Scotts Bluff, Nebraska - October 14th to 15th, 2022
Scotts Bluff was our last stop for Season Five: Alaska Bound. We had been on the road for six and a half months. Scotts Bluff was not the highlight of our trip, but it was a great way to wind down the season. A little history and some pretty scenery set between two small Nebraska towns.
Our drive from Custer State Park in South Dakota to Robidoux RV Park in Gering, Nebraska was pretty uneventful. It was only about a three hour drive, so we took our time leaving Blue Bell Campground. We dumped our gray tanks at the dump station near State Game Lodge before hitting the road. Other than a gas station stop, the only other stop was at a city park in the cute little town of Crawford, Nebraska. The park was nicely shaded, with a playground, a restroom that was still open, and even a campground. It was a little too windy to sit outside, so we sheltered in the van, but left the side door open for fresh air since it was warm outside. We could hear cattle and somewhat hear an announcer on a PA system. We’re assuming there was a cattle auction going on nearby, but we couldn’t see it.
We arrived at the Robidoux RV Park in the late afternoon. It was extremely windy, too windy to sit outside. The campground has a few small trees, but otherwise feels very open and exposed. Scotts Bluff can be seen in the distance. We hung out in our Red Tail Lodge for the rest of the day. We were saving a visit to Scotts Bluff National Monument for Saturday.
On the way to Scotts Bluff, we stopped in Gering in search of a bakery for a morning treat. The Gering Bakery was only counter service with no space to sit inside, so we continued down the street.
The Mixing Bowl Café seemed to be a popular place. They had table service and pastries along with a full menu of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and breakfast items. After enjoying our pastries and chai latte, we stopped at the Gering Bakery on the way back and purchased more pastries for later. It was our last day on the road as we were heading for home on Sunday, so we wanted to make sure we got our fill of goodies.
Scotts Bluff towers 800 feet above the North Platte River, creating a recognizable feature to those passing by. The Lakota Sioux called it Me-a-pa-te, meaning “hill that is hard to get around”. The early travelers along the Oregon Trail swung wide around the bluff to the south. Later, a route was created through Mitchell Pass, where the Scotts Bluff National Monument visitor center stands today. The newer route was eight miles shorter. Scotts Bluff is named after Hiram Scott, a clerk who worked for a fur company. It is believed that he died somewhere near the bluff on his way to St. Louis from a fur trading rendezvous in 1828.
A museum inside the visitor center includes a collection of artwork from Willam Henry Jackson. He was an artist and photographer. His paintings include the Oregon Trail based on sketches he did while working as a bullwhacker for a freight outfit earlier in his life.
After exploring the visitor center, we drove the road up to the summit of the bluff. The 1.6 mile windy road goes through three tunnels on the way, the only vehicular tunnels in all of Nebraska. If your vehicle is too long or wide for the summit road, then you can hike up to the top via the Saddle Rock Trail.
After eating lunch at the summit, we drove back down to the visitor center and hiked the trail. The three mile (round trip) paved trail rises 568 feet. It goes up to the same place as the Summit Road, but we would recommend doing both if you can. It is about the journey, not the destination. There are different views and perspectives when taking both routes. At the top, there are a couple of short trails over to a few different viewpoints looking out over the surrounding terrain, including the towns of Scottsbluff and Gering.
Because the Saddle Rock Trail is paved the whole way, we completed the three mile hike pretty quickly, in about an hour and 15 minutes. That left enough time in the afternoon to search for ice cream in the town of Scottsbluff.
The shop we found is called Platte Valley Creamery. Unfortunately, they only had their drive thru window open. We would have preferred dining inside, but we were already parked and had gotten out before we realized their dine-in was closed. So we walked up to the drive thru window. A very friendly, gray haired man waited on us. Keith thought his vanilla shake was OK, while Ann thought the ice cream was top notch, very tasty. Later, we learned that the man is Ron Smith, who owns the store and has been making ice cream there since 1980.
And so ended Season Five: Alaska Bound. Six and a half months is a long time to be on the road. We were ready to go home and see our children again. Even though they are independent adults, we still missed them and gave them big hugs when we arrived back home.
Check out our related video: Scotts Bluff, Nebraska
(Ann)