Cowboys and Old Cars: The Trail of the Wild West

We are still scratching our heads . . . How the heck did we find the Wild West?

Our discovery of western icons like Buffalo Bill’s Ranch, the Oregon Trail, Pony Express stations and the prairies that were once ruled by Indians like Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, was a lucky accident.

At the Mississippi River we had thrown our original route map into the trunk and carved out a horseshoe-shaped detour into southern Iowa and Nebraska.

We are not too sure why we changed course. Call it a hunch that paid off.

Our Western adventure begins on Interstate 80, west of Des Moines, Iowa, when we see an intriguing sign post: “Next Exit John Wayne’s Birthplace.” America’s most famous “cowboy.” What a find!

We hit the turn signal and veer off the highway to the Duke’s hometown of Winterset. “It has become a shrine. People come here to show their love and respect for the man,” says John Wayne Birthplace manager and curator Priscilla Steenhoek. A wall plaque reveals that President Reagan and six of John Wayne’s children have taken the $3 tour of the simple, two-bedroom, white, clapboard house where 13-pound Marion Robert Morrison (the Duke’s real name) was born in 1907.

In the busy gift shop, next-door to the home, visitors are urged to sign a petition to put John Wayne and his birthplace on a stamp. We pilgrims add our names to the petition, pack up our wagon and drive down John Wayne Drive out of Winterset.

We go west on Iowa 92 through country towns, some no larger than a handful of houses, that proudly post their community mottoes on big signs: “Fontanelle--A Place to Call Home”; “Massena--Home of the Friendly People.”

Crossing the Missouri River into Nebraska, we stop at Omaha’s tourist information center, where there is a hot cup of coffee and plenty of advice for weary travelers.

But some of the stranger tourist centers are stumbled upon by accident. We find the world’s largest covered wagon on exit 382 off Interstate 80. Inside the wagon, that must be at least as large as a five-story building, is a gas station.

We are not far from the historic route taken by the real covered wagons during the exciting westward expansion of the United States in the mid-1800s. One hundred miles down the road at Ft. Kearney we cross the Oregon Trail.

The fort was built to protect thousands of immigrants making the dangerous journey west in search of a new life, free land and gold. Today Ft. Kearney is a quiet historical site with a small museum and a reconstructed fortress. We set up our fort at a nearby state recreation area on the Platte River.

After two days of rest, a load of laundry and haircuts at Joseph’s School of Beauty in downtown Kearney, we drive to North Platte, the home of W.F. Cody, the legendary Buffalo Bill. The buffalo hunter, army scout, trapper, Western adventurer and international showman owned a stylish Italian-style two-story home.

A $2 state-park ticket gives us entry to the home; a barn turned into a museum, full of photographs and Western paraphernalia, and a film about the incredible life of the colorful pioneer. Among his friends were such legends of the wild West as sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Indian Chief Sitting Bull, Wild Bill Hickok and General Custer. We leave the ranch on Buffalo Bill Drive and head out of town toward the Cowboy capital of Nebraska, Ogallala and its famous cowboy cemetery, Boot Hill.

Western wranglers like Rattlesnake Ed--who was shot over a $9 card game--were buried on this scrubby patch of ground with their boots on. Most of the bodies have been removed from the hill, which is now surrounded by suburban houses, but there are timber grave markers and a statue of a cowboy riding a horse.

Traveling north on Highway 385, there are wheat fields, cattle ranches and even a roadside fence whose wooden posts are capped with cowboy boots.

In the town of Alliance, we come across another strange sight, “Carhenge.” The bizarre sculpture, made out of half-buried and balancing cars is a cross between Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Tex., and Stonehenge in England. “It’s a bit of fun . . . a whimsy,” says ranch owner and Carhenge creator, Jim Reinders, who is catching some shade under an upside down Chevy.

Reinders and a few locals have been putting the finishing touches on the automotive attraction. “We just took two Japanese cars out and put two American cars in their place,” says Reinders. “We want to help Mr. Bush with his buy-American campaign.”

We make a sheepish exit in our Toyota Corolla and drive north to Ft. Robinson State Park for a campsite and a ride ($1 apiece) in an all-American stagecoach, driven by a cowboy-hat wearing driver. “Sure is bumpy,” says Henri as he is thrown around the plywood interior of the stagecoach.

Both of the kids are laughing uncontrollably. Clouds of dry dirt, kicked up by the horses, blow through the open coach windows. “Yucky,” says Matilda, spitting out a mouthful.

Ft. Robinson State Park is a frontier outpost with a rich and controversial history. Sioux Indian Chief Crazy Horse was killed here in 1877 while in the custody of soldiers.

The park, the largest in Nebraska, has museums, cookouts, horse rides, nightly campfire activities and real western wildlife. We watch a herd of about 60 buffalo feeding in a large pasture south of the fort. At night we attend a campfire program in an outdoor movie theater with our fellow tent-city residents.

While the ranger changes the reels of a funky flick, we look to the west where there is a magnificent drama on the horizon. The sun is going down over the wide Nebraska plains. We sit for more than an hour and a half, sipping hot cocoa and watching an incredible wild West sunset. The evening sky is washed in shades of light pink, purple and orange.

All that is missing is a cowboy . . .

Cutting Costs by Camping

We have lived in our tent for the past two weeks and there is no doubt that camping is the ultimate in cost-cutting vacations. On most days we spend less than $30, and that includes gas, groceries and, often, lunch or breakfast at a restaurant.

But be forewarned: Camping over the summer is attractive to a lot of other people as well, and we are noticing that even on weekdays the campgrounds are getting busier. Some public campgrounds do take reservations, either over the phone or through the MISTIX ticket agency (800-365-CAMP); you must call most private campgrounds direct. At campgrounds where sites are available only on a first-come, first-served basis, the tip is to arrive early, around 9 a.m. if possible, to beat the rush.