US Highway 281

Home on the Range with Kansas US Hwy 281

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the sky is not cloudy all day. "Home on the Range" was written around these parts. Out here on the Great Plains we are exploring North-Central Kansas, about 150 miles Northwest of Wichita. Just South of the Nebraska State line, Smith Center to Osborne on US Highway 281.

"Home on the Range" the state song of Kansas. By Dr. Brewster M. Higley wrote the words in a poem called "My Western Home" originally, in the early 1870s. Higley's first words are similar to those of the song today but not identical. The song was adopted by settlers, cowboys, and others and spread across the USA in various forms. The poem was first published in a December 1873 issue of the Smith County Pioneer under the title "Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam." Source: Wikipedia®.

Lewis and Clark cross South Dakota Hwy 281.

If one was making their own Lewis & Clark Expedition today, they would cross US Highway 281 as the Missouri runs South through Fort Randall Dam next door to Pickstown, SD. Enjoy another one of our satellite highway expeditions.

Gigantic shamrock on Hwy 281 Nebraska

O'Neill, Nebraska population +/- 3,500. The largest permanent shamrock in the World, is here at the intersection of Hwy 20 & US Hwy 281. Made of colored concrete this shamrock is so large it can be seen with Google's Satellite View. O'Neill is the official "Irish Capital of Nebraska". Named after its founder, an Irish born American who brought three groups of people from Ireland to Nebraska during the 1870s. Enjoy some "Blarney". The word blarney has come to mean clever, flattering, or coaxing talk. - Source: Wikipedia®.

Can Do spirit on US Hwy 281 North Dakota

Cando, North Dakota. This town has around 1,000 hardy citizens. I say that because the City proclaims the founders had the "Can Do Spirit". "... and in virtue of our authority we select this location and name the town 'Cando' to show you that we can do it." ~ Captain Prosper Parker, February 14, 1884. I believe them. The weather up here on the Northern end of US Hwy 281 can get bone deep COLD. It reminds me of that old saying, "Can't do it, Can't stay."

US Highway 281 Texas