The great plains

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April 3

Woke up in Mexico, had breakfast in Paris, and lunch in Oregon. All in the space of 8 hours. Where in the world am I?

More beautiful fields of the lovely purple blossoms. I had thought maybe they were clover. Maria stopped and picked one so we could ask. A local told me they are called henbit, and have increased tremendously recently since more farmers have gone to “non-till” farming methods. I presume this means no plowing or less plowing. Like many things, beauty is a matter of perspective. The farmers, he said, hate the stuff.

Elk farms, lots of waterfowl (pelicans in Missouri ?) at Long Branch and Pershing State Parks, and creeks with such descriptive names - Otter Creek, Crooked Creek, Salt Creek, Elk Branch, Muddy Creek . . . .

Chillicothe has an F-105 Thunderchief up on a pedestal at the airport, painted in Thunderbird colors. Had to stop and show Maria one of the fighters I used to fly.

On completing the Missouri crossing, we had the choice of catching a corner of Kansas or a corner of Iowa. Destination was Nebraska City, NE. Scott had mentioned a state park campground there that he had used on the VW camper trip he took two years ago. The campground and facilities are closed for the winter. Still, the signs said we needed a vehicle permit, and should self-register for a camp spot ( $9 per vehicle.) Policeman estimated the vehicle permit to cost $30, and directed us to Paap‘s sporting goods store to purchase it. Arrived there at 4:55. Closed. No permit, but I tried.

From a daytime high around 70, the mercury plummeted overnight to 30. The water I had set up for coffee froze in the coffeemaker, and Maria froze in the tent. I was comfortable. At dawn, I restoked the campfire and heated some large stones. These I wrapped in paper and then that in a towel, and passed them into the tent to Maria. She and Tygger were toasty warm for the next hour in bed. They (the stones) were still warm when we departed at 10 a.m.

Again elected to use the secondary roads, paralleling the interstate. No aesthetic reward today, though, in Nebraska. Just miles and miles of fallow cornfields. We did stop to see Pioneer Village, 26 buildings of American artifacts. It was within an hour of closing time, though, and staying the night in Minden didn’t appeal to us.

Ended the day unloading two of the bikes and riding around South Park in Holdrege, watched the girls’ tennis team practice. The Plains Motel does look plain from the road, but it is a gem. Try room 33. Just like home. We changed to a pet friendly room though.

April 4,5

They allowed me to use a third room during the day for internet access. We were very pleased with our stay here. We decided to stay another night to wait for Scott to catch up. Multiple delays put him at least one day behind in the Cessna.

Contact info for the Plains Motel in Holdrege, if your travels take you across Nebraska route 6 or 23, or down US 183: 308-995-8646, toll free res. 866-249-2288.

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Photos

Purple fields
Beauty along the less traveled roads.

Pet friendly
Tygger (above) and Ginger enjoy a 2 day break from car riding and camping.

F-105 on a stick
F-105 Thunderchief (Thud) at rest after a long, hard life.

Comments

[BERNARDO]

HI
It seems that you are having a great time. I love the kittens. Have a safe and fantastic trip.. bernardo and josh