Follow the migration of sandhill cranes into this heartland oasis steeped in the history of hardy 19th-century pioneers.

The south-central portion of Nebraska is dotted with the pioneer's legacy: historical villages, preserved log cabins, and lots of memorabilia. The region is also the heart of sandhill crane country. In the spring, nearly half a million of the blue-gray giants flock in vast numbers along the Platte River. If you travel between Grand Island and North Platte in March and April, you'll observe the tight V formation of these graceful fliers.

Overview
This 280-mile drive visits Aurora before moving west to Grand Island. Then it's south to Red Cloud, where writer Willa Cather gained inspiration for her fiction. The route slinks northwest to Kearney and continues along a Pony Express route to North Platte, part-time home to William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Start in Aurora
Situated a few miles north of I-80 near Nebraska's southern border, this town features the Plainsman Museum, which houses an extensive collection of Western memorabilia as well as period buildings, such as a one-room schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, a Victorian house, and a log cabin. Aurora is also known as a childhood home of Dr. Harold Edgerton, who developed techniques for very high-speed photography—most famously of a bullet exploding an apple and a drop creating a fluid crown of droplets as it plops into a pool of milk. The town's Edgerton Explorit Center includes exhibits on his work.

Grand Island
From Aurora, head west on U.S. 34 and 281 to this town known for its annual March Wings Over the Platte festival celebrating the area's largest sandhill crane-watching event. Also here: the elegant Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, a Western history museum designed by Edward Durell Stone and featuring exhibits on the arts and the history of settlers of the Great Plains. Another popular site: the reconstructed 1860s Railroad Town, complete with 60 buildings. It has been used as a backdrop for several movies. The nearby Heritage Zoo highlights Nebraska wildlife, including wolves and sandhill cranes, which often congregate near town.