My Favorite Places #8 - Sunset Speedway

What a great logo for a local company.  I apologize as I failed to note where I found this picture.

You know, racing is not really my thing.  But it sure was my dad's- growing up, the air in our house was filled with the smell of cheap cigarettes, and the sound was filled with the incessant roar of cars going around and around in circles.  Good stuff.  Nowadays, the closest I get to viewing racing is flipping through a Dukes of Hazzard rerun or watching Cars with my two-year old daughter.  It's just not my thing and never will be.

But all that said, I have a lot of fond memories of going to the late Sunset Speedway in the northwest corner of Omaha near114th and State Street.  What was there to not like?  My dad usually bought us a soda or two- a luxury in those days- we sat close enough to where dirt would hit us in the face, there were fast cars that made a ton of noise, drivers with names like Sugar Bear, and once a year they held a bike race where us kids got to ride around the same track that the race cars did.  Epic.  In hindsight, I also get a kick out of the "non-alcoholic" section in the stands.  Sunset Speedway had it's very own Bible belt.  Can't say that my dad ever had a desire to sit there....

Favorite Places In Omaha #9

Going up there were 363, going down there's 17.  Weird.

If my top 10 list consisted of places that I actually like to go to and visit, then Hummel Park would not be on the list.  Although I love the woodsy scenery and being up in the hills, the place just kind of creeps me out.

But I love the idea of Hummel Park.  The idea that there is some place in Omaha that is haunted or possessed by some kind of evil spirit is just kind of a cool thought- as long as you're not caught there after dark I guess.  Besides Ray, Egon, Peter, and Winston, who doesn't like ghosts?

Maybe take him with you next time you visit?

Now I personally doubt that Hummel is really haunted or some kind of inherently evil place of course- it's your own fault if you can't count those stairs the same way each time, and the reason it seems to be a great place to dump bodies is because it's reclusive.  And the trees don't hang down because so many Black people were hung from them by racist mobs, but because they're on a slanted hillside (don't get me wrong, Omaha certainly had it's share of lynchings, sadly, but none of them were likely at Hummel).  As far as an albino colony, it's a fun story but come on.  I am a little disappointed that we don't have any Sasquatch sightings or Chupacabra rumors- or maybe I'm not looking hard enough.  But some stories say it's located on an old Native American burial ground, so it's got that going for it.  Which is nice.

Devil's Slide is another notable feature of the park.  Supposedly a bunch of suicides have taken place there, but I can't find any real evidence of it (those tend to be kind of hush-hush anyway, and often difficult to find much information about).  The Slide is probably the closest we can get to mountain climbing in Omaha (unless you count Dick's Sporting Goods at Westroads) and you'll usually see a few idiots clambering up it when you drive by (yep, I've done it).

My 10 Favorite Places in Omaha

For no particular reason, I thought it would be fun to run down my ten favorite places in Omaha over a few weeks or so.  Hopefully by the time I'm done, you'll check out a place you've never been to before, or chime in with your own thoughts on the places mentioned- and those ignored.  Before we get started, I laid down a couple of ground rules for myself to follow, and they're pretty easy- they can't directly involve shopping or eating/drinking- so that means the Old Market (for example) is out even though I enjoy that area.  They also have to be located in the actual Omaha Metro area- so Fontenelle Forest is out as well.  My reasons for loving these places has less to do with tangibles, and is all about those lovely intangibles.  Without further adieu, today we will start with number ten:

As a big baseball fan, I've surprised even myself by putting Rosenblatt so low on the list.  Maybe it's because I see more pros then cons to the new stadium, or maybe I just grew tired of the love-in that lasted through seemingly 50 last events at Rosenblatt.  I can't say for sure, but going through my ten places, I'm comfortable with Rosenblatt right here.

For every good experience I've had at Rosenblatt, it seems like I've had at least one bad one to match it.  Since we've heard endless talk about how great the places was (and it was), let's go negative for a little bit.  Let's see-