Sunday, June 12, 2011
We left Lincoln, Nebraska this morning and began following the Platte River westward, just as many of our forefathers did centuries ago. The Platte River will play a vital role in our journey and we stopped several times today to view the river from various locations. The view of the Platte River shown (see Looking West above) is not typical for this section. This region is starting to feel the effects from the high volume of snow accumulation in the Rockies and the subsequent snow melt that follows each spring. The “locals” from Nebraska assured me that it is usually possible to walk across the river at this location. The Platte River was dammed during the 1940s as one of the WPA projects and its flow is regulated for irrigation and other water uses.