Carhenge | Cabela's in Sydney, Nebraska

Sunday - 27 June 2004 - Sidney, Nebraska: We drove about 230 miles today - nearly all of it through grassland. We didn't have great weather, but we didn't have rain. Cloudy and mid-60's all day. DT was up early this morning for a long run along the fabulous trail system in Custer. He ran for miles and rarely saw another soul. We left Custer, heading south on 385 through Wind Caves National Park - where we saw even more Bison! They were everywhere! Route 385 also took us through the cute town of Hot Springs, South Dakota. The buildings in town are made from red sand stone and it makes for a charming scene. We continued south, and into Nebraska - pass miles and miles of grasslands and sagebrush and cattle. In Chadron we stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch. It was a free-for-all food-fest at the Sunday Brunch Buffet!  Fruit Loops were flying, kids were everywhere, but it was fun and everyone knew everyone (except us) and their omelets weren't bad!

We drove about 20 miles out of our way - near Alliance, Nebraska - so DT could see Carhenge, a really stoopid homage to Stonehenge consisting of cars "planted" in the ground in a circle. It was next to an auto junk yard and they had no RV parking! DT pulled-over to the side of the road, our huge bus blocking the "No Parking" sign. He ran out, snapped photos with both of our cameras and came back before the Sheriff took us away.

Carhenge

Our destination tonight was to another Mother Ship. Cabela's fuels the needs of those who want to go out into the wilderness, kill animals and eat them. Still, we just LOVE this store. We hunker-down in the clothing and camping gear section and see what is new and what we "need". Inside the store is a 27-foot mountain replica inhabited with game trophies of North American wildlife species. It is like a museum-slash-store. But the greatest thing about this 75,000-square-foot Flagship Store? They have an on-site RV Park! Did you bring your dog along? No worries, they have kennels. Did you bring your HORSE along? No worries, they have corrals!

Cabela's Flagship Store in Sidney, Nebraska


Conservation Mountain inside Cabela's... next to the rifle department

Considering we do not hunt or fish - we still managed to spend two hours and a tidy sum inside this fabulous store! There are hundreds of trophy game animals and an 8,000 gallon freshwater aquarium - filled with native species - INSIDE the store! More like a museum than a shop. You can buy guns, lures, boats, sweaters, camping gear, camouflage clothing, meat smokers, fishing rods, hiking boots, GPS systems and binoculars. If you get hungry, you can have a meal in their restaurant! What an experience. This is the second Cabela's we have visited (the other was in Mitchell, SD a few years ago). Ok, it is not LLBean, but it was fun just the same!

I made a lovely meal tonight. I started a sponge this morning, so we had a nice loaf of Italian bread for dinner. I tossed bowtie pasta with onion, peppers and sun-dried tomatoes - added garlic, basil and Romano cheese, and also made a tossed salad. Delicious, and just what my tired (from his long run this morning) driver needed. After dinner, DT took a few apples out to the horses in the RV park corral. Life is good here on I-80 in Sidney, Nebraska.

RV Park: Cabela's