A diverse chorus of birds and frogs chirp in swamped ditches while tall grasses fan the prairie like millions of whispering children. The constant warm hum of longboard tires on asphalt means we're getting somewhere. Skating at about 10-15 mph along the shoulder of the highway, we're alone with the cows, deer, vulchers and coal trains, until an occasional semi- or pickup truck blows by us going 60. 

 

Leaving Scottsbluff and heading southeast down HWY 26, we pass huge bluffs and rocky plateaus. Jutting out of the fields along the plains, the Courthouse, Jail and Chimney Rocks look like man-made monuments to ancient idols. These naturally formed geographic marvels captivated pioneers along the Mormon and Oregon trials, who used them as landmarks along their journey to the West. Heading the opposite direction, we're doing the same thing, slowly passing them and realizing that this crazy odyssey might just be possible.

 

Today is day one of of Skate the State, a sort of reverse Manifest Destiny — a 430-mile journey to raise $50,000 to make Lincoln's nonprofit, indoor skatepark sustainable, to provide a free, safe, healthy outlet for kids who really need that sort of escape. Mike Smith, the 28-year-old founder of that skatepark — Bay 198 — organized this trip to bring attention to the issue. 

 

“For the past decade, I have worked with youth in Nebraska at every level, from the homeless to the wealthy, from the athlete to the artistic,” he writes on the event's website SkatetheState.com. “There has been one common theme throughout: Our kids feel like 'there is nothing to do.

 

“Nebraska ranks seventh in the country in underage drinking. I believe the responsibility for that unfortunate statistic does not fall solely on our kids. I believe we as adults are failing our youth.

 

“So what is our role? What is our responsibility?

 

“I believe it is to create a space where our youth can go, to create a space where loitering is allowed, create a space where being an individual is encouraged, where skateboarding is celebrated.”

 

To show his commitment to the cause, Smith and two other skaters — 36-year-old Steve Andel and 51-year-old Phil Burcher — are skating the entire state this week, stopping in small town coffee shops and skate parks and explaining their mission to anyone they come across along the way. They're selling T-shirts, and accepting checks, cash, lose change and high fives. 

 

My wife, Angie, and I are along to drive a lead vehicle and document the trip — and, of course, to talk about Nebraska music with people and to promote HearNebraska.org. I'm skating when I can — in between laptop work sessions — but I'm no match for these guys, who pump up hills and carve down them like they have to make it to base camp to beat a blizzard. There's no snow on the forecast, but getting to a campsite before it's too dark and dangerous to skate, and dodging roadkill birds, snakes and varmints are realistic concerns. So is the wear and tear on muscles that have never gone anywhere near this far on a board and four wheels. 

 

We're aiming to go 50-60 miles today, and for the next six or seven days. We don't know if we can do it. And we can use all the support we can get. If you see four guys skating — schoonering — on the side of the road, using cardboard signs as sails and communing with the prairie, stop and talk to us or cheer us on. That kind of support is critical to keeping us going. And if you really believe in our mission, please consider donating at SkatetheState.com.

 

Andrew Norman is the editor of Hear Nebraska. He fell pretty hard today when his front tires got stuck in a train track — launching him face first into the concrete. He's fine. What do you think about the mission? Leave a comment below or email him at andrewn@hearnebraska.org.