Thursday, July 27, 2023

Sites & Sounds of Nebraska

We left Iowa early as the driving time for today is five+ hours and we want to get to our new campground before too late in the day.  For a change, I decided to take the first leg of driving.  My two hours was pretty easy.  We are traveling across on US80 W.  As we drove, the landscape was pretty much what it had been yesterday, corn, corn, corn.  In no time at all, my two hours were up and we stopped at a rest area to walk the girls and ourselves.  Jim took over and he too had a pretty easy two hour or so drive.  Again, a rest stop and we were back on the road with me driving.  I ended up driving over three hours!  At the two hour point, fatigue was setting in and I was ready to arrive.  Our gas tank was getting low and stations were now pretty far apart.  We had 67 miles remaining till destination and the truck’s instruments said we had fuel for another 113 miles but I was not confident it was correct, so stress set in.  After what seemed like forever, the campground sign appeared; what a relief.


The camp is a city run campground just outside Gering,NE.  It is a lovely, grassy area with camp sites set well apart so everyone has some privacy.  Some of the sites have full hook-ups and some do not; ours does not.  We have water and electricity which is just fine for us.  There is a sanitary station on site and we will be able to empty all our tanks before we hit the road on Saturday.  Frankly, it would not matter what sort of site we have as long as we can stop and rest!  Since I drove the last leg, it was my job to park the rig.  Mmmm, I am pretty good driving but backing up, well I lack experience in that area.  Jim was encouraging and helpful giving me directions to bring everything in a tidy alignment.  I have to admit, I was right proud of myself when it was all done.  The last time we made this trip west was 2018.  Five years of aging has not robbed us of the ability to drive back out here but it certainly has impacted our stamina.  The first day of driving, we were both exhausted.  Each day of driving since, we have more energy and feel less tired at the end of the drive.  But today, well since I usually do not drive more than 2 hours at a time maximum, having driven a total of five hours and the last leg three hours plus, I felt like I had been hit with a hammer!  Thank goodness we have four nights here before we hit the road once again.


We settled the RV and the girls and decided to head to town to get fuel for the truck and find food.  The manager here suggested several places where we might eat.  We ended up in one of the local pub type places.  There were big TV screens on every wall — must be wonderful in football season!  After we settled at our table which was in full view of the kitchen window, we started to look around.  Above us suspended from the ceiling were two large motorcycles.  I could not tell exactly what they were but they looked like Indian Motorcycles.  For those of you who might be interested, Indian Motorcycles have been around since 1897 and are said to be the oldest manufacturer of motorcycles in the country.  I am sure Harley Davidson enthusiasts might challenge that statement but no matter.  The first time I saw an Indian, I was blown away at the beauty of the beast.  One of my physical therapy companions (he was over 80) rode his bike to therapy one day.  It was all decked out with everything imaginable and was a thing of beauty.  He had a bit of a crush on me and suggested he and I go for a ride!  All I could do was smile and inwardly feel attractive, braces and all.  But I digress.  The special for this restaurant was Steak Nachos. We had been told they were not to be missed.  As we sat looking at the menu, we saw a serving of said nachos go up for delivery to the table.  Holy Cow!  They were huge and could easily serve four adults with ease.  No, not us for sure, way too much food.  We both ended up having steaks; we are in cattle country after all.  I have to say, it was one of the best I have ever eaten.  It was flavorful, tender and well seasoned, yummy.  Our bellies full, we headed back to camp intending to relax a bit and then walk the girls.  Alas, the minute I sat down, sleep overcame me.  Oh well, I needed the sleep more than a walk!


The girls woke us up early so we made coffee and started our day.  We had decided that we would not go out to see the sites but rather stay in camp and attend to some chores which included laundry; my least favorite thing to do!.  The day went past giving us time to relax as well as get things done. I started trying to check some finances and other things but what the heck, the MiFi was acting up again.  Oh my golly, what next.  I guess we will have to find yet another Verizon and get something done as we need to be connected.


After supper, the skies turned dark and Jim said the weather reported storms were around us but we would probably only get a light shower which would probably be good as this area does not get a great deal of rain.  Looking toward Scott’s Bluff, we could see telltale signs of rain coming down.  The wind had picked up and the trees were twisting from the force of it.  Lots of our neighbors were out looking skyward watching as the storm approached.  The sky was every shade of grey to black and menacing too. Jim was watching the weather and announced it was time to go inside as the storm would hit in less than five minutes.  Did not have to tell me twice!


The storm hit with a vengeance.  Instead of lots of rain, it was wind.  It howled and gusted  buffeting our rig and surrounding trees.  It passed over in about ten minutes, no rain at all. Suddenly, Jim jumped up and ran to the window in the kitchen area.  I could see between the slates of the blinds, red — is someone’s rig on fire?  We ran outside to find many of our neighbors standing outside looking toward the bluff and the sky.  It was the most amazing thing I have seen in a long time.  The sky looked like it was on fire and the bluff was silhouetted against it.  We all stood there gazing at the wonder of Mother Nature.  I had seen pictures of this event when reading about the area, but I never expected to actually see it.  So amazing.  It was a great ending to a good day. Tomorrow we will head out to see the sites.


A picture is worth a thousand words.

This is the bluff before the storm.

                                                            This is after.
After the storm.
                                        Before the storm.




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