nebraska

Through the Eyes of the Pioneers

| Chris

There’s this little town tucked in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. I was told about it by a friend years ago. So when I got a chance to travel to Nebraska, I made sure to make a detour. My wife and I were coming back home from Omaha and we decided to swing by a small town called Minden to visit this place my friend told me about. I wasn’t expecting much from a small town museum, but this place completely blew me away! And I love a good history lesson.

First, a bit about Minden itself. This tiny town of about 3,000 people has been around since 1876, when it was established and named after Minden, in Germany. The town was settled by German, Swedish, and Danish immigrants, which explains its quaint Midwestern charm and the incredibly friendly locals I encountered.

But the real star of the show is Pioneer Village, and calling it just a “village” is seriously underselling it. This place has 28 buildings on 20 acres housing over 50,000 irreplaceable items of historical value. It all started because of one guy, Harold Warp, who made his fortune in Chicago manufacturing plastic film. When he found out his hometown had put the one-room school house he attended as a child up for auction, he purchased the building in 1953 and just kept going from there.

Walking through the place feels like time travel. You’ve got everything from horse-drawn carriages to early automobiles, vintage farm equipment, household appliances and even old airplanes. The chronological layout really shows you how America evolved from pioneer days to modern times. We spent way longer there than I planned – there’s honestly something fascinating around every corner.

What struck me most was how well-preserved everything is. These aren’t just dusty artifacts sitting behind glass; most of the items are restored to operating order. You can actually see how these machines and tools worked, which makes history feel so much more real and tangible.

If you’re ever driving through Nebraska, definitely make the stop. Minden might be small, but Pioneer Village is easily one of the coolest museums I’ve visited. It’s the kind of place that reminds you how much ingenuity and hard work went into building this country. You’ll see it all through the eyes of the pioneers! And it’s way more entertaining than you’d expect from a small town museum.

Rolling Through Nebraska

| Chris

My wife and I just went on a weekend road trip across Nebraska. Our first stop was the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney. It’s a massive archway literally spanning Interstate 80, impossible to miss as you’re driving along. We pulled off to check it out. And I’m glad we did!

Talk about a bridge through time. The Archway tells the incredible story of how the Platte River Valley became America’s highway to the west. This was the same route that the pioneers used on the Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail. The valley was basically the GPS of the 1800s. The river provided water, the terrain was relatively flat, and it became the perfect pathway west. Later, the transcontinental railroad followed the same route, and eventually, so did Interstate 80.

Walking through the exhibits was quite an experience. It felt like time traveling between wagon trains and steam locomotives. I imagined following in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of people who made this same journey with so much more at stake. They were leaving everything behind for a new life, while I’m just road tripping with a can of Pringles, listening to an audiobook.

There were a couple of small windows you could peek through to see I-80 and the endless Nebraska sky stretching over the Platte River Valley. You can almost imagine those wagon trains stretched out across the landscape.

Okay! One stop in, and Nebraska’s already surprising me. This state’s got stories to tell, and I’m here to listen.

A Wintry Welcome

| Chris

On the way back home from this trip was a 9-hour grueling trek through bleak and dismal Nebraska. The photo below shows what was as clear as anything you saw throughout the entire stretch of the I-80 freeway from Iowa to Wyoming. I was glad to be home before the weather started to go downhill in my neck of the woods as well. Because, go down, it did!

Yet, I’m grateful for the chance to go on this unplanned epic, two-weeklong, 4,000 mile road trip in 12 states! All on a whim! Thanks to my friend, Russell for being behind the wheel the whole time or I would not have been able to take as many pictures as I did.

Now I can’t wait till the next one!