On Tuesday we did the Oregon Trail touristy places - California Hill, Windlass Hill, and Ash Hollow. We went to California Hill first - this is one of the few places where you can still see the ruts made by the wagon wheels. You have to drive a small dirt road for about a half mile, park, and then walk several hundred yards out across a pasture. As you climb the “hill”, you can really see where the wagons went - it’s like a road that got wore down into the earth with banks on each side. Also, you actually can see the ruts of the wagon wheels in a few places. Here’s a couple of pictures.
After California Hill we headed to Windlass Hill and Ash Hollow. The settlers, after climbing California Hill headed northwest across the rolling sand hills until they came to Windlass Hill. It is a very, very steep descent and they had to lock the wagon wheels, hold back on the wagons with ropes, and hope for the best. A legend says they used a windlass to let the wagons down the hill, but there is no historical evidence supporting this. Still though - that’s how the hill got its name. Where the wagons came down is now a ravine - washed deep over the 150+ years. The park service has a concrete path for visitors to walk if they want to go to the top of the hill - we did. From the top - WOW, what a view!
It's awesome to stand there and realize that the settlers came to that same spot, looked down that hill, and said, “We gotta go down that??” - not to mention what the oxen and mules must have thought.
After getting down Windlass Hill, the settlers then found themselves in a beautiful valley along the North Platte River populated with a lot of Ash trees - hence the name Ash Hollow. Here they rested up several days before proceeding on northwest following the river. Today the Nebraska park service has a nice Visitor Center (closed Monday-Wednesday due to budget cuts), a couple of trails, and a nice picnic area.
Wednesday we drove about 30 miles west to Oshkosh, then another 25 miles north to the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The last 25 miles was a dirt road across endless ‘high plains’ - rolling grasslands, no trees, forever & ever. It took awhile to get to the NWR and then we drove their auto tour loop (6-8 miles) around the lake which was a narrow little track through the grasslands - just two sandy ruts for the tires with high grass on both sides and in the middle. Signs said 4-wheel drive recommended.
On the 25 mile road in & out of the NWR we drove slow did see a few new birds to add to out list - a Lark Bunting, a Blue Grosbeak, a Northern Shoveler, a Northern Harrier, a Grasshopper Sparrow, and a Horned Lark. Here is a picture of a Horned Lark.
We also went through some open range country and had a big herd of cows and new calves close to the road checking us out.
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