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
I’ve been singing the praises of Nebraska since 2019. Sheila Jenkinson, host of “Growing Small Town Nebraska,” has been singing those praises her entire life. She is, after all, a proud native of the Cornhusker State. I cannot recall how I found her podcast earlier this year. In doing research for HeidiTown Consulting, I think I was searching on the Internet for anyone talking or writing about small towns, and
This May, for our anniversary, we took one of our literary-inspired road trips. This one has been on our minds since our Dust Bowl Road Trip in April 2022. That trip was motivated by the two of us reading books about the Dust Bowl like Timothy Egan’s “The Worst Hard Time.” By the time we took that trip, Ryan had begun listening to “Lonesome Dove” on Audible. From our hike
While HeidiTown Consulting continues to grow, I want to make it crystal clear that HeidiTown.com is still the place to come for road trips and festival stories. However, I’ve gone way too long without posting. I’ve been busy being stuck in Kearney, Nebraska, and if I were a better human, I would have written a post on my “stuck” day, but I’m not. Instead, I spent my time frantically texting
HeidiTown got its real start when it became all about festivals around 2010. This virtual town was around before then, but once I started concentrating on events and festivals, things took off and the town grew. I thought I’d return to my roots and share a few upcoming festivals that should be on your radar. Being blessed to have attended a lot of events over the years, these are ones
I had no intention of writing about this trip, but the citizens of HeidiTown wanted a tanking update, so here it is. The biggest question I used to field regarding HeidiTown is “Where should I go on my <insert special occasion here>?” Not now. Since 2020, the most asked question is, “What is tanking?” I wrote about it way back in 2020, and I’ve been tanking in North Platte, Nebraska,
Our last day in North Platte was a whirlwind. After our outing to see the cranes by bus, we went to the Golden Spike Tower. Some of you have seen the signs for this attraction. I know because you tweeted this to me. You also tweeted that you’ve never been. Go! I am here to tell you that it’s not just for train geeks. The Golden Spike Tower & Visitor
UPDATED 2/29/24: There’s now a Canteen Festival in North Platte. This September will be the third annual Canteen Festival. Learn more HERE. Several people have asked me, “Why are you traveling to Nebraska? You live in Colorado.” In some ways, I do understand the question. There is little doubt that Colorado is beautiful. It’s the Rocky Mountain state with some of the most awe-inspiring views in the world. However,
We got up in the wee hours of the morning. That means early, real early. 5:30 a.m. early. Normally, I get up two hours later so let’s just say I was a little loopy. We grabbed fruit from our hotel’s breakfast bar, filled our coffee mugs and headed out. We were up this early for a prairie chicken tour, yes, I was doing this for the birds. This bird, the
Hold on to your hats, I am going to write about birds. However, you don’t have to be working on your “list” or be a bird nerd like me in order to enjoy these outings. This is about more than birding, it’s about a moment of nature that very few get to experience. And that, my friends, is bragging rights. North Platte, Nebraska is in the flyway for migrating Sandhill
