Celebrating what Southwest Nebraska has to offer

BENKELMAN, Neb. — Last Saturday, three charter buses full of bicyclists made their way from Omaha to Benkelman for the start of the 41st Annual Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska. Nearing the end of the westward trip, they stopped in McCook for lunch.

The following day, these same cyclists, plus many more who drove themselves to the start, began the 80-mile ride from Dundy County to Cambridge, stopping in McCook for lunch. And ice cream. And snacks. And drinks. And bike parts. This group eats and drinks a lot.

As the cyclists peddled into McCook, they passed Heritage Hills Golf Course, which was wrapping up the annual John Mullen Pro-Am, put on by the Community Hospital Health Foundation. Golfers from near and far look forward to this three-day event every year, which benefits the foundation.

The east/west highway was uncommonly busy Sunday morning as camper after camper passed the cyclists, with attendees from the Pondstock Music Festival heading home after three days of live music in a pasture outside Trenton.

And this weekend, hundreds more visitors will arrive in McCook for the annual Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival. Kicking off with a day-long bus tour Friday, followed by the showcase of all the artists Friday evening at the Fox Theater, there are free events all day Saturday and wrapping up at the High Plains Museum with more storytelling Sunday.

So what do these events have in common?

At a basic level, these events are a boost to our economy. All of these visitors, travelers and even the locals are out and about spending money on food, drinks, T-shirts, and hotel rooms in our community. These are dollars that will benefit our community, helping it maintain, helping it grow, helping it thrive.

These events also offer an opportunity to take part in activities which we normally have to travel hours, if not days, to be part of. Instead, they are taking place literally in our backyards. If we want these events and activities to continue, all of us need to make the effort to attend, to show up, to appreciate all the time and handwork that went into making it happen.

But beyond that, all these events offer the opportunity to showcase our part of the world.

From a golf tournament on an award-winning golf course, benefitting from the natural rolling hills, to a bike ride through some of Nebraska's most beautiful landscape, benefitting from natural rolling hills. As soon as people get off the interstate, they quickly realize Nebraska is anything but flat.

From a music festival in the middle of a field that takes pride in bucking tradition, scheduling itself on the full moon each June, to a storytelling and music festival that takes pride in bucking tradition, created because east-coast professors proclaimed the land should revert back to the buffalos.

(I admit that I struggle with the use of the word buffalo because the U.S. only has bison, but I'm getting over it slowly.)

Most of us choose to live in this part of the country because we can do the things we enjoy, from fishing on one of the numerous lakes to hunting is our ample open space. If we take our boats to the lake, especially on a weeknight, we might find we have the entire lake to ourselves. And for the most part, we don't have to make reservations months ahead of time to secure a camping spot.

And if we can't find it naturally, we make it happen.

Nearly every weekend, the Kiplinger Arena at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds is buzzing with activity, the ever-expanding buildings surrounded by horse trailers and campers.

Heritage Hills Golf Course is now being utilized as a site for events from the McCook Chamber's Bash on the Hill on June 16 to the Prairie Roots Music Festival and BBQ Contest on Aug. 19.

And car shows are always a great excuse to shine up the vintage automobiles, with the 7th annual McCook Car Show and Cruise Night on June 24.

We are blessed to live in a part of the world where we can choose to do what we love. We need to take pride in what we have and be willing to share these passions with others. And we need to celebrate what we have and thank those who are making it happen here.