4 August 2013 / leggypeggy

Get all things cowboy in Nebraska

Broken Bow, clothing, cookbooks, cowboys, Highway 2, Nebraska, Rio Branco, travel, Valentine

Shirts in every colour and even racy boots (check the ones on the top left)

Our visit to Rio Branco in Brazil’s wild west got me thinking about our stop last year in Nebraska.

I grew up in Nebraska and have travelled all over the state, but Poor John had only ever been to Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney. So I decided it was time to head northwest on Highway 2, through Broken Bow and on to Valentine. This would give him a good look at the beautiful country called the Nebraska Sandhills and take him into the heart of the state’s cowboy country. I’d wanted to drive on as far as Alliance, but we ran out of time, so spent the night in Valentine.

Saddles galore

I had my first visit to Valentine in the 1960s. One of my university roommate’s was from a cattle ranch just south of town, and I remember horse-riding in the snow and that her family home was 17 miles down a dirt road from the main road. I tried to spot their gate as we approached town, but had no luck.

What I also didn’t remember was the Young’s Western Wear shop, located in downtown Valentine. It’s a third-generation, family-owned business, so it must have been there in the 60s.

The New York Times calls Young’s the ‘purveyor of all things cowboy’, and I have to say I was gobsmacked by the enormous range and volume of goods on offer.

Plenty of colour and Indian motifs in the bags

The store’s 20,000 square feet of display area was packed with thousands of cowboy boots (all on sale when we were there), hats, shirts (in every colour you can imagine), jeans, dresses, saddlery and other rodeo equipment, and even homewares, cookbooks, handbags, and jewellery.

I wish I’d needed something, but I didn’t. We were going to being travelling for five months and I didn’t want to carry whatever I bought. A couple of cookbooks turned my head, including one called The magic of rhubarb, turn your friends and family into rhubarb lovers, but I restrained myself. This time!

That said, I’ve discovered that Young’s has an online store. Look out bank account.

P.S. Stay tuned for a look at the Sandhills and Broken Bow.