Next stop ws just south of O'Neill, NE, along Hwy 281. There was a cache near this Historical marker, but recent rains made it so I would have had to wade through too much water. I passed on this one.The marker tells a bit of the history of 281, the first Hwy to reach from Mexico to Canada.
Through O'Neill after a gas stop. Next cache stop was on a bridge over the Niobrara River. The Niobrara is a National Scenic Riverway.
Looking south
Looking north
Crossed the river and turned east on Hwy 12. Nice rolling roads with sweeping turns. Next cache stop was at Briston Ne. at the cematary. Cemataries are popular cache spots. This was one of the most peaceful ones I've visited.
Next cache stop was at the Briston football field. Caches usually are placed in interesting places, some with historial significance. This cache related to the Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery, which passed through near here.
Next cache stop just down the road, again related to the Corp of Discovery. BTW- for a great book about Lewis and Clark and the Corp of Discovery, read "Undaunted Courage".
And so I reached Monowi.
Home of the World Famous Monowi Tavern
Elsie has been in Monowi for 39 years. Up until 6 years ago the town population was 2. Elsie and Rudy. Rudy passed away, and Elsie now keeps the tavern running. Said she gets visitors from all over the world. I didn't get a picture of her or the inside of the tavern. She seemed a little unimpressed about the whole deal. I did have a burger, chips and a Pepsi. The rest room was out back, a one holer. There are several buildings falling into ruin, but the roads through what was left of the town were very rutted and overgrown, and the 5 1/2 inches of rain they got earlier in the week didn't help so I didn't get too far back into town
From there I headed east to Niobrara State Park. This is overlooking the Niobrara River. Across the river is South Dakota.
This pic is coming out of Verdigre, NE.They lay claim to being the Kolache capital of Nebraska, but I was too late, the bakery was closed. So I headed home. Got home about 8:30 pm. Had a nice ride of about 400 miles or so, got a few geocaches, checked an item off the bucket list, and I turned 50. Not too bad a day.
