On the long drive from Chadron, NE, to Sterling, CO, I went straight through Alliance, NE. Now, I’ve been to Alliance before… but unlike a few other spots along the way of this Center of the Nation tour, I was there previously on my own. So I didn’t mean doing a revisit Hanna Solo.
Alliance is home to the world famous Carhenge. It was most recently in the spotlight during the Solar Eclipse as various druish and non-druish aficionados descended upon the “Stonehenge Made from Cars” crazed dream/inspired lunacy that is this truly special Roadside America attraction.
Upon my arrival, there were only two or three other cars in the lot and I could very easily wander the site with little to no human interaction. Which is as I like it when visiting such a place. You want to be able to stage a photo like you’re the only one there… and that’s A LOT easier when ostensibly you ARE the only one there.
Ladies and Gentlemen – start your engines! Or I guess since the engines have long since been removed from the cars – start your gawking! I give you: CARHENGE!
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As for Sterling, CO, it took A LOT longer for me to get there than I had anticipated… maybe only 45 minutes longer and that was mainly due to the Alliance detour and lunch. But it seemed like I’ve been driving FOREVER. And this wasn’t even remotely the longest segment of my Center of the Nation car touring. Maybe it’s the mileage AND the time previously spent in this crappy Kia Soul. Things weren’t helped by my Orbitz booking being all messed up and rebooked to another hotel… DESPITE no record of that showing up on my web account or in the Orbitz app. So that all took another hour or so to figure out with various front desks calling their contact people and me trying to get through to a CSR (as is typical of Orbitz, after speaking to a rep and being told I needed to speak to a supervisor, 15 minutes of hold music culminated in my being disconnected. Was it my spotty Sprint cell phone coverage here in Colorado or something more… intentional? Or maybe sinister on Orbitz’s part?).
Long story short, I was in a foul mood due to the fouled up hotel nonsense. But I rallied to check out two important Sterling statues.
The first is the Popcorn Man, a tribute to Clarence Mentgen. He sold popcorn from a little shack on the county courthouse street corner for almost 40 years, from 1939 to 1977. In 2008, the town wanted to honor him, a beloved figure throughout time. This seemed like a worthy stop…
Mainly because the next one was so freakin’ weird. In Prairie Park there lives a… mystical space age sea monkey BFG (bronze friendly geek)?
This is the Dream Redeemer. And the plaque says it all… or maybe it says nothing at all.
I’m not entirely sure how to read this thing. And I have a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (and yes, that’s a real major… or it was in the late 1990s).
Ah, America.