We spent a week (including the 4th of July holiday weekend) in the quaint little town of Crawford, Nebraska in the even quainter area of High Plains Homestead (which is about a 40 minute drive on dirt roads from “downtown“ Crawford). The dirt road travels through the Oglala National Grasslands (where the Homestead is located) and if the view from our "campsite" wasn't exceptional enough, every time we left the place and traveled (slowly) down the dirt road we would just keep saying "LOOK at this!". Whether it be a different time of day or the varying level of cloud coverage or where the sun was in the sky...OMG (omg omg omg!!)... It was like a dirt and grass version of South Dakota's Badlands and it was in our own backyard!!! I might need to make me up another word, because breathtaking and amazing just ain't cutting it here! It is, in fact, legal to walk in these beautiful grasslands - but our host's helpful explanation of how to deal with rattlesnakes when we happened upon them (since we most likely would - as it was "their land") ummm....kept us from placing even a toe in said grasslands! (i.e., - NOT EVEN AN OPTION FOR THIS WUSS!!!)
To add to the scenery there was the gift of THE SUNSETS!!! Or perhaps the gift was more the sun-setting because every night was different and amazing AND it was always a 180° sunset with different colors and displays depending which way you were looking! I have included some pics in which I desperately tried to capture the magic. Unfortunately, when downloading (or is it uploading??) pictures for my blog, the system uses who-the-heck-knows-what criteria; all I know is it is NOT in the order that I choose to place them! So I can't point out specifics. But, to put it in perspective - the sunset pics I included are from two different nights...
And speaking of the view - am I alone in thinking there is something amazing about these damn donkeys?!! I feel like I owe them for making my pictures so special. I DID get to pet Jack - which I'm sure made his day...well it made MINE, so I'll assume it made his too! So the background behind these cute asses is that Jack & Lily are rescues from Custer State Park. Lily is totally wild and will not come near humans - so much so that even the slightest veterinarian interventions require a sedative. Jack has become used to people and will come a little close when the spirit moves him. They breed them once a year and give (sell?) the foals to townspeople to protect their cow herds. Why, you might ask? (Or at least I did!)...Because they instinctually are trained to kill coyotes so they live amongst the herds to protect them! How cool is that? But, we were warned not to let Penny too close to them because they couldn't be held responsible if their instincts took over! (Gulp...!!!)
So the High Plains Homestead is made up of actual gold rush period buildings that have been recreated into a small little town at the Homestead and filled with artifacts and genuine articles FROM THOSE TIMES (equipment, tools, clothing and the like...). There are bunkhouses for guests and a general store - oh, I mean "Mercantile"and a saloon that functions as a breakfast nook and a little kitchen. Aside from these buildings that are used for guests, there is also a sheriff's office and jail, a post office, a fossil shed and a blacksmith - all in this recreated town for guests to wander through and use their imagination. Oh, and there's also an adorable little school house that can be used to play board games in or take shelter from the rain (when they aren't experiencing a *^#+ drought). Karl would cook our meals at their outdoor gas grill between the Mercantile and Saloon (for fire safety sake) and we ate at one of the picnic tables appreciating all the amazing hollyhock flowers growing so plentifully.
The owners are hoping to primarily be a summer camp destination for adolescent church groups etc...but they also have a couple of hook-ups for trailers and campers like us. The place was beyond quaint. And their sense of humor cracked me up. They had clever signs placed in the rest room, kitchen etc...which I thought were hilarious ways to get their point across in their plea for people to pretty much just "play nice and be respectful". (I've included a collage of my favorites.) They also had an awesome pool - only 4' deep, but amazingly refreshing in the 100+ degree searing heat and...THE VIEW from the pool was...um...yep - no words for that either!!!...
There were lots of feral cats and kittens running around to keep the place in shape from mice etc… and their adorableness was a wonderful addition to our stay as well. Interestingly enough though - although some of them were cute and cuddly and friendly to humans, Penny was VERY aware that these were NOT domesticated cats and wanted to chase them like she used to do the bunnies in our yard back in our ‘Hood! It was truly fascinating because Penny lived with cats and liked cats but this was definitely d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-t!!!
While at this magical place we had some wonderful adventures off the homestead as well. Fort Robinson State Park provided us with a Stage Coach Ride, a chuck wagon dinner, some amazing scenery and an art show. The Stage Coach Ride was a particular thrill for me because although somewhat of a brief ride it felt so authentic and was a great look into this past mode of transportation. I joked that I was channelling my inner "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" but I really did feel like I was transported in time for a moment. We got to experience a taste of the past while only beginning to comprehend how treacherous it must have been for those in the covered wagon era on untravelled roads etc...WOWZA! Here's me tipping my cap to them (or bonnet or hat or whatever...)!
Downtown Crawford was the site of 4th of July Parade and our first rodeo! I use words in this blog to describe things but... all I can say about the parade and rodeo was that they made me feel like I had jumped into a TV set and was IN a Hallmark Movie... but nobody was acting!! It was pure AMERICANA at its best and the perfect place to spend the 4th of July. It was really really hot with the sun searing down on us as we settled in on the main street for the parade. I took in the crowd around me and was struck by a lot of the men in jeans (with the awesome belt buckles) long sleeve shirts and cowboy boots. I was totally sweltering in my shorts, flip flops and tank top and could only stare at their boots and think - PUT ON SOME DAMN SANDLES!!!!! Having been in the area for a little bit I could totally get the whole wearing cowboy boot thing given the terrain (and snakes) etc...but at high noon in "downtown"??!!! Yikes... Although one father and son with their almost identical matching outfits (including spurs on their boots) standing in the street with such excitement and anticipation over the parade made my heart almost jump out of my chest! The parade started with every Fire/Rescue vehicle the town owned (which were tons!!) filled with firefighters and volunteers throwing out candy to the kids lining the street. For a while I literally thought that this was going to be the extent of the parade!! But then we had bikers representing the armed forces and lots of John Deere tractors, some oxen, some local businesses with a celebratory sign on their truck, some beautiful horses, this year's rodeo queen...oh my goodness - the list was endless and adorable!!!! Wouldn't have traded that experience for the world! Oh, except for the fact that they didn't have a marching band...EXCUSE ME???...How can you have a parade without a marching band? It felt a little sacrilege - but that's just one retired marching band nerd's observation.
We went back to the Homestead for the afternoon to cool off and had dinner before we headed back into town for the rodeo. Our herd of free roaming cows nearby almost made us late for our big adventure, but we made it in time (despite the traffic)! Unfortunately, part of our rodeo experience was tempered by an injury during the opening ceremonies when one of the former Rodeo Queens was thrown from her horse during her turn around the ring. She landed in a THUD and it was pretty damn scary for a bit, but she was ok (although carted off in an ambulance). However, it did add more suspense to the rodeo for me than was intended because whenever someone road by fast on a horse carrying one of the sponsor's flags I felt like it was a death defying feat rather than a rodeo commercial! Oh...that's right...I'm guessing a big part of my audience hasn't necessarily been to a rodeo - I SHOULD explain my commercial comment! So, between events at the rodeo (i.e., when they transition from Bareback Riding to Saddle Bronc Riding to Steer Wrestling to Tie-Down Roping to Barrel Racing to Bull Riding etc...) they have cowgirls ride around the ring (one at a time) holding individual flags of the sponsors of that particular event while the rodeo announcer explains who they are and thanks them for their sponsorship. There are usually about 5-8 sponsors per event so you get to clap for them and woohoo for the cowgirls. So whenever one of the cowgirls took a quicker than average run around the ring I would clap and woohoo for her but was simultaneously flinching with worry.
To top the evening off there were fireworks! Well there were actually fireworks throughout the evening because we were able to see the displays at nearby Fort Robinson - although we couldn't hear them or feel the booms, it added to the July 4th ambiance. But as soon as the rodeo ended the lights went down and the blackness then turned into an awesome light show synced to a wonderful country music soundtrace had great seats - as the fireworks were right over our right shoulder and we felt like we were in the front row! My favorite part of this was looking out, when the sky lit up, over the sea of people and all the vehicles in the parking lot with families sitting out on their tailgates or set up in the bed of their trucks with their cowboy hats on...VERY COOL! VERY HALLMARK MOVIE! VERRRRRYY 4th of July!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: So sometimes I take notes in the moment on my phone so I will make sure to include them in my blog (or at least to remind me of the setting). But for all the 4th of July perfection the only note I had typed was a joke that the rodeo announcer made which totally tickled my funny bone. After one of the bulls dramatically and emphatically threw one of the cowboys, the announcer quipped: "That there bull was mad - madder than a short kid with a yo-yo!"... (ha ha ha!!! I don't know why that cracked me up, but it did and still does!!!)
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