Discovering the Enchanted Highway of Nebraska
Traveling through Nebraska, visitors often overlook the small towns and rural landscapes that line the highways, but one series of roadside attractions stands out from the rest: the Enchanted Highway. Beginning in the small town of Regent, North Dakota, the Enchanted Highway stretches for 32 miles, passing through the town of Gladstone, before crossing into Nebraska, and terminating in the city of Dickinson, but in the context of this article, we will be focusing on the Nebraska portion.
Nebraskans have often joked that the Enchanted Highway should be considered an honorary part of their state due to its historical and geographical proximity, and considering its small and rural setting. Created by one artist, Gary Greff, in the 1990s, the Enchanted Highway is a 32-mile series of giant metal sculptures that were created to bring tourism and vitality to the struggling town of Regent, North Dakota.
The metal sculptures depict various North American animals and regional icons, such as geese, deer, and grasshoppers. These sculptures also detail various animals that are specific to the prairies that line both North Dakota and Nebraska. Another very interesting metal sculpture within the Enchanted Highway is the "Geese in Flight" sculpture, standing 75 feet tall and 156 feet long, making it an American treasure in this quaint assortment of road side distractions.
As Nebraska travelers take their time traveling the Enchanted Highway, watching closely, they will notice an eerie silencing effect caused by having one's vehicle slow significantly below its original highway speed. It is often said that these travelers start getting caught in nature's surrounding tranquility as their curiosity peaks to their imagination giving complete freedom, which further adds that mediating glow amidst that which cannot be missed. Observers will be at a great advantage exploring metal structures both visually and with background knowledge on wildlife or regional Nebraskan folklore, thus enhancing their peripatetic understanding regarding further exploration via Nebraska roadways.
From an anthropological standpoint, each rural American landscape in some sense calls forth distinctive imagery, an aura most distinctively sensed in everyday American travels, with which you never completely take heed in city sights. The actual reality, alongside more modernized road attractions is, for the most part, far more beautiful than we make them out to be.
Following the success of the Enchanted Highway, Gary Greff began plans on a second larger series called "The Enchanted Castle" but unfortunately, he did not complete it by the end of his lifespan.
Those passing by these great metal structures remind locals what could be accomplished through artistic passion, although their ultimate legacy takes itself into consideration when future travelers get to see the artistic endeavors we continue setting forth for one another today within the heartland.
Those with appreciation and interest for contemporary roadside attractions of historical significance who could one day make a vacation of seeing the large and small treasures in Nebraska, which ultimately symbolizes its very essence.
Nebraskans have often joked that the Enchanted Highway should be considered an honorary part of their state due to its historical and geographical proximity, and considering its small and rural setting. Created by one artist, Gary Greff, in the 1990s, the Enchanted Highway is a 32-mile series of giant metal sculptures that were created to bring tourism and vitality to the struggling town of Regent, North Dakota.
The metal sculptures depict various North American animals and regional icons, such as geese, deer, and grasshoppers. These sculptures also detail various animals that are specific to the prairies that line both North Dakota and Nebraska. Another very interesting metal sculpture within the Enchanted Highway is the "Geese in Flight" sculpture, standing 75 feet tall and 156 feet long, making it an American treasure in this quaint assortment of road side distractions.
As Nebraska travelers take their time traveling the Enchanted Highway, watching closely, they will notice an eerie silencing effect caused by having one's vehicle slow significantly below its original highway speed. It is often said that these travelers start getting caught in nature's surrounding tranquility as their curiosity peaks to their imagination giving complete freedom, which further adds that mediating glow amidst that which cannot be missed. Observers will be at a great advantage exploring metal structures both visually and with background knowledge on wildlife or regional Nebraskan folklore, thus enhancing their peripatetic understanding regarding further exploration via Nebraska roadways.
From an anthropological standpoint, each rural American landscape in some sense calls forth distinctive imagery, an aura most distinctively sensed in everyday American travels, with which you never completely take heed in city sights. The actual reality, alongside more modernized road attractions is, for the most part, far more beautiful than we make them out to be.
Following the success of the Enchanted Highway, Gary Greff began plans on a second larger series called "The Enchanted Castle" but unfortunately, he did not complete it by the end of his lifespan.
Those passing by these great metal structures remind locals what could be accomplished through artistic passion, although their ultimate legacy takes itself into consideration when future travelers get to see the artistic endeavors we continue setting forth for one another today within the heartland.
Those with appreciation and interest for contemporary roadside attractions of historical significance who could one day make a vacation of seeing the large and small treasures in Nebraska, which ultimately symbolizes its very essence.
