Friday, October 5, 2007
Riverside Zoo & Park, Scottsbluff, NE - Sept 20-21
This was our first time in Nebraska with the trailer. We were driving into a strong head-wind, so we stopped in Crawford, NE for gas, just to be on the safe side. Crawford is the only town of any size (actually it's the only town with a gas station!) between Tepid Springs & Scottsbluff, and is one of those places where you figure the wagon train must have broken down, else why would anyone stop? But over 1000 people seem content to call Crawford home, so who are we to criticize?
Scottsbluff is named after Scott's Bluff, now a National Monument, which, along with nearby Chimney Rock (now a National Historical Site), provided the first discernible landmarks for weary pioneers on their way to Oregon and California. It must have been with mixed emotions that travelers reached Scott's Bluff, knowing they had finally reached the end of the mind-numbingly featureless plains, and yet they were only a third done with their journey, with the most difficult parts still ahead.
With only one full day here, we actually had too many places we wanted to see. We visited Scott's Bluff NM, well worth the visit, and drove out to Lake Minatare State Rec Area, home to one of only seven inland lighthouses. Built by the CCC, it definitely felt like a "work for work's sake" kind of project -- who needs a lighthouse on a 2200-acre reservoir in Nebraska? 
But it was fun to visit anyway, and we could climb to the top for a good view of the surroundings. Driving back through town we noticed that a string quartet was being featured that evening at the Scottsbluff Historic Midwest Theater. Being big believers in kismet, we decided to check it out. The theater itself was worth the price of admission -- a beautifully renovated art-deco movie theater built in 1946. 
The Chiara String Quartet was invited to perform as part of Nebraska's Arts in School program. In two days they played in two student matinee performances, a school assembly, and a mini-concert, as well as overseeing a master class. In all they played for over 2000 students. At our concert they played an interesting program -- one complete work and "selections" from others. They are artists-in-residence at the U of Nebraska-Lincoln, and have just been named artists-in-residence at Harvard. Needless to say, they played flawlessly.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 4:06 PM 
