We finally got around to it. All summer Cindy and I have been talking about a road trip to places important scientifically and historically and to see some geography we have never seen.

The trip started early as we headed up I-80 for 175 miles or so. At that point we turned south toward Crete. We had never been to Crete or Doane University. The purpose of the stop was to donate my telescope and some instruments to the Boswell Observatory, the oldest surviving astronomy observatory west of the Missouri River. Built in 1883 the 8” refracting telescope in the observatory is still in use. The optics for the scope were built by Alvan Clark who 14 years later built the 40” lens for the Yerkes Observatory telescope in Wisconsin, still the largest refracting telescope in the world. We spent about an hour there talking with Dr. David Clevette, a chemistry professor and “keeper” of the observatory. We not only learned about the observatory, we learned about Doane University as well. It is named after Thomas Doane, an engineer and surveyor who surveyed and built a five-mile-long tunnel through Hoosac Mountain in Massachusetts, the first major tunnel built in the U.S.

We had a long day planned so we had to leave David and head down to the Homestead National Monument. I learned a great deal there. I had forgotten that the Homestead Act allowed women as well as men to homestead. I should have remembered because one of the first homesteaders in Gothenburg was Sara Holcombe who filed her claim in 1881. In addition, thousands and thousands of former slaves took advantage of the opportunity to own land of their own. Given that originally only men who owned land could vote, owning land eventually helped open up the path to suffrage for both Blacks and women.

We then put blind faith in Siri to get us from the monument to Rock Creek Station. Rock Creek was the first Pony Express station in Nebraska, and it is located just north of the Kansas border. Siri showed us some geography but got us there and we never left the blacktop. As a side note…all the roads we traveled were in excellent condition except I-80!

Rock Creek was closed but I was able to walk around it and then I got back into the car and asked Siri to take us to Marysville, Kansas. We went left, then right and left again down multiple county roads and all of a sudden there was a sign for the Hollenberg Pony Express Station! So, we drove on over. It was also closed but an interesting building. Back to the car and back to Siri with more lefts and rights and onto Marysville.

Marysville Pony Express Station was the first home station after the mail left St. Joseph. There is a nice museum there, though their book selection is not as good as the one here in Gothenburg. They also charge $10/person while ours is free. We spent an hour or so walking around the museum, watching an excellent film on the Pony Express and talking to the hosts. From the museum we went to Pony Express Park where there is a statue similar to the one that hopefully will be in Ehmen Park next summer. Near the statue were three “moving murals”. These murals are made of multiple tiles and as you walk along, they change…they appear to “move”. One was of the Pony Express, one of the Oregon Trail, and one of the railroad.

It was getting late, so we told Siri to take us to the Geographical Center of the Contiguous United States near Lebanon, Kansas. At the monument were two other couples. We all took turns taking pictures of each other in front of the monument. It was getting toward sundown so we told Siri to take us home. We traveled about 550 miles and burned a tankful of gas, but it was a great trip. I highly recommend a “road trip” for anyone with a free weekend!