Hit the Road Jack

Hit the Road Jack Come along with Mark and Becky as they travel along back roads and lonesome highways seeking out small towns and other forgotten locations.

Hit the Road Jack follows along the excursions of Mark and Becky as they road trip along county roads and dusty trails to visit and document small towns in America before they all vanish. From one horse villages to bustling outlying county seats, visit these unique locations with them as they reveal through photographs and first hand impressions that these towns are far more than just points on a

map. "We are neither photographers nor historians. We roll our eyes along with you at the poor quality of some of our photos and cheer when they miraculously turn out well. We don't apologize for not getting everything correct, these are after all, just our impressions after a 20-30 minute 'tour' of a town. We do, however, welcome comments, opinions and corrections from locals. It makes this page even better when more people contribute."

03/30/2025

We're wrapping up our little road trip. Mark is about to drop me off at the St. Benedict Retreat Center for a week of work there, while he heads home to Omaha to work the election on Tuesday. Thanks for hanging with us! 😊

Platte Center, NE. Population 336 (2010). Impressive that a town this size kept its elementary school. Another pretty ca...
03/30/2025

Platte Center, NE. Population 336 (2010). Impressive that a town this size kept its elementary school. Another pretty catholic church, St. Joseph, with a parish center. The business district is sparse and homes are more modest. There's a large irrigation manufacturer located right in town, Schumacher Irrigation. The community is actively raising money for a new splash pad, so still planning for kids. Nice.

Tarnov, NE. Population 46. The center of activity for Tarnov is the beautiful church, St. Michael's Catholic Church. The...
03/30/2025

Tarnov, NE. Population 46. The center of activity for Tarnov is the beautiful church, St. Michael's Catholic Church. There used to be a school associated with it, but it's now been converted to a museum. It's not much of a *town* as it is a community of neighbors. Other than silos on the rail line, there is no industry nor businesses that we could see. Still, there were cars outside the church on this Sunday morning, and homes looked attended to. It's a cute little place.

St. Bernard, NE. Unincorporated. It wanted to be a town, but by 1906, it wasn't, and the post office closed. There are a...
03/30/2025

St. Bernard, NE. Unincorporated. It wanted to be a town, but by 1906, it wasn't, and the post office closed. There are a couple of houses, what looks to be a possibly still open bar, a cemetery, and an homage to a former monestary and school. Lots of ghosts still here. I (Becky) love these places.

Humphrey, NE. Population 760 (2010). Humphrey has long been a favorite. The church, St. Francis of Asisi, is obviously t...
03/30/2025

Humphrey, NE. Population 760 (2010). Humphrey has long been a favorite. The church, St. Francis of Asisi, is obviously the centerpiece of the town. Beautiful homes, nice high school, and we'll developed, if small, business district.

Norfolk, NE. Population 24,955 (2020). Norfolk is really too big of a city to properly capture all we like to get, but w...
03/30/2025

Norfolk, NE. Population 24,955 (2020). Norfolk is really too big of a city to properly capture all we like to get, but we found some stuff we really like. The downtown, River Point, is really very nice. We stayed at The River Point Inn, ate at a Mongolian BBQ place and enjoyed ci**rs at Paul's. We really like all the trees! We found a lovely neighborhood of nice homes and churches. Also scattered about are some very nice old buildings. The new library looks fabulous! And the high school and junior high are both equally impressive. We have always been curious why Norfolk was never granted a full four year public university, (although the Northeast Community College offers great starts and pathways to four year degrees). We enjoyed our stay in Norfolk even more than we thought we would.

It's a cold start this morning as we roll out of The River Point Inn, ready fot breakfast and a little spelunking.
03/30/2025

It's a cold start this morning as we roll out of The River Point Inn, ready fot breakfast and a little spelunking.

Stanton, NE. Population 1577 (2010). Stanton is the county seat of Stanton County. It has a high school and sports compl...
03/29/2025

Stanton, NE. Population 1577 (2010). Stanton is the county seat of Stanton County. It has a high school and sports complex. The extensive fair grounds are also very close to town. The business district is complicated my two highways intersecting, but there is a downtown grocery and typical highway businesses. Some of the houses are amazing, both pretty and huge.

Clarkson, NE. Population 658 (2010). Clarkson has a really impressive high school complex for the size of the town. Stil...
03/29/2025

Clarkson, NE. Population 658 (2010). Clarkson has a really impressive high school complex for the size of the town. Still, we always shed a metaphorical tear for the old school that still stands, vacant and boarded up. There's a major road construction project going on on the main street of the business district, but still there was a lot of activity going on at the businesses there. We still love the cute little double door houses. We were hoping to stop in Clarkson Bakery, but it was closed. Next time!

Howells, NE. Population 561 (2010). Favorite houses and favorite churches dominate our visits here. It's got the school ...
03/29/2025

Howells, NE. Population 561 (2010). Favorite houses and favorite churches dominate our visits here. It's got the school and sports fields for the Howells-Dodge district. A downtown grocery store anchors the commerce, but there are a diverse selection of other businesses.

Olean, NE 3-29-2025 Unincorporated. Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
03/29/2025

Olean, NE 3-29-2025 Unincorporated. Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church

Dodge, NE 3-29-2025. Population 610 (2010). Our favorite thing about Dodge is the auditorium at Holsten Park. The whole ...
03/29/2025

Dodge, NE 3-29-2025. Population 610 (2010). Our favorite thing about Dodge is the auditorium at Holsten Park. The whole town has a wholesome quaintness about it though. The elementary school and gymnasium for the Howells-Dodge district are here. There was a basketball game going on while we were there. The downtown grocery store was busy. Always nice to see that. Some of the houses are fantastic and, of course, St. Wenceslaus is magnificent.

Scribner, NE 3-29-2025. Sorry. Album didn't post, so this is a double.
03/29/2025

Scribner, NE 3-29-2025. Sorry. Album didn't post, so this is a double.

Snyder, NE. Population 300 (2010). There's so much industry here, it's surprising that the town isn't bigger. The busine...
03/29/2025

Snyder, NE. Population 300 (2010). There's so much industry here, it's surprising that the town isn't bigger. The business district has a lot of support businesses and a couple of bars. There are two large event facilities. No grocery store and no school. (It shares with the school in Scribner.) Some cute houses and three churches.

Scribner, NE. Population 857. Scribner for me (Becky) always reminds me of drag racing. (That's a hint to my age.) We sn...
03/29/2025

Scribner, NE. Population 857. Scribner for me (Becky) always reminds me of drag racing. (That's a hint to my age.) We snuck in the back way, so saw a lot more of the residential neighborhoods. We're curious about the empty lot with the blank marquee in front of it. (Photos before and after the water tower photo.) Mark is guessing former retirement/nursing home. The business district is a bit more diverse and active than we remembered. The US Hwy 275 diversion has changed the approach and feel of the town. Kind of sad. Not very supportive of small towns, in our opinion. Sad the cage near the fairgrounds is closed. Stopped at Elkhorn River Coffee Company for a quick refill of the travel mug.

Hooper, NE. Population 857 (2020). Hooper is a perrenial favorite for us. Way back at the beginning it was one of our fi...
03/29/2025

Hooper, NE. Population 857 (2020). Hooper is a perrenial favorite for us. Way back at the beginning it was one of our first explorations. We love the historic, active business district and the houses.

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1105 Harney Street, # 310
Omaha, NE
68102

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