{"id":1908,"date":"2013-07-03T01:47:48","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T01:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bucksurdu.com\/blog\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2013-07-03T01:47:48","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T01:47:48","slug":"the-trip-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/2013\/07\/03\/the-trip-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trip Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Leaving<\/a>
Leaving Estes Park, Colorado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After spending a little time walking around all the little shops in Estes Park, we bid farewell to sunny Colorado and headed for Nebraska.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Buffalo Bill Trading Post and Museum in Kearny, Nebraska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the way to the booming metropolis of Minden, Nebraska, we stopped in Kearny for dinner. \u00a0Just off I-80 was the Buffalo Bill Cody trading post and museum. \u00a0The museum consisted of a few small displays toward the back of a 60’s-style souvenir shop. \u00a0They did have some interesting clothing and weapons as well as a 1:16-scale replica of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. \u00a0The souvenir shop had all the goofy stuff I remember in souvenir shops as a kid. \u00a0It was a nostalgic break from the long drive.<\/p>\n

\"Model<\/a>
Model A's in front of our hotel in Minden, Nebraska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we arrived at our hotel, the only hotel in Minden, we saw these and several other Model A Fords in the parking lot. \u00a0A group of old car collectors was meeting in Minden to participate in a car rally in Kearny the next day celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Highway. \u00a0We spent more than a half hour talking to a couple of nice antique car enthusiasts. \u00a0Now Tommy wants us to buy a Model A.<\/p>\n

\"Pioneer<\/a>
Pioneer Village Entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The purpose of stopping in Minden was to see the Pioneer Village. \u00a0It was created by Harold Warp, who made his fortune in plexiglass in the 1940’s. \u00a0When the one-room school he attend as a kid was about to be torn down, he bought it an started Pioneer Village. \u00a0This was a terrific, family-owned museum that is every bit as good (perhaps better) than the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. \u00a0There were 30 or so separate buildings, many the size of warehouses, full of antiques. \u00a0One of the things that made Pioneer village interesting was that all of the antiques were arranged in chronological order. \u00a0There was a building full of Chevy’s from the earliest cars to the 1970’s.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A very small sample of the collection at Pioneer Village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the displays had nice, descriptive signs in front of them. \u00a0I learned a great deal in the short time we were there. \u00a0We spent four hours in the museum, but we could have easily stayed for two days.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>
Sam and Tom learning how to make a broom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In one building they had some docents who showed the kids crafts, like baking on old coal stoves, making lace, or (as above) making brooms. \u00a0The gentleman working with the kids was personable and informative.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A kitchen from the 1950's<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the more interesting displays showed kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms from 1830 to the 1970’s. \u00a0These displays, again in chronological order, were separated by about 30 years, so it was a nice way to see how technology developed over time.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An old car (I don't remember what kind) with a primitive air conditioner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was an interesting display of an early car air conditioner. \u00a0Imagine attaching this onto the car window (in some cases it was displayed on the driver’s side)! \u00a0None of the vehicles were restored, being in the condition in which they were acquired, but most of the vehicles were in running condition.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The lunch counter at Pioneer Village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was a reasonably-priced snack bar where we got hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An old rocket ride (foreground) and one of the original Link Trainers from WWII (background)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found these two displays very interesting.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The first jet airplane made in the US<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That night we stayed in a ho-hum hotel in Minneapolis. \u00a0After an ordeal returning the rental car to the airport and taking a combination of light rail and taxi, Sam and I returned to the hotel for bed. \u00a0The next morning we were up early to pack and take the shuttle to the Amtrak station — just in time to find out the train was almost two hours late.<\/p>\n

\"Waiting<\/a>
Waiting for the train in Minneapolis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We barely made our connection in Chicago, but once on board our sleeper car, we enjoyed a relaxing journey from Chicago to Harper’s Ferry, WV.<\/p>\n

\"Playing<\/a>
Playing Phase 10 in the lounge car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the train from Minneapolis to Chicago we adjourned to the club car and played a game of Phase 10 while enjoying lunch.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/a>
Tom and Sam in their "roomette"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had two “roomettes” on the train. \u00a0A roomette could seat two people very comfortably. \u00a0At night the seats were made into a lower bunk. \u00a0The upper bunk folded out of wall\/ceiling, just like in old movies. \u00a0The kids deemed having their own roomette as “awesome.”<\/p>\n

\"Getting<\/a>
Getting ready for bed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Food on a train is quite good. \u00a0Meals in the dining car are included in the price of staying in the sleeping car. \u00a0Unlike on airplanes, where you get fed extruded meat paste if you get any food at all, on the train you get real food. \u00a0We each had steaks, vegetables, and baked potatoes. \u00a0Service was slow at dinner, so we’re not sure if the steaks were really excellent or whether they just tasted good because we were VERY hungry. \u00a0When we returned from dinner, our beds had been made up. \u00a0We had brought our desserts (cheesecake with strawberries) back to our rooms, so we ate dessert while watching a few Mickey Mouse cartoons on my laptop.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>
Sam and me at breakfast in the dining car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next morning, after Tommy and I had hot showers just down the hall from our roomettes, we all went to the dining car for omelets and French toast for breakfast.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The discerning foodie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our train arrived in Harper’s Ferry about 30 minutes late, where my parents picked us up. \u00a0Our car had been cluttering their driveway while we were gone. \u00a0After a nice lunch we headed home, our vacation completed.<\/p>\n

We only have about eight states left to meet our goal of visiting all 50. \u00a0Planning is underway for next year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After spending a little time walking around all the little shops in Estes Park, we bid farewell to sunny Colorado and headed for Nebraska. On the way to the booming metropolis of Minden, Nebraska, we stopped in Kearny for dinner. \u00a0Just off I-80 was the Buffalo Bill Cody trading post and museum. \u00a0The museum consisted … Continue reading The Trip Ends<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bucksurdu.com\/bucksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}