22 Years of Love Celebrated in McCook, Nebraska
It’s no secret that I have a little soft spot for Nebraska. I didn’t grow up there and didn’t even visit until 2019. However, I’ve been going back every year since. Why? First, despite growing up thousands of miles west of Nebraska, the small towns there remind me of the one where I grew up; a rural, agricultural town, where everyone gave a one-finger wave when driving on back roads (which was most of the roads).
Second, I really, really like Nebraskans. As a full-time freelance writer, I wrote for “Nebraska Life” magazine. A phone call with an interviewee usually resulted in a 45-minute discussion about our mutual affinity for dogs, or where to get the best breakfast in little towns I had yet to visit. A Nebraskan is a friend I haven’t met yet.
When I mentioned on my personal Facebook page that I was visiting Grand Island, Nebraska for the first time, Coloradans with Nebraska roots showed up in my comment thread in droves. I had no idea how many people I knew had come from Nebraska or had family ties there. By the end of that thread I had dozens of suggestions of places to visit and had been invited to a person’s Nebraskan relative’s house for lunch (and it would have happened had I made it happen).
Sheila of Growing Small Town Nebraska: Why Listen & Why Go
Third, Nebraska is affordable. As many of you know, we take an annual tanking trip with friends to North Platte. This June we made our fifth trip, and when we stopped in a grocery store, in North Platte for tanking snacks, the prices were circa 2019. The reality is that we have crazy prices (and inflation) in Colorado. This makes tanking an affordable weekend of unbridled fun.
What is Tanking in Nebraska?
So, this leads me to McCook, Nebraska. We ended up here on this trip because of all the reasons I discussed above, and the cattle trail we were loosely following goes into Nebraska. Also, McCook is a good spot to stop for a semi-circular road trip from Loveland, Colorado, to Dodge City, Kansas.
It’s only about twenty minutes from the Kansas border to McCook, so we arrived in town shortly after arriving in Nebraska. We got a dog-friendly room at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites, which is well situated for hitting up the Coppermill Steakhouse & Lounge for dinner, but more on that later.

The hotel isn’t fancy, but it was only about $100 per night including the dog, so, that’s where we decided to stay. The place is popular with travelers and is often full, so plan accordingly. We got the last available room. The place could use a little updating, but it was fine for the price (and dog-friendliness).
We wanted to check out McCook, and I wish we’d walked around, but we’d hiked that day, so we hit up the brewery instead. Happily, Nebraska is full of breweries.

Loop Brewing Company is in one of those memorable historic buildings built next to the railroad tracks. They also have a space called The Yard, somewhere in town, but we ended up here.
Having been around since 2011, this place isn’t new to the brewery scene. This location feels a bit more like a restaurant than a brewery, The Yard might be different. We sat in the little bar and listened to locals talk to the bartender about the Lighthouse Marina on Hugh Butler Lake getting ready to open the following weekend (Memorial Day Weekend). McCook is close to Hugh Butler Lake, Swanson Lake, and other bodies of water. There is a surprising amount of water in Nebraska.
After a beer, we headed back to our hotel for a short respite before our anniversary dinner. That’s right, Ryan and I have been married for 22 years.

We’ve been going on road trips for our anniversary for a long time. I wrote about it back in 2017. Last year, we spent a lovely few days in New Mexico wine country. Yes, New Mexico has a wine country. Wine country was appropriate for our 21st anniversary, now that I think about it.
A New Mexico Road Trip: Dixon, Part One
I discovered the Coppermill Steakhouse earlier this year. As a speaker at the Nebraska Planning Conference in Kearney, it was a nearby dinner option. I appreciate that Paula Dennison, city administrator in Gretna, Nebraska, bought my steak dinner, and introduced me to this Nebraska staple.
Travel Comes With the Unexpected: Stuck in Kearney
There are just two Coppermills, with the original being in McCook. Starting sometime in the 1980s, the one in McCook lived up to my expectations of a Nebraska steakhouse. First, it was packed. We sat at the bar and had a glass of wine while waiting for a table.

I wasn’t here as an official “travel writer” but as a person enjoying a glass of wine at a great bar for my anniversary. Just the right kind of dim, the place was buzzing and Ryan and I would have been fine sitting in the bar section.
We ended up sitting in the dining room. While they tried to seat us at a table near the door, we asked to be moved and were immediately accommodated. We had not made “anniversary” reservations.
For dinner, we ordered the Dry Aged Candle which I have never seen before and HIGHLY recommend. A candle made from dry-aged trimmings and butter with herbs, served with bread, this isn’t a “diet” item, but so worth it.
Then, I ate the best steak of my life. Ryan says his steak was “up there with the top 3 steaks” he’s ever eaten, but mine was truly amazing. Also, our waiter was excellent. My wish is for you to go to Coppermill, eat some Nebraska steak, and drink some wine. It won’t be a cheap outing, but it will be worth the money.

The next morning was wet, and I instantly regretted not taking photos around McCook on the day we arrived, which was glorious. The town is adorable, but nothing is ever as picturesque in the rain, except maybe England.

I ate a ridiculous amount of food at Ed’s Place. The “side” of biscuits and gravy was huge.
We headed out of McCook on Hwy 34, which goes all the way to Loveland (our town). As I am typing this I am a stone’s throw from Hwy 34. So, it made a lot of sense to go this way.
The drive took us through those tiny, quiet towns that seemed like the hometowns of someone’s grandparents. I adore those types of small towns. Benkelman, Nebraska is photogenic!
In no time at all, we were back in Colorado.
We drove through small towns that I knew of but had never seen, like Wray, which is surprisingly hilly. I thought all of the Eastern Plains were flat, but I was wrong.




I enjoyed the little roadside parks we discovered in the small towns along this route.
Our I’m Your Huckleberry, Cattle Drive-inspired road trip was another Heidi and Ryan success. And during this three-night trip, our marriage turned 22. Plus, Fritzi came along, which is how we prefer to travel. We had a memorable time walking through history in Dodge City, walking through time at Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, and celebrating an anniversary with steaks in McCook.
Thank you for joining us!
Read the entire road trip, the reason why, part one, part two, and part three.