A few pictures of Rock Creek Station this year

[Delmonico]

Won't hijack Bill's thread but I put some up, guess I forgot to.

Anyway I tried a new job for a bit this year when everyone was fed.   Don't want to take it up full time, I guess I'm gettin' to old to just slide up there.

















I'm still going through pictures and uploading them, but will see if I can get some more up, took about 400 down there and my pard took a bunch also, he just got them to me a week or so ago.

Besides that I'm still going through about 600-700 I've taken of storms here lately, any one want to see a couple funnel clouds or a sorta poor one of a tornado on the ground?

And some links to Cosie's Corner with pics of the food.



http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,21213.0.html

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,21190.0.html

Some of those dishes will most likely show up at the GAF Muster in Oct, I've heard rumors one night is gonna be the Chicken Fried Steak with sausage gravy.

[Leo Tanner]

I'll think of you everytime one of the kids yells, "I got shotgun!"  If only they knew...


Leo

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

The bottom two photos are my favorites, looking across the wide expanse of the grasslands, at the coach in the distance.....man that looks right out of the 19th century.

Bill

[Delmonico]

The bottom two photos are my favorites, looking across the wide expanse of the grasslands, at the coach in the distance.....man that looks right out of the 19th century.

Bill

Sadly it ain't a wide expanse of grasslands, a bit of cropping and a good angle.  As you most likely know the Tall Grass Prarie is a very endangered habitat, farming, J. Sterling Morton and his danged Arbor Day, plus who ever decided to drag in Brome Grass from the Steppes of Russian has about done it in.  Shortgrass type that starts just west of us is in much better shape.  The good thing, folks out here realize it and are working danged hard to save what we have.

Nice chunk of original prairie there,



Another angle of the same, you can see the ruts where the trail went to the west of Rock Creek headed to Ft. Kearny.



Second set, a bit south of the first, almost dark



The mowed path is so folks coming down from the vistor's center can be kept to one path.  There are unmarked graves on this hillside, can be seen in B&W satellite photos.

A color shot from the front on the stage showing the mules:



1860 photo of the East Ranch:



How it looks today:



A couple shots of the cook camp set up:





Was disapointed because my friend Dave who took most of the stage pictures sold his chuckwagon I've been using, but he got offered a good deal and was not really happy because it was built on a farm wagon, sometimes used for round-ups but not on long drives.  So he bought a freight type wagon and hopes to have it done by Hollenburg in Aug.

My sleeping quarters:





A little blackpowder smoke:





And a tongue in cheek photo:



Sepia tones make it PC.

Rebuilt toll bridge, in 1860 that would have cost me 50 cents.

[River City John]

Great pics, Delmonico.

I especially like the comparison pics of 1860 and today taken from about the same angle.

With your permission I'd like to put those two in my pics collection. . . .I like 'em!
RCJ

[Delmonico]

Great pics, Delmonico.

I especially like the comparison pics of 1860 and today taken from about the same angle.

With your permission I'd like to put those two in my pics collection. . . .I like 'em!
RCJ

Add any you want, I forgot to take a copy of the 1860 photo with me, next year I will try to remember and see if I can get it right, was going by just memory. 

Hope things work out so you can come again next year.

[River City John]

If it isn't obvious where the ruts are I've taken the liberty of indicating them. Compare to pic above. Once you've visited the site and seen where to look for them they are very apparent.
Has anyone traced them along the whole length of old cut-off road to Ft. Kearny and photo-documented them? At least the few spots where they are still visible?

[Delmonico]

If it isn't obvious where the ruts are I've taken the liberty of indicating them. Compare to pic above. Once you've visited the site and seen where to look for them they are very apparent.
Has anyone traced them along the whole length of old cut-off road to Ft. Kearny and photo-documented them? At least the few spots where they are still visible?

Thanks John, there was a guy doing that in 1999 and spent the weekend down there with us.  But he never seems to have got his book done or at least we've heard nothing about it.

"Note, this is on the St. Joe-Ft. Kearny road that is often called The Oregon Trail."  There were several roads that lead to Ft. Kearny from different towns south of the Platte.  (Most who left from Omaha-Council Bluffs traveled the north side of the Platte which is often called The Morman Trail)  The Nebraska City-Ft Kearny Road roughly follows Nebraska Highway 2 to Lincoln and 6 on west.  I need to find out if there are still ruts along that stretch also, there is a lot of pasture land where the trail went, some is still native.  There was also one which started from Brownsville  and Plattesmouth."

[River City John]

Hope things work out so you can come again next year.

All these big traveling events I like to go to keep getting scheduled at the same time. This coming year it will be Coyote Gulch in the rotation. May have to plan on me bugging you at the 2010 event.

My hope, and now come to think of it my biggest dread, is that the scheduling on these events opens up so as to spread themselves out a bit.

RCJ

[Delmonico]

All these big traveling events I like to go to keep getting scheduled at the same time. This coming year it will be Coyote Gulch in the rotation. May have to plan on me bugging you at the 2010 event.

My hope, and now come to think of it my biggest dread, is that the scheduling on these events opens up so as to spread themselves out a bit.

RCJ

Well your welcome anytime.