Sunday, August 17, 2014

The Same and Not the Same

Hello from Nebraska. We are now further east than we have ever been by land. 
We had a beautiful few days traveling through the Sandhills. Our first night was at Ft Robinson state park. It is a large old army fort with some interesting history. In 1877 it was the sight of Crazy Horse's murder. During WWII there was a POW camp for Germans who had been captured in Africa. We explored the park on bicycles then came back to camp for dinner. In the evening there was a free rodeo so we rode bikes to see it. 
We only got to watch a bit of team calf roping before a thunder storm including a good bit of rain came in. That sent us scurrying on our bikes back to camp. They hold the rodeos every Thursday evening through the summer. There was a nice feeling of small town community there. 
Our next stop was Agate Fossil National Monument. We took a nice walk across the windy prairie to the sight of some special fossil finds; including skeletons of over 1600 predecessors of the rhinos who lived 19 million years ago. 
Next stop Scottsbluff, a major landmark on the Oregon Trail. While there we decided to splurge on dinner and a movie. We used Trip Advisor for restaurant recommendation and it did not disappoint. We ate at the #1 rated restaurant in Scottsbluff -- The Emporium Coffeehouse and restaurant. 
Steak with a blue cheese fritter mmmm
The movie we went to was The Giver. Also good, it was a strange sensation to get lost in a movie for a couple hours and step out of the theater and have to think for a few moments "Where am I?!"
That night we did the free thing of parking at a Walmart. The only good thing about it was the price. Too much light, noise and heat! Oh well, what do I expect for free! 
Here is something new-- Carhenge. As in stone henge but made out of cars. Who knows why! 

Tonight we are at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo. The plan is to explore some of Dan's family history area. 
The weather is humid, more thunder storms are expected and I have bites from many different bugs than plain old Mosquitos ugh. Thank goodness for air conditioning!
I do like the sunflowers though, they make me smile.  What made you smile today?
jb

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