Original subtitles

(air whooshing)

(inspirational music)

(upbeat music)

- Our journey begins at Chimney Rock

one of Nebraska's best-known natural wonders.

From there, we follow the North Platte River

to Lake McConaughy with its sandy shores

and a popular place for holiday makers.

Following the river east,

we come to the city of North Platte

and one of the biggest railroad yards in the world.

Also in the city is William Cody's Ranch,

better known to millions as Buffalo Bill

of the American Old West.

Heading south, we leave the river

and explore the wooded area of the Loess Canyons,

a biologically unique landscape.

From here, we head back towards the North Platte River

and the city of Kearney.

Our final location is Fort Kearney,

just south of the city.

It was built to protect the settlers

who journeyed along the Oregon Trail.

(serene music)

In the middle of the 19th century,

thousands upon thousands of people

headed west along the Oregon Trail.

They were mainly immigrants

who had arrived in America from Europe

and sought a new life in a land out west.

The landscape the encountered on their journey

was harsh and often difficult to traverse.

The weather created extra problems

with storms turning the tracks into quagmires.

But still, these pioneers came.

Around 400,000 over 20 years from 1846.

Along the way were key landmarks

for the travelers to see.

And one of the most recognizable was Chimney Rock.

(inspiring music)

This natural geological formation

which can be seen from a great distance across the plains

is a remnant of the erosion

of the surrounding landscape.

The pillar consists of clay and volcanic ash

with a harder sandstone core.

The softer outer layers have eroded away,

leaving this 91-meter-high landmark.

(serene flute music)

Native Americans called the rock Elks Peak.

The first non-native to see it

were probably fur traders in 1813,

who were thought to have given it

the name of Chimney Rock.

Travelers along the Oregon Trail

mentioned this landmark more than any other.

In fact, many thought it an optical illusion,

as it appeared to get further away

the closer you got to it.

Over the decades, erosion and a few lightning strikes

have reduced its height.

In 1956, it was designated a National Historic Site.

50 miles away to the southeast is another landmark

along the Oregon Trail, the Courthouse and Jail Rocks,

which rise 121 meters above the valley.

It was in 1837 that the name Courthouse

was first used for the large rock.

So, it is perhaps understandable

the smaller one was referred to as the Jail.

The pioneers might've seen bighorn sheep

like these ones on Courthouse Rock.

In the mid-19th century,

there might well have been nearly two million of them.

But hunting, disease, and loss of food

from livestock grazing all but wiped them out.

In 1996, there were estimated to be only a few hundred.

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Today, they are a federal endangered species,

and as a result, the numbers of these

nimble mountain dwellers is steadily increasing.

The vast open spaces of Nebraska

are both beautiful, dramatic, and dangerous.

In summer, it's extremely hot.

And in winter, icy cold.

Without water, livestock and other animals,

including humans, can quickly perish.

And the bleached bones of this cow

remain as a reminder of how harsh this landscape can be.

But where there is water, crops will grow

and towns and cities thrive.

(serene guitar music)

This is the North Platte River,

which rises in Colorado,

flows through Wyoming, and ends in Nebraska,

where, after 1,000 kilometers,

it flows into the Platte River,

which in turn flows across the state

and into the mighty Missouri on the Iowa border.

Even though it is not navigable,

the river provided two essentials

for not only the early pioneers,

but also the fur traders:

water and grass for their livestock.

And it was the fur traders who improved the trail

so that the wagons of the later settlers could use it.

And the tracks along the river can still be seen

in various places,

and tell their own story of the thousands who passed by

as the United States spread westwards.

(serene music)

Ahead of us is Lake McConaughy,

a reservoir created in the 1930s

to store water for irrigation,

which helped Nebraska to become one of America's

leading agricultural states.

Filled by the North Platte River,

the lake is 35 kilometers long

and just under seven kilometers at its widest.

It's the largest reservoir in the state

and was built during the Great American Depression,

providing much-needed jobs for 1,500 people.

The lake also serves as a very popular

recreational facility, and on the south side

is a relatively new golf club, called Bayside.

It's a family-built and family-owned course,

which was fully opened in 2001.

(serene music)

The design was inspired by the open plains

of western Nebraska

and to give the players the feeling

of an untouched landscape.

Indeed, it's possible to come across

a Native American Sioux arrowhead

just outside the course boundary.

And the sense of a modern life meeting history

is well-incorporated at Bayside.

And when the course has been played,

there are always long walks to be enjoyed

on the white sandy beaches of the lake.

Nearly everything about Lake McConaughy is big.

The reservoir was constructed in an area of sandy soil

and the result is pristine beaches around the lake.

It's like being by the sea in a state

that is nearly 2,000 kilometers

from the nearest coast.

This makes it one of the top visitor attractions,

and on the Fourth of July weekend,

it's at its most popular.

American Independence Day brings out thousands

in their camper vans to park by the lake.

Here they can swim, go fishing, sail,

water ski, scuba dive, or just stay on the sandy beach

and have a family barbecue.

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While families enjoy all the lake can offer,

its main function is for irrigation.

As far back as the late 19th century,

there were discussions about bringing water to the area,

with eventual construction in the 1930s,

came change, and many people were forcibly moved

out of the valley, and were not offered

the true dollar amount their land was worth.

Homes, fences, barns were taken down.

All that was left were foundations and memories

under 40 meters of water.

But with time, Lake McConaughy has proved hugely successful

not only for the water it supplies for local communities

and farms, but also for its recreational facilities,

which has made it the most popular tourist destination

in the state.

And over the Independence Day weekend,

upwards of 150,000 people will have enjoyed all

that Lake McConaughy has to offer.

The water is held back by Kingsley Dam,

one of the largest hydraulic fill examples in the world.

It was created by pumping sand and gravel

from the river bed to form its sides,

while pumping soil and water into the center

to form its watertight core.

In the 1980s, the hydroelectric plant was completed,

providing much-needed power to the local area.

The outflow is known as the rooster tail,

which has been designed so that Lake Ogallala

is oxygenated and better able to support aquatic life.

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The bottom lake was formed by the sand

and gravel extraction for the dam.

It's a popular place for fishing,

and in particular, rainbow trout,

which were introduced after the dam was completed.

Other fish you might catch here include perch,

catfish, and if you are lucky, a largemouth bass.

Our journey now continues east

along the North Platte River on its final 200 kilometer leg

before joining the Platte River.

The flow of the river is now controlled

by the various dams along its 1,000 kilometer course.

This means that the water from the melting snow

in the Rockies in the west

or storms, which can cause serious flooding,

can be largely absorbed in the reservoirs

and released in a measured way.

However, if Lake McConaughy fills to capacity,

then the outlets have to be fully opened.

And flooding in this lower section of the river will occur.

If that happens, then the sport of tanking

would be suspended.

However, today the river is just right

for this very Nebraskan pursuit.

It's said that a bored rancher

put a couple of deck chairs in a cut-down

steel grain stock tank, climbed aboard,

and gently floated down the river.

The idea caught on, and today tanking is almost mandatory

for travelers in the state.

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Many of the rivers in Nebraska are ideally suited to tanking

as they are shallow and relatively slow-moving,

making it safe for families of all ages.

It's a great way to travel,

watch the scenery pass by,

and perhaps share a picnic lunch.

Today's travelers land at a predetermined stop

and then get a lift back to the start

along with the tank.

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One of the great sights of Nebraska

are the hundreds of long freight trains

crossing the landscape on their way

between the east and west coasts.

The main railroad route was laid out

in the mid-19th century

by the Union and Central Pacific Railroads,

and it followed the Great Platte Valley route,

which was first used by the roaming buffalo,

the Indians, then by fur traders,

and the pioneers along the Oregon Trail.

Today, the Union Pacific operates 8,500 locomotives

over 50,000 kilometers of track in 23 states.

It employs over 42,000 people

and is one of the largest transportation companies

in the world.

This coal train is on its way to North Platte

and the largest marshaling yard in the world.

This is Bailey Yard,

where locomotives and freight cars

are sorted, serviced, repaired, and fueled.

Most of the major railroad tracks

funnel through this yard from across America

east to west, and north to south.

On average, 150 trains and over 14,000 railroad cars

pass through here each day.

Locomotives can be serviced in a racing-like pit stop

called a run-through, in 45 minutes.

In 1995, Bailey Yard was officially recognized

in the Guinness Book of Records

as the largest in the world.

In order to appreciate its size,

the Golden Spike Tower was opened in 2008

so that train fans could get a good view of the yard.

There are two observation decks,

one enclosed and the other open.

From here, visitors can see more than 550 kilometers

of track and trains coming in from all directions.

The tower was named after the Golden Spike

which was the last one to be hammered into the track

where the first transcontinental railroad

was finally completed in 1869 at Promontory Point in Utah.

North Platte is a railroad city,

but in its early days it was known as hell on wheels.

The phrase was used to describe the itinerant collection

of flimsily-assembled gambling houses,

dance halls, saloons, and brothels,

that passed for a town for railroad workers.

North Platte grew from these tough beginnings.

One of the city's most colorful figures

from the American Old West

was William Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill.

(serene guitar music)

In 1878, he decided to build a ranch here

and made use of the railway

to transport his Wild West show across America.

He called his new home Scouts Rest Ranch,

perhaps referring to his days as an army scout.

He painted the name on his barn roof

so it could be seen from the railroad.

Cody House was built in 1886

in what is known as the Second Empire style

and must have appeared extremely grand at the time.

He lived here with his wife and daughters

along with his sister and brother-in-law,

who ran the ranch.

The house cost $3,900 to build,

which is the equivalent of roughly $100,000 today.

In 1964, the house was purchased

by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

as part of the process for making Scouts Rest Ranch

a state historical park.

Close to the house is the modern rodeo ground.

Back in 1882, Buffalo Bill created the first

major rodeo here in North Platte,

which eventually turned into the modern professional rodeo.

Visitors wishing to travel back in time

can visit the Lincoln County Historical Museum,

where early pioneer history is preserved

in a western village.

Dating from 1860 to the mid-20th century,

the historic buildings have been rescued

from the Lincoln County area

and then restored and rebuilt here.

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They've been laid out to form a small town

from the late 19th century.

Opened in 1976, the museum gives visitors

a chance to see how the early pioneers

lived and worked in this part of the midwest.

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Our journey now takes us south

to a biologically unique landscape, the Loess Canyons.

It's often said that Nebraska

is a flat state with not much undulating landscape.

These canyons prove otherwise.

The word loess has a German origin

that means a type of sediment

formed by the accumulation of windblown dust

which over thousands of years

has created this myriad of canyons.

The prairie landscape is an important habitat

for hundreds of species of plants and animals.

Visitors come to see wild turkeys, hawks,

kestrels, and the great prairie chicken,

which performs an unusual mating dance.

A trail named after this bird

winds its way through the canyons

in a landscape unaltered since early settlers

came through looking for land to farm.

And farming today is the heart and soul of Nebraska.

It's the state's leading economy,

contributing more than $25 billion a year.

There are around 50,000 productive farms and ranches

spread across 18 million hectares.

And this represents 92% of Nebraska's total land area.

The main crops are wheat, soybeans, hay, grain,

sorghum, sugar beets, and potatoes.

But one crop outdoes all the others: corn.

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Almost half the state's farms grow corn

and it's the third-largest producer in America.

Its main uses today are for livestock feed

and producing ethanol for fuel.

Growing successful crops needs water,

and one of the most common ways of irrigation

is by the center pivot system,

also known as the water wheel and circle method.

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Driven by a small electric motor,

a 500-meter sprinkler will take three days

to complete a circuit.

Some of the harvested farm produce

will travel by road,

and more than likely, on Interstate 80.

It runs east to west, California to New Jersey,

for just under 5,000 kilometers.

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750 kilometers of the I-80 runs across Nebraska

and follows the Platte River Valley,

just like the railroad and the early pioneers' trails did.

Today, large freight trucks have replaced mule-drawn wagons.

This is the city of Kearney.

The arrival of the railroad and the end of the Civil War

in 1865 accelerated the city's growth,

from under 1,000 people to well over 30,000 today.

Kearney is home to the University of Nebraska.

It started life in 1903 as a college

for training teachers and students.

It was only in 1991 that it officially became part

of the state's public university system.

Today around 7,000 students study here

and the campus covers 95 hectares.

As in most American universities,

sport is important, and the university football team

are called the Lopers,

after the Nebraskan pronghorn antelope.

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Kearney also boasts a number

of important historic houses,

including the Doctor A. O. Thomas House,

which was designed in the classical style

during the 1900s.

It's notable for its two-story columns

supporting the porch roof,

giving it a very grand appearance.

The George W. Frank House

was built in the neo-classical revival style

around 1906, in an exclusive suburb of Kearney.

He was an architect and designed it for himself.

The house is built of Colorado sandstone,

which was quarried in Wyoming and then cut on the site.

The handsome Downing House is a cottage orne,

or ornamented cottage, and is full of architectural detail.

It was built for a Mr. Hanson

and later sold to a Mr. Downing.

In 1930, this striking house was sold

to the Kearney Women's Club,

who still use it as their clubhouse.

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The John and Lenora Bartlett House

was built in the Victorian Queen Anne style in 1888

with each side of the house very different from the others.

It cost a staggering $30,000 to build

when other similar-size houses in the area

were around $5,000.

The John Barnd House exemplifies

another example of the Queen Anne style

and was built in 1892.

Barnd was a successful lawyer and businessman

as well as a county judge.

All the houses we have just seen here in Kearney

are on the National Register of Historic Places

and thus protected from future development.

Straddling the Interstate 80 at Kearney

is the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.

It was designed to show visitors

the history of the trails

that pass through the river valley.

Sadly, this 300 meter bridge opened in 2000,

never attracted enough visitors, and went bankrupt.

However, the city of Kearney took it over in 2013

and with the new interchange close by,

it's hoped that it will attract more people.

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In 1846, the US Secretary of War

recommended that a chain of forts

be constructed that would protect the settlers

on the Oregon Trail.

Fort Kearny was laid out in a square

with a large parade ground close by,

surrounded by cottonwood trees

and a flagstaff was erected in the center.

The fort, and eventually the town,

was named after Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny,

who had built an earlier fort along the trail.

Its main function was to provide aid to travelers.

It was to be the only fort for 100 miles

in either direction.

As a result, it was often a scene of intense activity

in the summer months with hundreds of wagons

and their ox teams passing through every day.

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In 1871, Fort Kearney was abandoned,

partly as a result of the new railroad

bringing settlers west.

That is, until 1928 when an association was formed

to reconstruct the original fort

and some of the other buildings,

including a visitor center

to tell the story of Fort Kearny

and the part it played in opening up the west

to hundreds of thousands of settlers.

A perfect place to end this journey.

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(inspirational music)

(whooshing)