FAMILY 5 FAMILY PHOTO OPS Photo ops can be spontaneous, but more often, they’re carefully sought out. Nebraska’s intriguing places and exceptional scenery make perfect spots for snapping a picture of your family’s together-time. 1. CARHENGE, ALLIANCE Pose as sunbeams fi lter through sculptures—39 vintage cars, sprayed gray— circle up to represent England’s Stonehenge. Hudson-Meng Research and Education Center, Crawford FOR FUTURE PALEONTOLOGISTS Fossil beds, excavations and natural museums // 4 sites you’ll “dig” // 1 national monument Described as a prehistoric Pompeii, Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park in Royal showcases fossilized rhinoceroses, camels and horses that were embedded as they died by inhaling volcanic ash. It’s the world’s only site where entire three-dimensional skeletons of large prehistoric animals are preserved—and remains an active dig. At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison, craggy cliffs dominate the empty landscape. Inside those cliffs are bones—in fact, this is one of the most complete Miocene mammal sites on the globe. Hike the trails of this dramatic landscape to spot the fossils. Scientists have yet to solve the primeval puzzle at Hudson-Meng Research and Education Center near Crawford. Containing bones of approximately 600 extinct bison, you can watch ongoing excavation. View two Ice-Age bull mammoths with their tusks locked in combat at the Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park; a fl oor-to-ceiling mural depicts the battle. At Morrill Hall at the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History, learn the story of Nebraska from the arrival of the Paleoindians to present-day urban and agricultural land use. CREDITS: JOHANSEN KRAUSE; ART WHITTON; THE WESTERN NEBRASKA TOURISM COALITION 2. SCOTTS BLUFF NATIONAL MONUMENT, GERING After you’ve navigated the corkscrew roadway to the summit, take an 800-foot-high panorama above the Platte Valley. 3. MISSOURI RIVER BASIN LEWIS & CLARK VISITOR CENTER, NEBRASKA CITY Climb aboard a replica of Lewis & Clark’s keelboat. Because why not? Trailside Museum of Natural History, Fort Robinson State Park 4. WORLD’S LARGEST COVERED PORCH SWING, HEBRON Sit a spell on this super-sized swing suspended from a center-pivot irrigation frame. 5. GO TANKING Snap your photo while drifting lazily—in a stock tank—down a Nebraska lake or river. Outfi tters like Get Tanked in Ericson will equip you. Pro Tip: Make a game of counting one of Nebraska’s oddest roadside wonders, old cowboy boots slipped over the tops of fence posts. Watch along U.S. Highway 26 between Lewellen and Ogallala. VisitNebraska.com 27
Nebraska Official State Travel Guide The Official 2020 Not-At-All What You Thought State Travel Guide: Page 27
