Atkinson Lake State Park to Fort Robinson State Park, NE

Wednesday – Mar 15  Burr….cold….27 degrees and still snow on the ground.  Luckily, we haven’t had snowy roads in Nebraska.   On this day, in 1912, my grandma Margaret Boyack was born. Thinking about her today.  It was her ancestors we visited near Table Rock yesterday.

When we were completing our registration form for the campground at the honor system box, I noticed that there were directions to a Tornado Storm shelter.  It was right behind where we parked. I walked over to take a picture and looked inside and you could probably get ten really close friends inside.  I guess in an emergency, it would be fine.  The door latched and seals so it was pretty clean.  The air vents are on top.

We drove out of Atkinson and headed to Bassett.  From studying our maps, we weren’t sure that we would be able to drive to the last cemetery. The roads were muddy and the last stretch was going to be a cow trail.  We drove 13 miles south on the highway and had nine to go at the turn off.  We just couldn’t chance it in the RV.  Poor old Ellen Dickerson.  Her husband was back in North Bend and her children moved on.

We continued west through the Sand Hills of Nebraska.  The Dickerson’s were out here trying to homestead.  No wonder they moved on.  It’s pretty bleak out here.  It’s cattle country now, but in order to keep a homestead, you had to harvest a crop. That was a real slim chance.  Next was Ainsworth, where we stopped for coffee. We had noticed hundreds of geese flying north all across Nebraska. 

We stopped at Fort Robinson State Park. We decided to spend the night.  The weather was up to 74 degrees.  We unloaded our bikes and road around this old army base.  It is a beautiful spot but was erected to help with the Indian Wars of 1876 – 1891. 

On the site, is a replica of the jail where Crazy Horse was held and then killed while allegedly trying to escape. Also the site of the Cheyenne Outbreak of 1879.  

The literature states that Crazy Horse surrendered 889 members of his tribe at Camp Robinson. Then he tried to escape only a few months later on Sept 5, 1877.  A sad part of our American history.

This fort is one of the best maintained forts we have visited over the years. It has also been used as largest training center for Army horses and mules in 1919; US Olympic Equestrian Team trained here from 1935-1939; German POW camp established 1943; USDA Beef cattle research station operated 1949 – 1971; and then taken over by Nebraska State Parks in 1955.

We spent the night at the Fort Robinson campground and were the only campers that night.