Scotts Bluff, Nebraska

Note: Several of the pictures below have annotations - you can click on any picture to enlarge it if you need to see it better.

On Monday, June 14th, my long awaited medicine finally came and we left Ogallala after a week’s stay. Took Hwys 92 & 26 west through Lewellen, Oshkosh, Lisco, Broadwater, and Minatare to Scottsbluff. The town of Gering adjoins Scottsbluff to the south and we got a nice campsite at a Gering city RV park. Our campsite looks out over an open expanse of land at the Scotts Bluff National Monument - a huge free-standing rock formation. This was one of the landmarks for the travelers on the Oregon Trail.

Tuesday was a sightseeing day. After the Oregon Trail emigrants had endured endless miles of mostly rolling plains, prairies, and sand hills, they started seeing huge rock formations that were landmarks they had been looking for. Three of the most famous are Courthouse Rock, Jail Rock, and Chimney Rock. Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock are side by side and kind of square and blocky looking. They are out in the middle of the countryside - no visitor’s center or anything.

Here are a couple of pictures of the two rock formations from two different perspectives.

The more famous rock formation is Chimney Rock. The sighting of it signaled to the Oregon Trail pioneers that they were about a third of the way on their journey and also told them that they were about to enter a more mountainous and difficult terrain. It is now a National Historical Site with a nice new Visitor‘s Center. Chimney Rock is a lone rock formation that looks like an inverted funnel - a half mile around at the base and the spire that juts up 325 feet.

Here are two pictures of Chimney Rock from two different perspectives.

South of Scottsbluff is the Wildcat Hills Range - a solid line of rock and pine covered hills probably 700-800 feet high that run east and west for many miles. At the top on Hwy 71 is the Wildcat Hills Recreation Area and Nature Center. The views from the Nature Center looking out over the flat lands toward Scottsbluff are awesome.

Wednesday (today) was another sightseeing trip, but a short one. The Scotts Bluff National Monument is only a little over a mile away. We have a great view of it from our campsite Of course, from our campsite vantage point we have only one aspect of it - the look of it changes tremendously from different perspectives.

In addition to the one from our campsite, here’s a couple more pictures of Scotts Bluff.

Mitchell Pass is where all the wagons went through. Again, you can still see the high banks on either side of where the wagon road got wore down into the earth. There is a paved road through the pass now just to the south of the wagon road, but in the days of the Oregon Trail emigrants, it was narrow and they had to go through single file. Amazing what bulldozers and earth movers can do.

Just outside the Visitor Center there is a section of the old wagon path that you can walk. Along this path, they have three replica wagons set up with interpreters dressed in 1850’s period costumes to explain things and answer any questions you might have.

We drove the park road all the way to the top of Scotts Bluff. It is the largest of the rock formations and from the top you have a fantastic view in all directions Very close on the south is Mitchell Pass and on the opposite side of the pass there are several other huge rock formations - Dome Rock, Crown Rock, and Sentinel Rock. The tallest and most vertical part of Scotts Bluff is the north side of the pass and is named Eagle Rock.

Here’s three pictures from the top of Scotts Bluff.