August, 2019

After having work done on my forks (new seals and bushings), I decided to head towards the Sand Hills of Nebraska. It's an area I've always liked and have ridden through many times.

One small town in an otherwise empty area on the map stood out: Purdum. That sounds like a good place to go.

This happens to be the same week as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the nearby Black Hills, but I would be avoiding all that.

Kansas

The far northeast of Kansas looks pretty much like Missouri, being just across the river. This cut-off corner is the only natural boundary of Kansas, the others being latitude and longitude lines drawn with no regard to what's actually there.

Horton, Kansas.

I had lunch at Grandma's Cafe. The main choice was either ground pepper-steak or fried chicken. The fresh chocolate cake with blueberries was a bonus.

Nebraska

Tecumseh, Nebraska is a county seat and has a particularly impressive courthouse. Many Nebraska counties and towns are named for Union generals, although in this case, I believe the town was named for the Shawnee chief and not General Tecumseh Sherman.

Amherst, Nebraska.

Sumner, Nebraska.

Entering the Nebraska Sand Hills. This is a vast area of land that hasn't been especially productive for farming, but is used for range land, if even that. For that reason, it hasn't changed much.

Anselmo, Nebraska.

Coal trains are a common sight on these tracks. I waved at the engineer and received a couple of toots in return. No matter your age; that's fun.

It's a vast land with hardly any fences or roads. It's dotted with hundreds of small lakes.

I can only guess at the amount of fertilizer that it has taken over generations of farming to sustain this field. Mostly, you won't see many farms like this in the Sand Hills.

Do you see those trees in the distance? That's Purdum.

Purdum, Nebraska.

I talked with a woman at the post office and learned a bit about the town (and about the condition of the unpaved road that continued).

The white building (below) is the old hotel (now a house) and the stucco building is a still-used mercantile.

Remarkably, Purdum still has its own bank.

Naturally, there are far more graves than people living in the town.

At ground level it's hard to see any pattern, but from the air these hills look like ripples in a lake during a strong wind.

The road continues, but not the pavement.

Mullen, Nebraska.

The tracks no longer serve the old grain elevator, but the main line that the BNSF coal trains use is in excellent condition.

Miles and miles...

As is often the case, whenever I stop to take a photograph in Nebraska, somebody is bound to stop to see if I need any assistance. You can just see the pickup of the farmer who did just that (below right).