Okay, I took a few days off which brought me (see Mobile Marathon Pundit) all the way to South Dakota, just north of Valentine, Nebraska.
Yes, it was a Scenic Byways journey.
Valentine is just west of the 100th meridian, so I officially made it to The West. Seeing that ponderosa pine grove (a western tree) in the Niobrara River Valley was quite moving.
Valentine is the county seat of Cherry County. That county is possibly the most remote pocket of real estate in the continental United States.
Cherry County is huge land wise, 5,961 square miles. Three states are smaller than that, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. But just 6,148 lived in Cherry County in 2000, according the us US Census Bureau--one-third of them in Valentine.
Nebraska's Sand Hills dominate Cherry County, just as the Sand Hills dominate one fifth of the Cornhusker State.
My journey took me through Illinois and Iowa too. I visited President Reagan's Boyhood Home in Dixon, IL as well as his birthplace in nearby Tampico.
Those last two have been on my "to do" list for years.
I just dropped off the film for my "real photos." Look for some great Sandhill shots.
Technorati tags: Nebraska Ronald Reagan Reagan Great Plains
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