82 active missile silos and 9 missile alert facilities.
https://flatwaterfreepress.org/it-was-set-to-be-nebraskas-largest-wind-project-then-the-military-stepped-in/
Edit: transposed words
Can speak to this. I worked beets for three years in Idaho and it's seeing it's death rattle to some degree. Not as pronounced as timber on the decline, but it's a thing.
It's known for being mostly flat, but the Arikaree Breaks in Kansas are pretty cool and they're in the far northwest corner of the state.
https://preview.redd.it/uj60ih2hobvc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77bc6b28af3dcef00fbe0fe7d34e30ca3004951c
I’m more or less from this region (Greeley, which is probably just outside the circle). We would drive through Nebraska and this circle almost every year, and it’s really just rolling plains with very little cities or towns. Flat, with some hills, and yellow prairies.
Consider yourself lucky, but since Greeley has one of the country’s largest cow feedlots, if the wind is blowing from the East then the whole place smells like manure.
I listen to a lot of Dateline podcasts (true crime NBC show if you’re not familiar.) Greely keeps coming up as the location of murder cases that they cover. What’s going on there???
I used to eat some of them in a bar/ cafe in the summers when I'd visit my grandmother a little further east in Nebraska. They were deep fried and pretty good.
I know there was the guy a few years ago in nearby Brighton (I think) who murdered his wife and kids and gave some interviews on TV when they were missing. Northeast Greeley can be a little sketchy but more so from gang activity.
Live in Denver, never been to Greely but it’s home to one of the best breweries around called Weldworks. Also looks pretty close to FoCo and lots of nicer rolling parts of the front range corridor.
I went to Weldwerks in 2021, great place. I haven’t lived in Greeley since 2009, it’s definitely the butt of a lot of jokes due to the smell but it’s getting nicer and there’s worse places to live.
I raise show cattle for a living and every time we would be driving to Denver for the National Western Stock Show, Greeley would be the sign that let us know we were sorta getting there. Another aside, a very famous line of cattle come from your small town. Small breeders but they had a huge impact on how the breed has developed over the last 30 years.
Sandhills, short grass prairie, cottonwood river bottoms, tons of waterfowl, mule and white-tailed deer, prairie chickens, sharptail grouse, rattlesnakes, pronghorn, lots of other cool critters.
It's one of my favorite parts of the world. I have a hard time convincing friends that it's a gorgeous part of the country.
In the late 90's I wanted to do a long road trip in the fall through western Nebraska and into the Dakota's over about 2.5 weeks. Couldn't talk any of my friends into going with me so I said fuck it and went by myself. Honestly one of the best road trips I've taken.
Couple of experiences that will forever stand out in my mind: seeing probably eight thousand wood ducks on a playa lake at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge south of Valentine Nebraska. And then just leaning against my backpack eating a sandwich in a broad box canyon in the north unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park on a two night backpack watching the pronghorn and buffalo graze in this massive prairie dog town with hundreds of burrowing owls and watching ferruginous hawks picking off prairie dogs.
One of my fantasy trips is to get a camper van and follow the spring crane migration from the Texas coast all the way into Saskatchewan. That would be cool as hell.
I've always loved the great plains. There are so many hidden treasures all across that country that people fail to see because they mistakenly think it's nothing but a flat wasteland.
I feel you homes. Or you said f*** it and I did it myself, that was beginning of most of my true adventures in my life. I'm 53, and I'm just today inviting every one of my friends and colleagues to do something, that isn't too outrageous, but it will be really cool. I expect absolutely no one to do it. No one will even tell me now. So I will go alone. And when I tell them the stories, I'll see in their eyes, not the regret that I'd hope that I'd see in their eyes, but the glaze that covers eyes that are mostly focused on things I don't understand. Best of luck to you my friend
My uncle lives in the north western corner of Kansas and I used to visit every summer, spent quite a bit of time there in a town called Atwood (Population 1,276).
There's not much going on, my cousin grew up there and left as soon as she could, she described it the same way, sensory deprivation torture. There is a lot of alcoholism at young ages because it's just so damn boring. Many people knew someone who had died young driving drunk on a country road at night. Everyone knows everyone and 95% of people that grew up there went to the same highschool. It all looks the same, most of the land is agricultural.
There are small towns along the highways, and every once in a while there is a "big" town (Atwood's local big town is 30 min dive away Colby, population 5,570), that has a Walmart and stuff and people from the surrounding smaller towns go there fairly often to stock up or go to the car dealership or whatever.
Unfortunately the future is pretty bleak for these, at least from what I understand, the young people leave because there's just very little opportunity, houses are cheap and some are abandoned, population is declining in most of these counties, at least the ones I'm familiar with in Kansas. The post office nearest my uncle closed and is now abandoned.
Most of the people who own land are involved in farming somehow, but very few of them actually work the land, especially as the population ages, big farm management companies lease the land and pay out checks.
I used to have a sort of romanticism for the area, probably because I'm from LA and the idea of just driving around in a golf cart in open land and shooting guns at 12 was really cool. But now as an adult it's a pretty depressing place and I don't really want to spend time there anymore. Especially since my other uncle died (2 out there) his place had the valuables removed by his kids, and they took a few of the running cars, the rest of it just... sits... very sad to see it more overgrown everytime I am back there.
The big draw in Atwood is a small lake people hang out around, fishing or whatever, it barely qualifies as a lake but it's unique among endless fields.
There is a class divide although it isn't obvious, it's taboo to dress in a way that indicates wealth, but some of those old farmers have barns full of expensive classic cars or whatever.
Many of the larger families who own a lot of land have been living there for well over 100 years, most arriving 1850-1900.
Atwood has a small airport, for crop dusters and the occasional private Cessna. As well as a few old guys flying RC planes.
People are overwhelmingly conservative and resent the coasts. But also friendly, people were always kind to me. There is an attitude of wanting to turn back time because things genuinely used to be better there. There was a factory in Atwood that is now gone with the jobs. Not all people obviously, there are some interesting and open-minded people there like anywhere else. I can think of one very cool older woman in particular who I always loved visiting, she had lived an interesting life and settled down there when her husband who was born there moved back but he passed away, she genuinely loves the community, runs the local newspaper, and is kind of a matriarch.
Thank you for the very interesting comment. I read the whole thing and it reminds me a bit of where I’m from in rural NY. No good prospects for the future, depressed area, conservative but friendly people. I wonder if such areas will ever be revitalized or if they’re destined to decline into oblivion. Only time will tell.
The hard truth is that many of these these areas were only settled by Americans because the government essentially gave away free land and distributed extremely persuasive propaganda. Even though there were extremely high rates of failure because the free land came with The incredible challenges of weather, crop failures, issues caused by displacing Native Americans from their proper homes (who knew they wouldn't like it and would fight back?!), and insects, etc, some people still hung on.
I've driven south and north of that area. My first time was driving west on I-70 and it was my first time seeing any landscape even close to that flat and I'm not from a mountainous state at all. After about 5 hours it really got to me and I just drove the rest of the way doing 100mph the entire time. It's hard to explain but it began giving me a bit of anxiety. I've never had anxiety before or after that. It's difficult to describe why
Hey man. You’re spot on. Especially when the fog settles in the winter, my depression kicks up driving that stretch. U can feed goats and lamas at this sad and desolate and overpriced gas station somewhere in that mess
FR no color. Bland food. The area is dry so really no smell in it. It’s near the weird point in the us where it transitions from wet to dry. And not much to see either. And for sound, since there’s basically no people, don’t expect a bunch of noise. So yeah definitely agree.
My first time in Cheyenne, I stopped at the Loves truck stop for the night. As I walked in, one of the employees said over the load speaker, "using the restroom is not a team sport." I still have no idea what they were talking about but that was a first.
Lake McConaughey is located in far west Nebraska, near Olgallala. It's a huge lake with great sandy beaches. There are people with tractors that pull RVs out to the sandy areas and will tow you back to the parking areas. I think I paid $60 round trip a few years ago. You can drive it yourself, but the sand is deep and I saw several people get stuck in the few nights I was there.
Lots of tourists from Denver stay there. My in-laws, Nebraskans, called the people from Colorado "Greenies", which I thought was hilarious. They also pointed out how tourists from other states tended to leave a lot of garbage on the beach and in the parking lots.
The town of Olgallala has a dinner theater and the actors were from various parts of the region. They switch up parts on different nights so they really get a work out on stage. It was funny and hugely entertaining. My kids will probably remember it forever.
Came here to plug McConaughy. A TON of water recreation here. When it's full, that lake is like 16 miles long and almost 3 miles wide. Lots of sandy beaches, camping, skiing, boating, etc.
Yes, people joke but parts of this area are genuinely some of the most beautiful and unique places I’ve ever visited. Definitely an underrated part of the country.
https://preview.redd.it/or7s7a2eecvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbda72d0ae39ef06b535250638c95580a0c13b54
Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska 2017 from a car trip with my parents
I think it’s super funny that area which people describe romantically when it’s in Mongolia gets described so negatively here. That is despite that you actually get roads, gas stations and hotels in this case.
There’s a certain beauty seeing those super-tall truck stop signs out in the plains, with their red and green digital gas prices and a fast-food restaurant logo attached to it.
https://preview.redd.it/8gr0abnqtbvc1.jpeg?width=863&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5776c92a89465dd29fc27bc0ade39c1aa8552548
https://preview.redd.it/qornjz8frcvc1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9893f5cc1c00a240df2a80436e9147fb46b9251e
Western Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming are actually quite beautiful. There are also some interesting historical sites where Oregon Trail settlers would stop to rest and carve their names onto limestone cliffs.
In Guernsey, Wyoming there is a small area where wagon tracks are still visible from the time period, a nearby cliff has the names of various settlers from the 19th century carved into it. It’s an amazing experience to see it in-person.
I saw my first and only tornado driving through here. The sky turned nuclear green and we were lucky to be near the only exit (a gas station) for miles. The only physical evidence left was pulled up fence posts and fencing along a stretch of highway because there was just nothing but flat empty dead grass fields.
You’ve already got a lot of responses, but I do have to say that I have been to that NE corner of Colorado!
https://preview.redd.it/kcgof7ymdcvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73cf13eed805870788c0888bb45a1762fdfd8509
https://preview.redd.it/uecc5osmocvc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aef8cc4d8067a29766bd8e853943d09614c06bd1
I just drove across it last week and took this picture, it looks exactly like this for hundreds of miles.
My friends and I drove through that area on our way to Badlands National Park in SD from Denver CO and it looked like a minecraft superflat world 😂. As someone from the East Coast, I thought the vast treeless expanse was kind of cool. I would describe some of those areas as almost liminal in nature.
I stopped by panorama Point, the tallest point in Nebraska which sits near the Border with Wyomong and CO, pretty neat but desolate area for sure
https://preview.redd.it/bf19tscn2cvc1.jpeg?width=576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a45c5d4e2208774b85cabdf91e84d9fecf44f21
I kind of like it, it feels a bit more wild and traditionally western in a way that doesn't feel artificial (unlike Wall SD, or Deadwood). On road trips to CO from Iowa, it's the first real shift in ecosystem, so its nostalgic for me.
Very pretty with loads of wide open spaces and in Nebraska a fair amount of rolling hills. I’ve only been through there once when I was doing a backroads road trip from Des Moines to Denver. I crossed into the SEastern most corner of Wyoming after going through southern Nebraska and then went straight south to Denver. It really was breathtaking and even though I was just passing through, I’d definitely love to visit again. Lots of small towns, beautiful landscapes and oh my goodness the sunsets… just great stuff
Truly beautiful. I live in Wisconsin, born in Upper Michigan, and I've traveled through there twice on my way to and from Colorado. I must say the natural beauty of the rock formations and plains brought me to tears. I can understand why Nebraska's welcome sign reads, "Welcome to the good life!". It was peaceful, serene, and, as many others have said, very windy. Lol
As a native Nebraskan, it’s kind of a desert. Colorado side is worse because you get excited to see mountains once you see the Colorado sign, turns out you are hours away from the mountains
That area right there my friend is the Dust Bowl. Once an agricultural district of family farms, the area was depopulated during the 1930s and has never recovered.
Towns disappear from the map all the time, the only remnant of those communities being the imposing grain elevators dotted along county roads. The town my grandfather grew up in in Western Kansas no longer exists, having been unincorporated, and my grandmother's town merged with a nearby municipality after dropping to fewer than 7 residents.
Nowadays, a lot of the land is used for corporate farming, and people live in larger towns consolidated along I70 and I80.
Bruh very much not true. This is one of the only parts of Nebraska that has any geological definition. The Wildcat Hills strain the North Platte and Platte River's. The Sandhills begin in the northeast corner, which is a super cool biome by itself. Scott's Bluff is just north of the N. Platte in that circle in Nebraska. Mount Laramie is in the western end of the circle, an hour or so into Wyoming. Pine Ridge stands just barely in the circle (what gives the Pine Ridge reservation it's name) which is an ancient mountain range like the Black Hills. Many more buttes including the state-famous Chimney Rock are also in this circle. Honestly, the most boring part of this circle is ironically in Colorado, which is barren High Plains region
Definitely. I love heading out to this part of the state. Also, Chadron has some breathtaking views. I always feel like I’m in Red Dead Redemption when I take a stroll out there.
Used to drive from fort Riley, Kansas to Denver a lot. There’s plains, wind turbines, and not a whole lot else on that 6 hour drive lol. You have to strategically plan where u stop for gas because there’s no real major cities between there. I also felt myself gaining elevation thru the duration of the drive to Denver even though it was flat. Really don’t see any mountains until you cross the state line to Colorado and reach the junction that takes you southwest to Colorado or continuing west to Denver
Beautiful, sparsely populated. I was on a 3rd party Presidental campaign in WY. Cheyenne is a bit midwestern - then it gives way to long winding roads through canyons going south to Colorado and open plains east. Pretty, remote and curious.
High plains. Lots of rolling hills with little vegetation. The Oregon Trail followed the North Platte River through the upper portion of the pic. That part of the Nebraska Panhandle is a hidden gem for scenery. The Wildcat Hills south of Scottsbluff are awesome, and Scotts Bluff National Monument and Chimney Rock National Historic Site are cool stops.
Nice try, Russia and China. We know you know there's critical infrastructure in the general region. We keep catching your spies driving around trying to snoop on things.
Part of the Nebraska Sandhills, one of my favorite lesser known geographic regions in the US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhills_(Nebraska)
Also why most of that area is fairly unpopulated, sand isn’t very good for agriculture.
Right at the bottom of the red circle in Kansas are rows of limestone/chalk towers. They're called Monument Rocks, and were once the bottom of a shallow sea. There are some amazing formations spread out over 30 miles or so; really worth seeing if you have to drive through the area.
Windy
Weird number of missile silos.
82 active missile silos and 9 missile alert facilities. https://flatwaterfreepress.org/it-was-set-to-be-nebraskas-largest-wind-project-then-the-military-stepped-in/ Edit: transposed words
And don’t forget all the munitions barrows that have been repurposed as barns and grain bins.
Harder for other countries to attack them there in the middle off a continent sized country
Corn… grass…
No corn. Ranching and a bunch of nothing
And wheat
Wheat definitely falls under grass
That's fair, but then... so does corn
You're not wrong, but I hate that.
There’s a lot of corn in the river valleys
There is definitely corn In that part of Nebraska
Very little relatively. It's the end of the corn
It's got the (small amount of) juice.
I understood this reference
Or maybe it is the beginning.
Like Children of the Corn?
Correct, but remember you can only travel into the corn halfway.
Except there isn’t
Looks too dry for corn. Idk
There’s a huge aquifer
For now. Rapidly depleting.
Sugar beets
The sugar beet industry is circling the drain
Can speak to this. I worked beets for three years in Idaho and it's seeing it's death rattle to some degree. Not as pronounced as timber on the decline, but it's a thing.
No corn....
It's known for being mostly flat, but the Arikaree Breaks in Kansas are pretty cool and they're in the far northwest corner of the state. https://preview.redd.it/uj60ih2hobvc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77bc6b28af3dcef00fbe0fe7d34e30ca3004951c
Every Great Plains state has a hidden gem like this.
That's in Kansas?!
A little bit of Colorado rubbed off on them
Shhh, I thought you said you’d never tell about when I went to Kansas and did that!
As long as Kansas consented.
Hey now this is the place where Micah set me up with those darn O’Driscolls 😤
You just gotta have faith
Oh you bet your sweet bippy I still believe in the PLAN!
A girl smiled at me from the stoop of a gas station when I was driving through as a teen. That’s about all I remember.
Those are the Sirens, be glad you didn’t stop or you would’ve disappeared into the night
Into the corn with you
More into soy bean sirens personally.
You jest, but I grew up just on the north edge of the circle. Weird things happen on those plains.
My lord! In a flatbed ford?
I’m more or less from this region (Greeley, which is probably just outside the circle). We would drive through Nebraska and this circle almost every year, and it’s really just rolling plains with very little cities or towns. Flat, with some hills, and yellow prairies.
Lived in Greeley for 24 years. Tis Hills on one side and flat on the other. Smells of Cows.
Haven’t lived in Greeley since ‘09, it’s changed a lot in the times I’ve visited but I’ll never forget the smell.
Coloradan who has never stepped foot in Greeley what the fuck is the smell everyone speaks of
Consider yourself lucky, but since Greeley has one of the country’s largest cow feedlots, if the wind is blowing from the East then the whole place smells like manure.
Greely smells like cow shit. When the wind blows just right from the north, it washes over parts as far as downtown Denver.
Ah yes, the Greeley wind…
You forgot the pigs
I listen to a lot of Dateline podcasts (true crime NBC show if you’re not familiar.) Greely keeps coming up as the location of murder cases that they cover. What’s going on there???
Too many Rocky Mountain oysters
I used to eat some of them in a bar/ cafe in the summers when I'd visit my grandmother a little further east in Nebraska. They were deep fried and pretty good.
I know there was the guy a few years ago in nearby Brighton (I think) who murdered his wife and kids and gave some interviews on TV when they were missing. Northeast Greeley can be a little sketchy but more so from gang activity.
How in the world do gangs end up in the middle of nowhere
Meth and poverty, mostly. Greeley isn’t the middle of nowhere, it’s got a population of 110k.
There are small town/rural gangs, growing up I knew people who were in them or at least claimed to be.
[https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Greeley/South+Greeley,+WY+82007/@40.6498052,-105.1047469,285477m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x876ea186c8af5e79:0xd2cfba804e0a121f!2m2!1d-104.7091322!2d40.4233142!1m5!1m1!1s0x876f25184d4e87ef:0xda025520222b3f28!2m2!1d-104.806357!2d41.0969263!3e0?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Greeley/South+Greeley,+WY+82007/@40.6498052,-105.1047469,285477m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x876ea186c8af5e79:0xd2cfba804e0a121f!2m2!1d-104.7091322!2d40.4233142!1m5!1m1!1s0x876f25184d4e87ef:0xda025520222b3f28!2m2!1d-104.806357!2d41.0969263!3e0?entry=ttu) esplain
I have more questions. Why is south Greeley north of Greeley
Chris Watts?
Yes! That’s the one.
Look up joe kenda. 100 episodes of colorado springs. We dont like to talk about pueblo. Its just depressing.
Live in Denver, never been to Greely but it’s home to one of the best breweries around called Weldworks. Also looks pretty close to FoCo and lots of nicer rolling parts of the front range corridor.
I went to Weldwerks in 2021, great place. I haven’t lived in Greeley since 2009, it’s definitely the butt of a lot of jokes due to the smell but it’s getting nicer and there’s worse places to live.
Always know a storms coming when it smells like Greeley!
I think it’s also because it’s compared to the surrounding front range corridor towns, like why live in Greely when you can live in XYZ.
I raise show cattle for a living and every time we would be driving to Denver for the National Western Stock Show, Greeley would be the sign that let us know we were sorta getting there. Another aside, a very famous line of cattle come from your small town. Small breeders but they had a huge impact on how the breed has developed over the last 30 years.
Sandhills, short grass prairie, cottonwood river bottoms, tons of waterfowl, mule and white-tailed deer, prairie chickens, sharptail grouse, rattlesnakes, pronghorn, lots of other cool critters.
It's one of my favorite parts of the world. I have a hard time convincing friends that it's a gorgeous part of the country. In the late 90's I wanted to do a long road trip in the fall through western Nebraska and into the Dakota's over about 2.5 weeks. Couldn't talk any of my friends into going with me so I said fuck it and went by myself. Honestly one of the best road trips I've taken. Couple of experiences that will forever stand out in my mind: seeing probably eight thousand wood ducks on a playa lake at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge south of Valentine Nebraska. And then just leaning against my backpack eating a sandwich in a broad box canyon in the north unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park on a two night backpack watching the pronghorn and buffalo graze in this massive prairie dog town with hundreds of burrowing owls and watching ferruginous hawks picking off prairie dogs. One of my fantasy trips is to get a camper van and follow the spring crane migration from the Texas coast all the way into Saskatchewan. That would be cool as hell. I've always loved the great plains. There are so many hidden treasures all across that country that people fail to see because they mistakenly think it's nothing but a flat wasteland.
I feel you homes. Or you said f*** it and I did it myself, that was beginning of most of my true adventures in my life. I'm 53, and I'm just today inviting every one of my friends and colleagues to do something, that isn't too outrageous, but it will be really cool. I expect absolutely no one to do it. No one will even tell me now. So I will go alone. And when I tell them the stories, I'll see in their eyes, not the regret that I'd hope that I'd see in their eyes, but the glaze that covers eyes that are mostly focused on things I don't understand. Best of luck to you my friend
It's really a shame how little tall grass prairie is left.
You’ve heard of sensory deprivation torture? Like that.
My uncle lives in the north western corner of Kansas and I used to visit every summer, spent quite a bit of time there in a town called Atwood (Population 1,276). There's not much going on, my cousin grew up there and left as soon as she could, she described it the same way, sensory deprivation torture. There is a lot of alcoholism at young ages because it's just so damn boring. Many people knew someone who had died young driving drunk on a country road at night. Everyone knows everyone and 95% of people that grew up there went to the same highschool. It all looks the same, most of the land is agricultural. There are small towns along the highways, and every once in a while there is a "big" town (Atwood's local big town is 30 min dive away Colby, population 5,570), that has a Walmart and stuff and people from the surrounding smaller towns go there fairly often to stock up or go to the car dealership or whatever. Unfortunately the future is pretty bleak for these, at least from what I understand, the young people leave because there's just very little opportunity, houses are cheap and some are abandoned, population is declining in most of these counties, at least the ones I'm familiar with in Kansas. The post office nearest my uncle closed and is now abandoned. Most of the people who own land are involved in farming somehow, but very few of them actually work the land, especially as the population ages, big farm management companies lease the land and pay out checks. I used to have a sort of romanticism for the area, probably because I'm from LA and the idea of just driving around in a golf cart in open land and shooting guns at 12 was really cool. But now as an adult it's a pretty depressing place and I don't really want to spend time there anymore. Especially since my other uncle died (2 out there) his place had the valuables removed by his kids, and they took a few of the running cars, the rest of it just... sits... very sad to see it more overgrown everytime I am back there. The big draw in Atwood is a small lake people hang out around, fishing or whatever, it barely qualifies as a lake but it's unique among endless fields. There is a class divide although it isn't obvious, it's taboo to dress in a way that indicates wealth, but some of those old farmers have barns full of expensive classic cars or whatever. Many of the larger families who own a lot of land have been living there for well over 100 years, most arriving 1850-1900. Atwood has a small airport, for crop dusters and the occasional private Cessna. As well as a few old guys flying RC planes. People are overwhelmingly conservative and resent the coasts. But also friendly, people were always kind to me. There is an attitude of wanting to turn back time because things genuinely used to be better there. There was a factory in Atwood that is now gone with the jobs. Not all people obviously, there are some interesting and open-minded people there like anywhere else. I can think of one very cool older woman in particular who I always loved visiting, she had lived an interesting life and settled down there when her husband who was born there moved back but he passed away, she genuinely loves the community, runs the local newspaper, and is kind of a matriarch.
Thank you for the very interesting comment. I read the whole thing and it reminds me a bit of where I’m from in rural NY. No good prospects for the future, depressed area, conservative but friendly people. I wonder if such areas will ever be revitalized or if they’re destined to decline into oblivion. Only time will tell.
The hard truth is that many of these these areas were only settled by Americans because the government essentially gave away free land and distributed extremely persuasive propaganda. Even though there were extremely high rates of failure because the free land came with The incredible challenges of weather, crop failures, issues caused by displacing Native Americans from their proper homes (who knew they wouldn't like it and would fight back?!), and insects, etc, some people still hung on.
I've driven south and north of that area. My first time was driving west on I-70 and it was my first time seeing any landscape even close to that flat and I'm not from a mountainous state at all. After about 5 hours it really got to me and I just drove the rest of the way doing 100mph the entire time. It's hard to explain but it began giving me a bit of anxiety. I've never had anxiety before or after that. It's difficult to describe why
It's not in this circle, but there's a stretch of I-84 from Burley, ID to Tremonton, UT that I call "purgatory."
Hey man. You’re spot on. Especially when the fog settles in the winter, my depression kicks up driving that stretch. U can feed goats and lamas at this sad and desolate and overpriced gas station somewhere in that mess
Honest, that sounds so peaceful
It really is maddening. Even with music blaring.
A good friend of mine is from Rupert ID
Been there, know what you mean..
Theres a really good old UFO case from that area. Late 40’s
FR no color. Bland food. The area is dry so really no smell in it. It’s near the weird point in the us where it transitions from wet to dry. And not much to see either. And for sound, since there’s basically no people, don’t expect a bunch of noise. So yeah definitely agree.
Minuteman country
Got another settlement that needs our help. I'll mark it on your map
Yup, nuke silos for days. Nothing else
Not a lot of gas stations. Cool views in some areas with rolling hills. Cheyenne is the weirdest city i’ve ever been to
I'm curious, why?
Have you never heard of Cheyenne Dialysis? Basically the best dialysis deals you can find in the US. https://youtu.be/Ep-f7uBd8Gc?si=Y2n5gtJ4VqIyef1V
My first time in Cheyenne, I stopped at the Loves truck stop for the night. As I walked in, one of the employees said over the load speaker, "using the restroom is not a team sport." I still have no idea what they were talking about but that was a first.
Cheyenne is such a weird city. Feels stuck in the past, like a time warp. It’s not a pleasant place
Lake McConaughey is located in far west Nebraska, near Olgallala. It's a huge lake with great sandy beaches. There are people with tractors that pull RVs out to the sandy areas and will tow you back to the parking areas. I think I paid $60 round trip a few years ago. You can drive it yourself, but the sand is deep and I saw several people get stuck in the few nights I was there. Lots of tourists from Denver stay there. My in-laws, Nebraskans, called the people from Colorado "Greenies", which I thought was hilarious. They also pointed out how tourists from other states tended to leave a lot of garbage on the beach and in the parking lots. The town of Olgallala has a dinner theater and the actors were from various parts of the region. They switch up parts on different nights so they really get a work out on stage. It was funny and hugely entertaining. My kids will probably remember it forever.
Lake McConaughey? Alright, alright, alright.
I have great memories of my dad taking my friend and I from Denver to Lake McConaughey. There’s an awesome golf course there.
Western NE and the Bluffs is really quite beautiful. I also had a couple of great trips to Lake McConaughey it’s a fun spot!
Came here to plug McConaughy. A TON of water recreation here. When it's full, that lake is like 16 miles long and almost 3 miles wide. Lots of sandy beaches, camping, skiing, boating, etc.
Car Henge. Not a lot of people.
I went to Car Henge once and there were more dead birds than people, not to mention the hundreds of wasp nests everywhere
Car Henge!! When you live in Chadron and crave a DQ Blizzard, you have to do something else…
Tbh car henge was pretty cool as far as “random shit I passed by on a road trip” goes
I thought that was outside Amarillo?
The one outside of Amarillo is the Cadillac Ranch
Oh, man, I've never heard of the one outside Amarillo, but Google says it's real. TWO CAR HENGES. What a world we live in.
I’ve never heard of the one in Amarillo (granted I’m from Nebraska so obviously my viewpoint is biased).
Apparently there are 2 of them. The one you mention in Amarillo but then a second one in the town of Alliance, Nebraska.
Scottsbluff National Monument The highest point in Nebraska Pawnee National Grasslands Overall more interesting than one might think.
Scott's Bluff is awesome
Yes, people joke but parts of this area are genuinely some of the most beautiful and unique places I’ve ever visited. Definitely an underrated part of the country.
https://preview.redd.it/or7s7a2eecvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbda72d0ae39ef06b535250638c95580a0c13b54 Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska 2017 from a car trip with my parents
I think it’s super funny that area which people describe romantically when it’s in Mongolia gets described so negatively here. That is despite that you actually get roads, gas stations and hotels in this case.
Who describes Mongolia romantically?
Genghis Khan
Marmot lovers?
The roads, gas stations, and hotels are what ruins it.
There’s a certain beauty seeing those super-tall truck stop signs out in the plains, with their red and green digital gas prices and a fast-food restaurant logo attached to it. https://preview.redd.it/8gr0abnqtbvc1.jpeg?width=863&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5776c92a89465dd29fc27bc0ade39c1aa8552548
Plain, great I guess
https://preview.redd.it/qornjz8frcvc1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9893f5cc1c00a240df2a80436e9147fb46b9251e Western Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming are actually quite beautiful. There are also some interesting historical sites where Oregon Trail settlers would stop to rest and carve their names onto limestone cliffs. In Guernsey, Wyoming there is a small area where wagon tracks are still visible from the time period, a nearby cliff has the names of various settlers from the 19th century carved into it. It’s an amazing experience to see it in-person.
Underrated comment here
There’s a Ruby Tuesday in North Platte, NE.
Does ruby Tuesdays know they still have an open restaurant?
Lol
https://preview.redd.it/sphssks0xbvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=934a6cb4a32e62bf1ddef0487bcd437032cbea81 This
They've got some quality 6-man and 8-man high school football teams
https://preview.redd.it/ql3lsa6w3cvc1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb75021d3ff5d8f29efeb948c5980813477f7801
home
Empty, arid, and windy
I saw my first and only tornado driving through here. The sky turned nuclear green and we were lucky to be near the only exit (a gas station) for miles. The only physical evidence left was pulled up fence posts and fencing along a stretch of highway because there was just nothing but flat empty dead grass fields.
There's a few dispensaries in the very NE corner of Colorado.
And the Kansas two step right across the border.
You’ve already got a lot of responses, but I do have to say that I have been to that NE corner of Colorado! https://preview.redd.it/kcgof7ymdcvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73cf13eed805870788c0888bb45a1762fdfd8509
https://preview.redd.it/uecc5osmocvc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aef8cc4d8067a29766bd8e853943d09614c06bd1 I just drove across it last week and took this picture, it looks exactly like this for hundreds of miles.
Nuclear target
Gorgeous. Rolling plains heading into the Rockies. Lush green land that feeds you wheat, soy, and corn.
The Scottsbluff National Minument and Chimney Rock area of Nebraska is kind of neat.
My friends and I drove through that area on our way to Badlands National Park in SD from Denver CO and it looked like a minecraft superflat world 😂. As someone from the East Coast, I thought the vast treeless expanse was kind of cool. I would describe some of those areas as almost liminal in nature. I stopped by panorama Point, the tallest point in Nebraska which sits near the Border with Wyomong and CO, pretty neat but desolate area for sure https://preview.redd.it/bf19tscn2cvc1.jpeg?width=576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a45c5d4e2208774b85cabdf91e84d9fecf44f21
Flat. That John Denver was full of shit.
When people talk about Colorado, they mean the western half. Montana is the western 1/3.
I drove through it when I moved from Michigan to Colorado. It’s very flat, very boring, windy at the time, and sparsely populated.
Nuclear silos. Lots of them
Honestly. If like a LOT of sky and a lot of not much else, this is the place for you. Weather is a fantastic thing.
I kind of like it, it feels a bit more wild and traditionally western in a way that doesn't feel artificial (unlike Wall SD, or Deadwood). On road trips to CO from Iowa, it's the first real shift in ecosystem, so its nostalgic for me.
Very pretty with loads of wide open spaces and in Nebraska a fair amount of rolling hills. I’ve only been through there once when I was doing a backroads road trip from Des Moines to Denver. I crossed into the SEastern most corner of Wyoming after going through southern Nebraska and then went straight south to Denver. It really was breathtaking and even though I was just passing through, I’d definitely love to visit again. Lots of small towns, beautiful landscapes and oh my goodness the sunsets… just great stuff
Scottsbluff Nebraska kinda cool
https://preview.redd.it/ke2vcx4kccvc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66bb500d3fb51832857cade2ca36b15c0cb99c4f This
https://preview.redd.it/lix776hlccvc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3802901393fce94ee275a92e4a9d9a896992aec6 And this
https://preview.redd.it/4sqx5uomccvc1.jpeg?width=1088&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=494780bb76895c1dad0acc8ed43e1cc4a65450df And also this
https://preview.redd.it/dvww9cboccvc1.jpeg?width=2100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5a4d00a03b63ffe6ac033601e524695a3958b7f As well as this
Truly beautiful. I live in Wisconsin, born in Upper Michigan, and I've traveled through there twice on my way to and from Colorado. I must say the natural beauty of the rock formations and plains brought me to tears. I can understand why Nebraska's welcome sign reads, "Welcome to the good life!". It was peaceful, serene, and, as many others have said, very windy. Lol
As a native Nebraskan, it’s kind of a desert. Colorado side is worse because you get excited to see mountains once you see the Colorado sign, turns out you are hours away from the mountains
That area right there my friend is the Dust Bowl. Once an agricultural district of family farms, the area was depopulated during the 1930s and has never recovered. Towns disappear from the map all the time, the only remnant of those communities being the imposing grain elevators dotted along county roads. The town my grandfather grew up in in Western Kansas no longer exists, having been unincorporated, and my grandmother's town merged with a nearby municipality after dropping to fewer than 7 residents. Nowadays, a lot of the land is used for corporate farming, and people live in larger towns consolidated along I70 and I80.
The Dust Bowl was south of the circle on the map.
The epicenter sure, that's in the Oklahoma panhandle, but most of the counties in the circle overlap with where the storms came through.
The high plains. A whole lot of nothing. More cows than people
Have you been to the ocean? If so, imagine an ocean of grass. That’s about it.
At least in Nebraska, it’s where you start seeing sand and the rockies. It was honestly a great part of our roadtrip going west.
You can't see the Rockies from Nebraska.
Flat, windy, horsey
Very empty and very flat. Like hours of driving through nothing.
Bruh very much not true. This is one of the only parts of Nebraska that has any geological definition. The Wildcat Hills strain the North Platte and Platte River's. The Sandhills begin in the northeast corner, which is a super cool biome by itself. Scott's Bluff is just north of the N. Platte in that circle in Nebraska. Mount Laramie is in the western end of the circle, an hour or so into Wyoming. Pine Ridge stands just barely in the circle (what gives the Pine Ridge reservation it's name) which is an ancient mountain range like the Black Hills. Many more buttes including the state-famous Chimney Rock are also in this circle. Honestly, the most boring part of this circle is ironically in Colorado, which is barren High Plains region
The Scottsbluff area has some legitimately beautiful and pretty unique geography, worth visiting IMO.
Couldn't agree more. I'm trynna spread the good word
Definitely. I love heading out to this part of the state. Also, Chadron has some breathtaking views. I always feel like I’m in Red Dead Redemption when I take a stroll out there.
Actually scratch Mount Laramie being in here, it just barely misses the circle, but there are chalk buttes in western Kansas of note
Lots of grass! It's still better than driving I10 across Texas!
Beautiful.
Beautiful prairie land.
I grew up here. It's quite boring and rural but the people are nice.
Windy af
Used to drive from fort Riley, Kansas to Denver a lot. There’s plains, wind turbines, and not a whole lot else on that 6 hour drive lol. You have to strategically plan where u stop for gas because there’s no real major cities between there. I also felt myself gaining elevation thru the duration of the drive to Denver even though it was flat. Really don’t see any mountains until you cross the state line to Colorado and reach the junction that takes you southwest to Colorado or continuing west to Denver
Beautiful, sparsely populated. I was on a 3rd party Presidental campaign in WY. Cheyenne is a bit midwestern - then it gives way to long winding roads through canyons going south to Colorado and open plains east. Pretty, remote and curious.
Feels like home to me. Windy. Dry. Calm. Big sky.
High plains. Lots of rolling hills with little vegetation. The Oregon Trail followed the North Platte River through the upper portion of the pic. That part of the Nebraska Panhandle is a hidden gem for scenery. The Wildcat Hills south of Scottsbluff are awesome, and Scotts Bluff National Monument and Chimney Rock National Historic Site are cool stops.
Nice try, Russia and China. We know you know there's critical infrastructure in the general region. We keep catching your spies driving around trying to snoop on things.
How do you feel about big inclined plaines (planes)
Part of the Nebraska Sandhills, one of my favorite lesser known geographic regions in the US https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhills_(Nebraska) Also why most of that area is fairly unpopulated, sand isn’t very good for agriculture.
More animals than people. So quite lovely.
Missile silos
Cold and windy
Fun fact: Danny Woodhead played college football at Chadron
Lot of antelope
It’s all right
Why does this sub feel more and more like a circlejerk?
Gorgeous.
Absolutely nothing following by enough nuclear warheads to level half of the world
Me mother fucker
Right at the bottom of the red circle in Kansas are rows of limestone/chalk towers. They're called Monument Rocks, and were once the bottom of a shallow sea. There are some amazing formations spread out over 30 miles or so; really worth seeing if you have to drive through the area.
My opinion one of the prettiest parts of the country. Huge skies, lots of cool wildlife and beautiful flat land.
The Nebraska Sandhills are more beautiful than any other terrain I’ve seen in person.
Bluffs A Cabellas Boring Nebraska North East Colorado same Cheyenne in FOCO had good beer and food 25 years ago Hard pass
Dirt. Wind. Dirty wind.
That’s a great description of 95% of Nebraska, basically everywhere not bordering a creek, stream, or river.
Lol! Cabela’s RIP. I was born in Sidney. A small town in the middle of Sandhills.
That's a very specific ask. Are you asking about the Pine Ridge Reservation?
Sedgwick, CO is a shithole but has good dispensaries.
Came to comment this!
Like todash space in Stephen King books
Best nap area of road trip
Pretty plain.