Nebraska

August 6th

Tim:

It was with bittersweet emotions that I took off on Sunday morning after four and a half days hanging out with family in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  We had a gathering of over 70 people to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and Lexi’s birthday. Marcia and I took off on Sunday morning and basically spent the whole day on Highway 92. I started the day by crossing the Missouri River into Nebraska with fairly quiet early Sunday morning traffic, and then into the rural farming countryside of eastern Nebraska. Marcia came back and rode with me the last 12 miles of the day. Total miles traveled was 118. We stayed in a fairly sketchy campground on the Platte River in Fullerton, Nebraska where we had interrupted sleep with a thunderstorm passing through. I am feeling good, doing well, and am ready to start the next chapter of this adventure to get to California by the end of the month.

Marcia:

The family gathering on Saturday was a blast. So many good people from Tim’s Mom’s side and his Dad’s all coming together to appreciate family. So many highlights for me, meeting all these wonderful folks, but perhaps the best was towards the end of the day, watching Tim and all his brothers playing whiffle ball. Like a step back in time…little boys still. (Pictures still on Tim's phone...I'll have to add some of them next post.)

It was good to be with Lexi on her birthday. She and Brecken had airline delay issues, arriving a day later than planned, but all’s well that ends well and they are now enjoying a few more days with grandparents and cousins. 

Last night’s campsite set the bar at a new low. It’s mighty hard to find campgrounds in this stretch of Nebraska, as we need to stay close to the route to keep Tim’s timing on track for his morning start. Avoiding the heat and the worst of the afternoon headwinds is a priority. We were hoping to stay in Henderson, but ended up in Fullerton. This is the sign that greeted us when we turned into the campground.

Like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz I wanted to make that U turn immediately and hightail it out of these here parts, but Tim’s reasonable adventurous spirit urged us on. We were the only ones camping, which can also be a bit creepy, not to mention the strange dark bendy old trees all over the place that seemed ripe for falling down on top of us while all the time whispering “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” But we made the best of it by exploring the Platte River running on by. 

Our trusty little tent kept us warm and dry as we attempted to sleep through the thunderstorm. As we left this morning, I was moved to consider freeing a beautiful dog chained to a dog house inside a tiny cage next to the trailer of the folks who owned the nasty place. Heartbreaking. We did see a bald eagle just sitting in a tree as we drove away…looking for the positives. After dropping Tim at his starting place, my feet were uncomfortably sandy and muddy from the campsite, so I literally stopped at a gas station to biblically wash them of it all and venture on. Looking forward to getting through Nebraska and into Colorado.