U Street Park – Gering (NEGPP#1)

After leaving Chimney Rock, we headed for another of Nebraska's famous rocks, or rather a bluff. The next stop on our vacation was in Gering, at U St. Park near the foot of the bluffs. This park is a trail-head for the Gering Monument Valley Pathway, but since there isn't a lot of information on that, here is some about Scotts Bluff.

After passing Chimney Rock, travelers along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trail would soon see another Nebraska landmark, Scotts Bluff. This landmark consists of five buttes (Crown Rock, Dome Rock, Eagle Rock, Saddle Rock, and Sentinel Rock) with the highest point reaching over 830 feet above the plains below. First recorded in 1812 by fur traders, the bluffs were officially named after a fur trader named Hiram Scott, who died near the bluffs in 1828. Later, the three major trails would pass right between two of the bluffs through "Mitchell Pass". This pass was eventually leveled out by the Army Corp of Engineers in the 1850s. This was named a National Monument in December of 1919.

Upon arriving, we first got our rubbing. This was easy to find and so we quickly completed that task.

We had planned on meeting some friends here, but their kids weren't feeling well, so instead we went for a walk. We opted not to climb the bluffs, even though there are trails that would allow it, but instead just took in the wonder of it all.

A view of two of the bluffs. We think the one on the right is the saddle, but we aren't sure.

The girls weren't feeling the adventure at this stop, but they did lighten up and have a good time by the time we were getting done.

Felicity got a lot happier when she got a piggy back ride.

The gap between the leftmost rock and the next over is Mitchell Pass.

Walking on the trail

Walking back toward our van.

Incidentally, sometimes we come across a question that we don't know the answer to and yet would really like to know. This time our question was, what is the difference between a bluff and a butte?  After we got back, we did the research and discovered the following:

A Bluff is a steep cliff. A Butte is a hill with steep sides and a flat top that is narrower than the hill is high.

Therefore, a Butte can be a Bluff, but not all Buttes are Bluffs.