Author Archives: Joe Burns

Autumn travel – home and away

Recently, I returned home after from spending the better part of two weeks in Wyoming and Colorado.  I had been planning this trip for several months. I also had a pass to visit Yosemite National Park, but with so many wildfires in northern California, I changed my plans.   Earlier in the fall I hadContinue reading “Autumn travel – home and away”

Trail opens acres of park land to view

New vistas are open to view at  Black Elk Neihardt Park in Blair thanks to volunteers who have carved out a new mountain bike  and multi-use trail at the western edge of the park.  The trail opens up acres of park property that have been nearly inaccessible due to dense trees, grass and brush.

Looking for landmarks

Chimney Rock near Bayard, Nebraska is the signature landmark on the Oregon Trail.  The stone column rises nearly 300 feet above the North Platte river valley.  The national historical site  and visitors center is maintained and operated by History Nebraska. The museum inside the center has been expanded and updated. The exhibits are interesting andContinue reading “Looking for landmarks”

In Search of the Oregon Trail

After reading “The Oregon Trail A New American Journey” I knew where my next road trip would take me. The book is the story of the author Rinker Buck’s,  “crazy ass passion” to make the first unassisted covered wagon crossing of the Oregon Trail in over 100 years. I was totally captivated by the personalitiesContinue reading “In Search of the Oregon Trail”