Sleepy little Thedford (pop. 243) stretches west of US-83, lining up along the Burlington Northern railroad tracks. The town—not much more than a few little houses, some loud cicadas, a Rodeway Inn motel, and a combination Conoco station and road-food restaurant—does mark the junction of US-83 and scenic Hwy-2, which runs west–east across the heart of Nebraska, abounding in wildflowers, ultra-quaint but totally unself-conscious small towns, and pastoral beauty from horizon to horizon. At the south edge of the Sand Hills, 100 miles west of Thedford at the end of Hwy-2, the totally unique Carhenge—the finest Detroit wheels, stacked on top of each other to form a steel Stonehenge—stands just outside the town of Alliance.
South of Thedford, US-83 jumps and descends for another 65 miles toward North Platte with very, very little to occupy your time other than scenic overlooks along the Dismal and South Loup Rivers.
