I originally was going to head north from Iowa to North Dakota. I changed my mind and went west through Nebraska. A mistake.
Friday, May 20 - It is overcast but has not rained yet this morning.
Our hosts went to two medical appointments with their daughter and did their marketing at Aldi. He showed me what they bought and what they paid. We will be shopping there whenever we can.
We did laundry and vegged.
Saturday, May 22 - No Rain! We spent the day yakking,
Sunday, May 23 - We woke to light rain, but it stopped by 7am. We were on the road by 9:30 westbound. We were able to turn a 2.5-hour drive into 4 hours without any effort. We were on mostly two highways through the Loess hills. The road probably followed a wagon or game trail. It has a lot of 90 and 270 degree turns to avoid the hills.
We landed in Salix, Iowa at a pleasant county park.
A high of 82 today. Another low-pressure system is headed our way.
Monday, May 24 - There was a light rain overnight, but it was partly cloudy all day. We stopped at several stores in Sioux Falls. One item was replaced at Walmart which I know is packed safely somewhere in the rig. At Harbor Freight I replaced a hammer I lost by leaving it on the Jeep bumper. I got a new a battery for the Mifi at Batteries Plus. The Mifi is only 22 months old with about three months of use.
We turned another 3.5-hour drive into 5. Rough two-lane road with lots of oncoming trucks. We parked at a pleasant city park in Atkinson, NE. $15 Most little towns in this part of the country have small RV parks.
Tuesday, May 25 - A slight change in plans. I looked at the map and noticed a waterfall near the town of Valentine and what might be a Forest Service CG. We stopped in at the VC and found the waterfall was on private land and had been closed due to vandalism and the CG was under state control. She suggested another waterfall on the Niobrara River. So we went down the dirt road and found an OK CG on the river. The river is a haven for canoes, kayaks, and tubers and the water is not even close to warm yet. We have paddled the Rouge in Oregon, The Buffalo in Arkansas, and a few other scenic rivers, but we have never seen so many craft for rent - hundreds of them.
One CG went along the river for over a mile, hundreds of sites.
This CG is unusual. While the river is federal, the land along the river is private. The state leases the park from the owners and it's managed by concessioners.
Wednesday, May 26 - Lots of biz here have Help Wanted signs. Starting pay of $13-15 at fast food places. We see lots of HS kids working. Three of them are cutting the grass outside our rig right now. Three were doing hard labor planting flowers at the state park yesterday and cutting the grass at 6:30. Things are different in mid-America.
Eastern to central Nebraska is row crops. It got boring only seeing freshly planted corn and bean fields. The terrain changes to sandhills in the central section. All cows. The eastern towns are more prosperous. Perhaps because row crops generate more income than cows - when they can bring in a crop that is. Many of the western towns are run down. Frankly, Nebraska is not as exciting to us as when we crossed it once before.
There is very little traffic on US20 on the west side of the state. Lonelier than US50 in Nevada.
We parked in the city park of Hay Market. Full hookups even. This will allow us to shower, dump, fill with fresh water before we head into a primitive camping area and with no cell signal.
I gave both vehicles a rinse this afternoon. Supposed to be 34 in the morning.
We have crossed the 100th parallel and changed to Mountain time so we are now officially in the west. That means it does not get dark for another hour.
About 6pm we got a deluge of rain along with some marble size hail.
Thursday, May 27 - We drove west 45 minutes to Crawford and parked in the city park. It is a delightful setting, but I am not sure I want to be here for the holiday weekend. I don't know where we are going to be, We will take the Jeep to see the toadstools after eating Dorothy's Kufta lunch and investigate staying there.
The sky turned dark and the wind picked up, so we watched the movie Dry, which was a C+.
Train watchers come to a guest ranch here to watch the coal trains from Wyoming climb Crawford Hill, a 1.5% grade that requires helper engines. The land looks flat to me, but 1.5% must be a big deal for trains.
One of Mr. Buffet's trains
Friday, May 28 - The forecasted low temp did not happen, a mere 42. The sky remains dark but is supposed to be sunny by lunch. Dorothy fixed a steak we bought in Iowa - tasty. And then we were finally off the see the toadstools. I was not expecting much, but it turned out to be a B- grade. Maybe it was the fact that we have not done much all week and the sun got our spirits up?The only walking we have done in the last two years has been to doctors' offices, hospitals, and food shopping. Today we hiked! Well, a 1/2 mile. When I saw the trail, I silently said to myself that I could not do it. It was not an easy hike for us, but we did it. Pretty good for old handicapped people. Will our muscles be sore tomorrow? I will be more prepared for hiking the next time.
There were a lot more people there than we expected - over a dozen cars. PA, VA, and MI were represented.
Saturday, May 29 - I made pancakes this morning for a break from eggs. The skies are dark again. We are done with wonderful Crawford. We are going to risk going a little north hoping to find a place to park on this holiday weekend.
