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Published: August 6th 2013
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I FORGOT ALL ABOUT DRAWING THE MAP FOR MY PREVIOUS ENTRIES. THE MAP I POST WITH THIS BLOG IS FOR EVERYWHERE SINCE I LEFT PARK CITY
The one about Corn and Hay and Oil Wells
I woke up at 4:30, but there was no way I was getting out of bed that early. I took the much needed bio break (now that I am back at a more normal altitude and humidity level, my feet are starting to swell again, and when I lay down, well, what goes in works its way out……frequently). I got up at 7, and decided I didn’t want to drive facing east into the sun, so I hung around until 9. About 6 other RVs showed up sometime during the night and all were gone before me. I saw the owner, and he told me, “The harvesters were the first out at 5:00 am – they need to be in Canada for the wheat harvest in 10 days”. Interesting, right? To McDonald’s after I broke camp, my first Egg McMuffin of the trip, and it sure tasted good. I got 2 more Monopoly pieces and so far have no duplicates, 2 free French Fries
and 1 Free McFlurry. I just have to remember to use them. As I was sitting in their parking lot it started to rain. I looked at the sky and it was threatening really bad to the west, bad news for me. I got on the road quick and stayed relatively ahead of it for a long time, then it caught up to me and I was in the middle of the thunder, lightning and pouring rain. At least the windshield got clean!
What a pain a time zone change is. I did not want to lose an hour today as I had miles to go before I slept, but….I lost an hour somewhere 90 miles east of Ogallala, just when I saw the sign for The Golden Spike Tower. In the back of my head I figured this was where the western Union Pacific joined the eastern Union Pacific, but why did I think that happened in Omaha, not North Platte, NE. I got off at the exit and checked it out. What a great move!
From their brochure: Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard is named for former U.P president, Edd H. Bailey. It’s
where east meets west on the Union Pacific line, and where 10,000 cars are handle each day on 2,850 acres of land stretching out eight miles. SEE PICTUES!! On the first floor of the tower was a small museum, intro movie and small gift shop (no stickers for Moya’s side) and the elevator to the 7
th & 8
th Floor. 7 was the outdoor observation deck. I opted for 8 only, it was raining. Glass windows all around and I got some great pictures. There are 2 shots of the actual place of the Golden Spike, but that is not as impressive as the rail yard itself. So many trains, and, being up that high made it seem like I was looking at a large Lionel Train display. North Platte looked like it was a really cute town, I wish I could have spent more time exploring, but I had miles to go.
Back on old friend I80 eastbound passing corn field after corn field after corn field. Next I saw a sign for a Pony Express outpost in Gothenberg, NE. Another veer off to find another really cute town. The Pony Express outpost was the original building,
new hand hewn timber roof, new brick floor, but original walls and some old and some new chinking. It was moved from the original site when threatened by flooding from the Platte. It sits in a cute little pocket park. The docent was so old he looked like he could have been one of the riders! There were 190 Pony Express outposts, 10 miles apart as that’s all a horse could gallop without failing. The riders would do 12 hour stretches. That’s a lot of riding!!!
Inside the outpost was a lovely family, mom, dad, 3 or 4 kids. All stunning looking. Dad struck up a conversation with me, they are on the return home portion of their trip to Illinois to see family and following the Oregon trail as much as they can and seeing lots of things. I told him about The Golden Spike Tower. Back at Moya’s helm I was plotting my return to I80 when the dad knocked on my window and scared me as much as I did him when I yelped! He asked me if I had a CD player, yes, then presented me with a CD of children’s music recorded
by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and he proudly told me he wrote 2 of the songs, and pointed them out to me. Nathan Hofheins. I thanked him profusely, and told him I would pay the gift forward at some point and think of him and his family. We discussed our mutual faiths for a few minutes and wished each other well, and all the kids waved bye and we were gone. The album is hauntingly beautiful with that MT Choir sound we all love. Nice, huh?
Back to I80 and finally said goodbye to her about midway thru Nebraska, turning south on US 183 for 150 miles until I70. What a fun road 183 was. Straight as an arrow for almost the entire way. Up and down some hills, and for the most part the landscape was rolling green hills filled with corn, hay, and oil wells. And more corn, hay and oil wells. I really do have to figure these oil things out. Sometimes they are just the pumps, sometimes the pumps have storage tanks near them. I saw more working wells today than I have seen on the entire rest of my trip - literally
hundreds. They all seemed bright and shiny and new. I only saw one drill site, and it was easy to pick out as it looked just like I expected it would. I passed thru many small towns with just a church, a grange hall, and some type of Dollar store – reminiscent of small town Florida from winter trips. But something new I noticed, a silo thingy with a train stop. The sky remained cloudy most of the day, but cleared up around 4. It was a big day, over 300 miles. The wind is constant. It is not a mild breeze, it is a wind. It haunts your ears. Morning, noon and night, it blows. It’s kind of nice in the hot summer, but it is always there. Do I remember that from my “Little House on the Prairie” readings as a girl? Added to the landscape were more windmill farms. Hundreds of them. PICTURE When I got to I70 I still had an hour to go before my selected campground, Minooka Campground on Lake Wilson in Sylvan Grove, KS. It’s an Army Corp of Engineers facility, they made the dam/lake and beautiful campground, and it’s empty. I wish
I could stay an extra day and just chill out here. I have a beautiful campsite overlooking the lake. There is always a nice breeze, the wind has calmed down to a breeze now, and lots of flies and other interesting bugs. My newly purchased electronic fly swatter is getting its workout!! These are electric only sites, which is fine. I get a few TV channels, ABC, but no CBS, therefore no Big Brother tonight. The sunset was magnificent, such beautiful colors, PICTURE
I heard from bride Kristine today. Lou took her and Maggie on a weekend getaway to San Francisco, and they are doing it all. All are happy.
About 950 miles in 3 driving days since I left Park City on Monday. Tomorrow will be a short day, to a casino In Mayetta KS, just west of Kansas City with a stop in Abilene, KS to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library. I am hoping to meet up with old friend Judy C somewhere near Charleston, WV for 2 nights early next week, and that will be my first real break of this segment. 300 miles a day is a long long ride
when you only go 63 mph and lots of stops.
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Kathy Everett
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map
Yeh! you brought the map back. Thank you