Brownville

Traveling through the open lands in the Midwest, it is easy to imagine what the pioneers faced during westward expansion. Back in 1854, the first white settler arrived in the soon-to-be-formed Nebraska Territory. He carved out space for himself along the banks of the Missouri River and constructed the area's first log cabin. The promise of new lands was enough to create a desire by many to follow in his footsteps. By 1880, the town of Brownville boasted a population of over 1300 residents making it the largest in the territory. These days the silenced footsteps of those pioneers are some of the [...]

Let's all face the truth about interstate highways. They offer the convenience of shuttling us from big city to big city. While this helps us shorten our travel time, it also forces us to bypass an untold number of opportunities. We will be the first to admit that these superhighways are advantageous. There is value in getting off of the interstate and exploring some of the smaller venues. This can turn a standard day trip into a truly cultural experience. It offers a chance to sample small-town tastes and hang out with the locals. That is exactly what we found when we dropped [...]

Tooling along the interstate, you will pass exit after exit for small towns all across America. How often do you wonder what these places have in store for visitors? Like many others, for years we would cruise by without so much as acknowledging their presence. In recent years we have learned that each of these destinations has their own stories to tell. It just takes getting off of the interstate and doing some investigating. A recent day trip landed us midway between Kansas City and Omaha for a tour of Brownville, Nebraska. What we found is a friendly village that is embracing the [...]