Only in Nebraska
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A few of our 99 travel tips so unique they can only be done in Nebraska.
While we would never suggest that Nebraska is better than all the other 49 states, we will boast that there are certain activities that can only be enjoyed within our borders. Here are our favorite 99 travel ideas that are somehow unique to the state.
Keeping with traditional Nebraska values, we're placing special emphasis on things that cost little or nothing. A few of the listings may involve nominal admission charges or a state park permit. We're avoiding special events and private businesses, with a few notable exceptions, because they are too numerous. That's fodder for another article. And we're leaving out some of the most obvious stops like Chimney Rock or the Archway or the Henry Doorly Zoo. You can find them without our help.
Our list, by the way, is numbered for convenience, but is in no particular order. Instead of choosing one favorite, we've chosen 99 of them. A few are below, along with photos of some of the others that made the list. (The complete version, of course, is in our May/June 2005 issue).
2 - Enjoy Latin American art at El Museo Latino in Omaha , the first Latino art museum in the Midwest.
32 - Find rollerskates made for a horse among other curiosities at the National Museum of Rollerskating in Lincoln . Draw whatever conclusions you wish from the following: a clever person (by human standards) invented the hoof skates, but even a slow-witted horse (by equine standards) would know right away that they were a really, really bad idea.
42 - Stop by Buffalo Bill's house in North Platte . William F. Cody's “Scout's Rest Ranch” is open to the public as a state park.
54 - Watch the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” especially the opening scene that portrays D-Day, then visit the Andrew Jackson Higgins Memorial in Columbus . Higgins, a Columbus native, invented the boats that landed troops on the beaches of Normandy . A full-scale replica is on site.
64 - Grouse about how they don't make children's toys the way they used to while looking at the uranium marble display at Lee's Legendary Marble Museum in York . The marbles are yellow and glow eerily in a case lit by ultraviolet light.
76 - Scale Panorama Point, southwest of Kimball . At 5,424 feet, it is the highest point in Nebraska . OK, “scale” is a bit of an exaggeration. The point is a gentle hill rather than a precipice. Nearby, the Tri-State Marker shows the spot where Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming meet.
Photos and credits: Above, left to right: Bookstores in Brownville, Neb. – David Bristow; Strategic Air and Space Museum, Ashland – George Burba; Bailey Yard, North Platte – J. Nabb; Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge – Betty Beard. Below: Ashfall Fossil Beds – M. Forsberg, Nebraska DED; Starlite Drive-In Theater, Neligh – J. Nabb; Bertrand Steamboat Exhibit – George Burba; Ogallala's Boot Hill – Christopher Amundson.
