Lake Ogallala, Nebraska

    We awoke to a clear blue sky and a slight breeze.  The weather report was for windy conditions later in the day so we rushed a bit to get going by 8:30.  We are not much for long drives, but today it worked out to be 400 miles between stops.  I don't know what I was thinking when I planned these two stops on this trip.
    We had an easy drive through Council Bluffs and Omaha.  I wondered if there was a council on the bluff that gave it its name and sure enough:  the Lewis and Clark expedition had a big meeting with the Otoe tribe in 1804 on the bluffs above the Missouri River. The town was the starting point for the Mormon Trail and was a major outfitting point on the Missouri for the Emigrant Trail and Pike's Peak Gold Rush.
    As we continued on I-80 we began to follow along the Platte River and the Great Platte River Road which was used by settlers going to Oregon and California as well as by riders on the Pony Express. Rick thought that the Pony Express was in business for only five years, but actually ran only 18 months and then the railroad went through to California.  Anyway, the Platte follows a wide, flat valley which was just perfect for the wind.  By lunch time it had gone from a breeze to a blow - we ate lunch  inside again today.
    After lunch, with 200 miles yet to go, we found ourselves driving almost directly into the wind and often slipping into third gear as we fought to keep our momentum going.  Strong gusts blew us off to the side.  The wind went from a blow to a gale.  We finally

The huge earth dam keeping Lake McConaughy from our campground

got to the town of Ogallala and were happy that we were almost to our campground when the GPS became confused and sent us all around town.  We pulled over and brought up Google Maps on my phone and followed the map out of town towards Lake McConaughy which is a 22 mile long reservoir on the North Platte River.  The lake is much smaller at the moment after a few years of drought, but is still quite a sight with wonderful sand beaches all along its shores.
    We eventually got to our campground on a little lake just on the other side of the huge earth dam, Lake Ogallala.  The campground has dozens of old cottonwood trees and is beautiful.  However, the wind is blowing so hard we have to hold on to our door with two hands to keep it from being torn off the hinges.  I feel sorry for the folks who have come to this pretty place for a fun weekend of campfires and boating.  Mostly folks are huddled on the downwind side of their campers and trying to hold on to their hats.
   Every day is a new adventure on the road.  Tomorrow our drive to Colorado Springs is only half as long as the drive today and hopefully the wind will have died down.

Prairie Rose State Park, Harlan, Iowa

     We are in a lovely Iowa State Park about eight miles off I-80.  It is a perfect summer evening.  There are only a half dozen other campers and the only sounds are of the wind and the meadowlarks.  The lake here is very low due to last year's drought so there is no boating or swimming yet, but all the rivers and fields that we drove by were full of water so I expect that the lake will soon be full again as well.
    We had our usual slow first day start as we put all the cold food into the refrigerator and all the last minute stuff into the cab.  As I was putting stuff away I wanted to take a picture and couldn't find my camera.  I looked through the usual spots on the camper and could only remember having it at the cabin last weekend.  Just now when I set up my computer I found it in the computer bag.  Yeah!
    The Weather Channel had dire predictions for rain and storms.  We left home in humid sunshine and strong south headwinds which greatly increased our fuel consumption.  As the day progressed we had some light rain, big clouds and more strong winds.  It is hard driving a big rig while towing a car when the wind is bouncing you all over the highway.  Our drive was a little over 300 miles and we made it to our stop for the night by 4:15.  Time for a glass of wine before dinner.YES!
    I like to read all the historical markers at wayside rests.  Today I learned about all the vegetable canning factories in Minnesota as well as the world's first carp canning factory built in Mankato in 1946.  I guess I can't think of anything much yukkier than canned carp.  I wonder if they are still in business.  I guess I will have to do some research.
   Now our NOAA radio tells us that there are only some very isolated thunderstorms expected and then sun tomorrow - with more wind.  We will be heading across the flats of Nebraska along the Platte River so I expect that we will fight the winds again.  I am happy to hear that most of the threat for tornados is gone, but we checked out the brick bathhouse down the road as our only shelter here in the park.  Only once in our many years of camping have we had to run to shelter - that was in Georgia.
   I am happy as always to be back on the road.  We are so lucky to still have our health and time to spend doing what we enjoy.

Colorado, Here We Come

   In a couple weeks we are going to take the Colorado Train Trip that we planned for last year.  The many forest fires in Colorado and the timing of Jennifer's transplant changed our trip last year to a fall trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
    When we took our trip to the Western National Parks in 2008 we thought about taking the Cumbres and Toltec railroad trip into the mountains near Alamosa, Colorado.  But early snowfalls chased us out of the high elevations and we skipped that part of the trip.
   Now I have found a couple other train rides - An all day ride out of Durango on the Durango/Silverton, and some shorter rides in Colorado Springs and Georgetown.  Rick loves trains and has been working on a large n-gauge train layout in our basement since we moved into this house.  The rides will take us high into the mountains into areas without roads.  It should be beautiful and hopefully, without forest fires.
   On our last trip through this area we were pulling our big 5th wheel.  Now that we have a more maneuverable rig we are planning to stay in some National Park sites that we couldn't get into last time - at Great Sand Dunes National Park and will also be staying in Mesa Verde National Park and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Lots of places with no Internet or electricity.  This will definitely impact my timely blogging.
    During the winter this year I have edited my blogs (and missed a lot of errors according to Rick) and put five years of travel memories into a book for me and my kids.  I love to look back at where we have been and relive our adventures.  I was worried that the electronic version of these trips will someday evaporate so it seemed like time to make it more permanent on paper.
    I look forward to sharing this new trip with you.