Blue Hour Journal, issue no.2: Nebraska
Preface
Traveling through Nebraska is not commonly something one intentionally seeks to do. In many people’s minds – including mine – Nebraska was the necessary unfortunate one must pass through to arrive elsewhere. Why then would a photographic essay focus on Nebraska? That’s a fair question.
After many years traveling back and forth between Illinois and my adopted home state of Colorado, one day something snapped. I needed to get off Interstate 80 with its trucks, traffic and monotony and mix things up. This had me studying a real paper map; an Atlas (remember those?) for alternate routes.
Among many alternate routes across the country, several secondary roads emerged as likely candidates – each avoiding I-80 and allowing a slower pace through the land sometimes refered to as fly-over country; the heartland of America.
On the surface it may seem a bit incongruous to be poetic about Nebraska. Miles of seemingly nothing but clouds, pastures, half-destroyed barns, live stock and the occasional grove of trees between acreages on the horizon. But (there is always a but), when one ventures off the interstate and travels slowly through the land, you are richly rewarded.
Nebraska is, according to some, “Where the West Begins.” I learned this in part through researching a poem by Arther Chapman titled, “Out Where the West Begins.” I loved the sentiments of the poem and began pressing into the geographic details: where did “The West” actually begin?
Attempting to answer this question found me in an elevator one day in Lincoln, Nebraska. According to one source, “The West” officially began at the intersection of 13th and O Street in downtown Lincoln.
One day while traveling through I thought it might be interesting to see if there’s any kind of marking on the street; anything visible from above to commemorate such an auspicious honor.
I found the intersection and identified the most likely building that may allow a view of the street below. Folks on the top floor were quite pleasant and accommodating, allowing me to walk through the office to a window overlooking the street. It’s no surprise that there was nothing official marking the beginning of The West, at least not visible from above. But the experience provided opportunity to interact with the good people of Lincoln and left me with a warm feeling climbing back in the car and continuing on.
This encounter set the tone for future exploration along some of the less traveled routes through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois for years to follow. Yes, it takes longer to travel the secondary routes than it does Interstate. But most of the time I wasn’t in a hurry, and breaking the trip into shorter, slower sections is rewarding to the photographer curious about everything. I was hooked.
Another source cites the 100th Meridian as the dividing line between East and West. Cozad is about 180 miles west of Lincoln as the crow flies. One day driving through Cozad I stumbled upon this street sign marking the 100th Meridian. Serendipitously, I had found where The West begins.
Another project in the works for years is called 4042n: Photographs and Essays from a Still Wild West. 4042n explores a swath of land – north to south, between the 40th and 42nd Parallel – and east to west, passing roughly from eastern Utah through Central, Nebraska. There’s more to 4042n ahead, but for now these interests converge in this issue of Blue Hour Journal.
What has followed since that initial desire years ago to get off the interstate are countless trips through this region of the country most people pay no mind, having not the time, energy, patience nor fortitude to explore. The hope is the viewer will discover richly textured landscapes and lives they may otherwise never have the good fortune to experience first hand.
With that, I’d like to welcome you to Nebraska.
Physiography
At 76,796 square miles, Nebraska is a big state – the 15th largest by area in the U.S. Most of Nebraska lies in the Major Physiographic Division known as the Interior Plains. It is then further parsed by three additional regions:
High Plains section, Missouri Plateau, Unglaciated spilling over the South Dakota border to the North. This section is characterized by old, plateau terrace lands, local badlands and isolated mountains.
Plains Border section spilling over from Kansas to the south. Characteristics of this section are primarily Submaturely to maturely dissected plateaus.
Central Lowland Province, Dissected Till Plains section to the east, near the mighty Missouri River separating it from its eastern neighbor, Iowa. Characteristics here include submaturel to maturely dissected till plains.
Till plains are large, flat plains of glacial till (sediment deposited by a glacier) formed when a sheet of glacial ice detaches from the glacier’s main body and melts in place.
All of this has created a rich base of agriculture Nebraska is known for. The lack of topographic relief accompanying this blessing is also what makes it initially appear uninteresting.