Our first stop, Mel Gould’s Buryville, appears to be full of junk yard art. Since it was early in the morning we didn’t knock on his door.

Then we took off to see a very big statue of the Virgin Mary in Pine Bluffs WY. Humorously, Ellen placed Tickle on the ‘sacrificial altar’ for a picture… ha!

Next, we drove by Gotte Park in the town of Kimball to see what remains of an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)…a remnant of the Cold War. Those of us that grew up during that period remember the procedure: “Drop to your knees, hold your hands over your head and neck and kiss your a_ _ good-bye!” Well, it went a bit like that.

The Fourth Street Museum in Ogallala NB was closed! We don’t know why but we got a few good pictures.

So, after lunch, we headed for the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center in North Platte NB. From the top we had panoramic views of the Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard ~ the world’s largest rail yard. It is where east meets west on the Union Pacific line, and where 10,000 cars are handled each day on 2,850 acres of land stretching out eight miles.

Not far away is a tourist trap: Fort Cody Trading Post. What’s different about it is that it has a free exhibit of Buffalo Bill Cody’s circus in handcrafted animated miniatures.

Last up was the Sod House Museum in Gothenburg NB. Alas, it was closed! We were able to capture a few shots of an Indian and a buffalo.

Good news about the California fire smoke. Somewhere between North Platte BN and our hotel it started to clear up. We may be getting far enough away to see blue skies. Who knows?