guide guessed they were armories to store guns and ammo in case of an uprising. 

Under the who woulda guessed category, there is also a museum that contains skeletal remains from nearby digs.  Among other displays, a complete Mammoth skeleton is a key feature.

All in all, it was a great stop. Ft. Robinson is only 40 or 50 miles from the S.D. Badlands so it's a nice stop along the way.