Homestead National Monument Seg 13

Seg #13 Homestead Corridor Trail: 4/8/13

Start	Pickrell, NE	N  40.37869W-96.72634	N-S miles 8.8*
End	Beatrice,NE	N  40.25194W-96.73918	Trl lgth10.1 Ride 21mi

 

During the cold Iowa weather I have planned 45 trail rides in 24 states, from the 48th through the 35th parallel. Two more degrees of latitude (parallels) need to be planned to get me to the Mexican Border. Finding trails in the 33^rd and 34^th latitude has been challenging. With a case of cabin fever infecting me, I have been pushing the envelope to get out and ride some of these trails. While Connie hosted her college friend Linda, I went riding. First I headed down to Runnells to take Ian golfing and catch a few of Alex’s softball pitches. Clumsy old me, I succeeded in pulling a rib muscle or worst going for a high pitch. When I tripped and crashed to the ground, I felt every form of kinetic energy possible. Bones and muscles really don’t behave like they did thirty years ago! The next morning I found out how much I took healthy ribs for granted. Ouch! It was painful experience pulling my sweatshirt over my head, reaching into the cupboard to make the grandkids breakfast and  loading the bike for the Homestead Corridor Trail. Ibuprofen soon kicked in, so I headed down I-80 to Lincoln and then to Beatrice, Nebraska. The temperature was good but there was a fifteen mile per hour wind. 

Homesteaders refers to the first pioneers who settled in the Wild West following President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of July 4, 1861 regarding a new government program known as homesteading. Lincoln said the concept was ---“to evaluate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life”. Congress implemented the 1862 Homestead Act to encourage the western settlement of the United States. Daniel Freeman and his wife settled in the Beatrice area after filing for a claim ten minutes after midnight the day the Homestead Act went into effect. Freeman is recognized at the first American to pay $18 for 160 acres of land. He was expected to build and maintain a homestead for a minimum of five years. When a homesteader “proved up”, the property was deeded to the courageous souls who braved isolation and incredible living conditions. The Homestead National Monument commemorates pioneers who dared to expose themselves and family to challenges of homesteading. The last homestead was established in Alaska in 1974. 

The Homestead Corridor Trail is surfaced with crushed limestone, which is a surface I like to ride. There is a crunchy sound as you roll along that compliments the chirps of birds and an occasional mooing cow. I was hoping to roll right into the Homestead Monument grounds but the trail did not go that way and I was not going to ride a traffic road. That meant mounting my bike on the back of the car and driving to the monument.

Connie and I had visited the monument nearly twenty years ago.  At that time it the park seemed more realistic to the period, but now there is a huge building with Disney World displays---that just doesn’t do me much good. Needless to say, I took a photograph and headed out for Arkansas. It is four hundred miles from Beatrice to Bella Vista, Arkansas; too far to get there on Monday, but I drove as long as I could. When I started getting “bushed”, it was time to get a motel room in Wamego, Kansas. “Where-in-the-heck is that?”, you say. Take a look at a map and you will find this town east of Manhattan, Kansas. Wamego is at least three hours from Bella Vista and the Bentonville, Arkansas area.