Page 447 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

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plains, Lake McConaughy is Platte Canteen, which served
the state’s largest reservoir. countless pots of coffee and
Known locally as “Big Mac,” quantities of snacks to the
its cool waters are a prime troops who passed through the
breeding ground for rainbow town during World War II.
trout, catfish, walleye, and
white bass. The north shore P Buffalo Bill Ranch State
is lined with fine sand beaches, Historical Park and State
while the marshes, wood- Recreation Area
lands, and grasslands on the 2921 Scouts Rest Ranch Rd. Tel (308)
lake’s western end attract a 535-8035. Open daily for camping;
wide variety of waterfowl. house and barn open May–Sep; check
Loons, ducks, mergansers, and website for full info. Closed Oct–Apr.
& 7 ∑ outdoornebraska.ne.gov
western grebes frequent
Big Mac, making it one of the E Lincoln County Historical
richest birding spots in the Museum Bronze statue surmounting the Nebraska
Great Plains region. 2403 Buffalo Bill Ave. Tel (308) 534- State Capitol in Lincoln
5640. Open May–Sep: 9am–5pm
} Lake McConaughy State Mon–Sat, 1–5pm Sun; winter: by game at the 77,000-seat
Recreation Area appointment. & 7 Memorial Stadium since 1962.
1475 Hwy 61 N. Tel (308) 284-8800. The city’s principal landmark,
Open daily. & however, is the 400-ft (120-m)
Indiana limestone tower of the
Nebraska State Capitol.
t North Platte Completed in 1932, the “Tower
of the Plains” is surmounted by a
* 27,000. ~ @ n 219 S Dewey,
(800) 955-4528. ∑ visitnorth bronze statue of a man sowing
platte.com grain and visible for miles
around. Intricate murals and
Now one of the country’s major ornate ceilings adorn the
railroad centers, North Platte interior. The building houses
was the late 19th-century home the nation’s only unicameral
of the famed William “Buffalo legislature, a vestige of cost-
Bill” Cody (see p574). The saving measures introduced
comfortable ranch house he by the state during the Great
built on the outskirts of town Cody’s house in North Platte’s Buf alo Bill Depression of the 1930s.
was the base of operations for Ranch State Historical Park The state’s political history
his spectacular traveling Wild is related alongside its rich
West show until 1902, when he y Lincoln Native American heritage in
founded Cody in Wyoming. the excellent Nebraska History
Cody’s home is now part of the * 260,000. ~ £ @ n 201 N 7th Museum, which reopened in
Buffalo Bill Ranch State St, (402) 434-5348. ∑ lincoln.org 2016 after a year long renovation.
Historical Park and State The University of Nebraska
Recreation Area that includes a State capital and Nebraska’s State Museum, in the downtown
horse barn and log cabin from second-largest city, Lincoln is campus, has a wide-ranging
one of his previous ranches. also home to the University of collection of elephant fossils and
The nearby Lincoln County Nebraska, whose Cornhuskers Native American artifacts. In the
Historical Museum exhibits a football team is so popular that nearby historic Haymarket District,
replica of the famous North it has sold out every home several 19th-century warehouses
have been conver-ted into
bars, restaurants, and shops.
E Nebraska History Museum
15th & P Sts. Tel (800) 833-6747.
Open call or check website
for hours. Closed public hols. 7
∑ nebraskahistory.org
E University of Nebraska
State Museum
Morrill Hall, 14th & Vine Sts. Tel (402)
472-2642. Open 9:30am–4:30pm
Mon–Sat (to 8pm Thu), 1:30–4:30pm
Sun. Closed public hols. 7
A colorful billboard in a parking lot welcoming visitors to North Platte ∑ museum.unl.edu

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