Travel to Escapade, 5/8/14

Day 6 - Thursday, May 8, 2014
Nebraska to Iowa

Today started very early with an appointment at the Crossroads Ford service department in Kearney, Nebraska.  Our truck told us it needed an oil change and they were nice enough to accommodate us as we traveled through the area.  After the service was completed, we went back to camp and packed up to continue our travel to Indiana.  As we left Kearney, NE, we passed under the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.

We finished crossing Nebraska and are now in Iowa.  Today was the first day that we had to drive in the rain.  The rain was very heavy, but not dangerously so.  Now that we are in camp for the night, the wind is strong and there is heavy rain again, but we are assured that the bad storms are staying away from this area.

Although Nebraska and Iowa have beautiful farm land and rolling hills, I did not take any photos.  This part of the country is much more populated so traffic was heavier and needed more concentration.  One thing that is different in this area and much of the eastern part of the country is that entrance onto the freeway is a "Yield" not a "Merge" like we have in California.  You really have to be careful because, often, the drivers on the freeway do not slow down or scoot over for you if you are coming onto the freeway. 

That's it for today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Travel to Escapade, 5/7/14

Day 5 - Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Nebraska

Last evening we were treated to a light show.  California doesn't get lightening very often, so  it was very exciting and interesting to watch the lightening jump from cloud to cloud in the distance.  We were far enough away from the actual storm that we had stars above us and we could not hear the thunder from the lightening that we saw.  However, during the night, we were awakened by the thunder and rain hitting our trailer.  That was all gone by the time the sun came up.

Agriculture is definitely one of the main occupations in Nebraska.  The highway passed fields that have been recently planted or are just beginning to grow and several that have not been worked yet.  There was a lot of pasture land with cows, sheep and goats being the most seen animals.  Spring is just beginning in this area.  The leaves on the trees are just starting to emerge.  Even the spring landscaping is yet to be done in many places, for example,  around the sign below.

Traveling along I-80, you come to this huge arch across the highway at Kearney, Nebraska.  Over the years, we have passed by this arch and wondered what it was about.  It is the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.  We did not go inside this time, but did a few years ago.  If you ever get a chance, stop by this attraction.  There is an amazing museum inside that covers the time from wagon trains heading out to explore the west and progresses through modern times.  It is very well done. 

 There is also a small fort that contains a maze inside and "guard towers" on each corner.

The entrance to the archway is behind the fort.  As you enter, you are guided to an escalator that takes you up to the arch that crosses the freeway.  The museum winds around in the arch and comes to an area that you can look out at the traffic flying by beneath you.

The reason that we are staying in Kearney, tonight, is because we need to have the oil changed in our truck.  Our new truck is so computerized that it tells us when we need to get service and what it needs.  So early tomorrow morning, we will be taking the truck to the local Ford dealer for a service appointment.  Therefore, I better cut this post short and get some sleep. 

Travel to Escapade, 5/6/14

Day 4 - Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Wyoming to Nebraska

It has been cloudy to partly cloudy everyday so far on our trip, but today, we woke to a bright sunny day.  It was cool, but not cold.  The view that we had out of the car window, as we continued across Wyoming, was of rolling hills, mountains in the distance and mostly ranch land, some oil wells and a few cities.

We did go up in elevation, but it was mostly by going up rolling hills.  There was very little long haul mountain driving.  We did see many, many snow fences used to keep the snow from drifting across the highway.  If you noticed, in the previous picture, there aren't many trees to stop the wind from blowing the snow. 

Just before we got to the highest point on the highway, we saw how the snow had drifted along the fence and has not melted yet.  As the wind blows across the prairie or field, the snow blows up against the fence which acts like a riffle causing lower pressure behind it   That causes the snow to be "sucked" down rather than continuing on across the highway or where ever.

There is the Summit rest area, which is located at the highest elevation on I-80.  The leaves still haven't come out on the trees, in the background, at the 8640 ft. altitude.

There is quite a display explaining the history of this area, at this rest area.  Mostly, ranching and farming are current occupations, but in the 1880's there was a lot of logging of the forests that used to be here.  The logs were used for housing and for building the railroad which was used to transport the livestock and crops to market.

Much of I-80 was built along the path of the Lincoln Highway.  The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway going from New York City to San Francisco.  It was completed in 1913 when automobiles were first becoming popular and affordable for families, who , of course, wanted to travel to see things that they had only heard about before.  In 1959, a monument of Abraham Lincoln was built and it is the only monument to Lincoln along the highway that was named for him.

Some stats of the monument are that it weighs 4500 lbs. and it is 13 1/2 feet tall.  That is the head only.  See it compared to the man in the picture below.  The monument was moved to this location in 1969 when I-80 was completed.

 

There is another monument dedicated to Henry Joy, who was the first president of the Lincoln Highway Association as well as president of the Packard Motor Car company.  He is often referred to as the father of the national highway system.

As we were walking back to the truck, we passed this little guy, a prairie dog.  He seemed very brave to stay out of his hole while we were only about 5 ft. away.  A crow flew by and that made him disappear.  It is so unfortunate that someone did not take care of their garbage and now the prairie dog has taken that plastic bag into his hole.

 

Tonight we are in Sidney, Nebraska at the Cabela's RV Park right next to the store.  Cabela's has outdoor supplies and sporting equipment.

Tomorrow we will continue across Nebraska.  It is a very wide state, so we may still be in Nebraska by the end of our driving day.