An adventurous Nebraskan is traveling the Cornhusker state one small town at a time.
Cody Sperl is the creator of Cody’s Adventurous Travels of Nebraska Towns, a Facebook page that showcases Sperl’s journey of visiting every incorporated town in the state.
So far, Sperl has visited 392 Nebraska towns. He estimates there are between 520 and 530 incorporated towns in the state.
Sperl said his brother came up with the idea when they were home for Christmas in their hometown of Stanton, Nebraska.
“[My brother] said, ‘You know, itd be kind of cool to travel Nebraska and visit every town,’” Sperl said. “And I thought itd be really interesting myself.”
He starts each trip by picking a geographic area that he wants to visit. Then, he writes down different towns in that area, along with historical sites and information about the town. Whenever he travels, Sperl said he brings his notebook to reference his research and document the experience.
Traveling to small towns can prompt local residents to give Sperl suspicious looks as he snaps photos and explores downtowns, he said. However, once he explains what hes doing, the locals are quick to suggest other places he should visit.
But as Sperls following nears 7,000 people on social media, he said some locals have recognized him as that Cody guy from Facebook.
“In the last year, its pretty incredible that people are starting to recognize me,” he said. “It just feels great.”
Listen to his story here.
After documenting trips from 392 Nebraska towns, Sperl said Superior has become one of his favorites. From his research prior to the trip, he knew Superior was the Victorian capital of Nebraska, boasting a number of Victorian-style homes.
“And when I drove out to Superior… I was stunned at how beautiful these homes are,” Sperl said. “Theyre beautiful. Beautiful porches, beautiful balconies, decks, and the circle wraparound porch.”
Sperl said Taylor, Nebraska, surprised him with the number of plywood cutouts of people scattered throughout the town.
“Holy cow. They dont just have a couple,” he said. “They have so many in that town. There are probably 30 or 40 plywood cutout people.”
Due to the global pandemic, Sperl said hes postponing his travels for now. He plans to visit Custer County in September.
Aside from visiting every Nebraska town, Sperl said his long-term goal is to write and publish a book to share about the beauty, history, and hidden gems across Nebraska.
Connect with Sperl on his Facebook page – Cody’s Adventurous Travels of Nebraska Towns.