Day 4, August 1, 2017 - Lexington, NE to Chadron, NE
Day 4 - Tuesday August 1, Lexington, NE to Chadron, NE
Distance: 585km, Time: 11:00hrs,
Sunny Hot 31c - 20c
Overnight: Westerner Inn, 300 Oak St., Chadron, NE (***), Clean
Yes i am still in Nebraska, but in the extrame Northwestern pan handle, also know as coal country on the Union Pacific and BNSF Railroads, so no trip west would be complete without a stop at the largest railroad classification year in the world, and that would be UP's Bailey Yard, in North Platt, NE,which is 8 miles long and two miles across, with over 10,000 cars per day and well over 100 trains per day, it is a busy place. There is an 8 story observation tower called the Golden Spike Tower, which provide a dramatic overview of the yard.
Lunch was in the town of Julesburg, CO., and yes I was in Colorado, if one for a few miles, but this was another state of my list. I was sitting have lunch in the D&J Cafe and I was approached by a man who commented on my motorcycle out front, he owns a Vulcan 1500 model and happens to be the local vet, anyway our lunch conversation was focused on motorcycles with some US politics, more on the health care front, at the end of our lunch he insisted on buying my lunch - what a nice jester and appreciated.
After lunch it was time to push on to Chadron, as i had over 250km still to do and time was ticking. Saw a number of coal trains on the BNSF coming out of Alliance, NE and also did a detour to Chimney Rock, in West Bayard, NE, and that was well worth the detour as it factored into the famed Oregon Trail as a landmark.
I reached Chadron at around 7pm, making it a long day, and some other bikers that passed me around 3pm were staying in the same motel, they were going to Sturgis (as I) and had come from South Carolina, making for a long three days for them as well.
Photo of downtown Julesburg, CO
Chimney Rock, in West Bayard, NE
Distance: 585km, Time: 11:00hrs,
Sunny Hot 31c - 20c
Overnight: Westerner Inn, 300 Oak St., Chadron, NE (***), Clean
Yes i am still in Nebraska, but in the extrame Northwestern pan handle, also know as coal country on the Union Pacific and BNSF Railroads, so no trip west would be complete without a stop at the largest railroad classification year in the world, and that would be UP's Bailey Yard, in North Platt, NE,which is 8 miles long and two miles across, with over 10,000 cars per day and well over 100 trains per day, it is a busy place. There is an 8 story observation tower called the Golden Spike Tower, which provide a dramatic overview of the yard.
Lunch was in the town of Julesburg, CO., and yes I was in Colorado, if one for a few miles, but this was another state of my list. I was sitting have lunch in the D&J Cafe and I was approached by a man who commented on my motorcycle out front, he owns a Vulcan 1500 model and happens to be the local vet, anyway our lunch conversation was focused on motorcycles with some US politics, more on the health care front, at the end of our lunch he insisted on buying my lunch - what a nice jester and appreciated.
After lunch it was time to push on to Chadron, as i had over 250km still to do and time was ticking. Saw a number of coal trains on the BNSF coming out of Alliance, NE and also did a detour to Chimney Rock, in West Bayard, NE, and that was well worth the detour as it factored into the famed Oregon Trail as a landmark.
I reached Chadron at around 7pm, making it a long day, and some other bikers that passed me around 3pm were staying in the same motel, they were going to Sturgis (as I) and had come from South Carolina, making for a long three days for them as well.
Photo of downtown Julesburg, CO
Chimney Rock, in West Bayard, NE
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