Normally we only stop occasionally on the way to our campsite to get fuel and go to the bathroom, but today we stopped no less than three times to look at famous landmarks and monuments. The first place we stopped was Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is the most mentioned landmark in journals made by migrants on the Oregon trail and the California trail. It was important to travelers because if they didn’t reach it before a certain date the journey would be much harder, if not impossible, due to it being winter when they crossed the Rocky Mountains.
The second place we saw was Scott’s Bluff, so named for a fur trapper who had been buried there. It was part of a pass that travelers used called Mitchels pass. There was another route that was safer, but took a day longer. There was a walking trail and a car trail to the top, but we didn’t do either because the rv wasn’t allowed up the car trail and we weren’t up for a long walk. We did however do a little bit of the walking trail, which I found fun but tiring.
The last thing we visited was another fossil bed. Apparently Nebraska has a lot of fossil beds. Like Ashfall the fossils weren’t dinosaur bones, but mammal ones instead. Unlike it though the animals didn’t die from suffocation, instead they died of malnutrition caused by a drought. Also unlike Ashfall there were quite a few predators. However, in my opinion the scariest thing was a creature that we affectionately called “pig beast.” It was from six to eight feet tall at the shoulder and built like a tank. The fossils were originally discovered in 1889 by rancher James Cook who thought they were petrified horse bones. Around ten years later he invited paleontologists to come and take a look and every one of them was amazed by how many and how complete the fossils were. This has definitely been the best day on the road so far.
Aleah vs pig beast 
Really appreciate hearing about your trip as you go !
When your Dad was young, for a number of years we went to a ranch in Montana. I remember a story about a rancher who brought Texas longhorn cattle up to Montana and because the vegetation was different than that in Texas, the cattle didn’t know what was safe for them to eat. Who k ew that the cow’s knowledge was local to where they were born! They ate something (Cici might remember what it was) that was poisonous to them and most of the herd died. So…..beware…..out of state cows might not recognize the weeds! 😂