Sat morning was cloudy and drizzly, so we just had breakfast in waiting for it to pass. We were planning on going into the Old Town Market Square, but when we left at 11:30 it was still drizzling and wet, so we headed off to Council Bluffs, Iowa to the camping world there. Well, I had maps, my phone and the GPS but still couldn't find it, noticing that there were about 3 streets with the same name and the all ended in bridges or old railroad beds. So we did the next best thing and stopped for lunch. It was a decent meal and before we left I call CW, told them where we were and they gave us directions to the store. We did some shopping and purchased a new rug (our old one was left in Dillsburg), then headed back towards home. Oh no, a quick turn into a Starbucks, then we decided to try a different way home. It appears that they continued route 34 straight west and put another bridge over the Missouri river, bringing us in the back way to the CG and not having to go over the narrow toll bridge on 370. As we headed to the CG we noticed the 'Catfish Lake' restaurant.....maybe we'll give it a try, since it is still cold and rainy. Back home a couple of walks for Rudy, 2 loads of laundry done and a check in the office about the restaurant. Both of the people working had been there and the one lady said it's a bit of a dive, but they go about once a month the food was really good....that's all we needed. We headed back to the restaurant, an appetizer of stuffed mushroom caps and we were both full....but I ordered the sampler plate and Brad ordered the catfish. Now I will admit most of mine came home along with a baked potato and their flower pot bread, filling 2 big carry out containers. Wow a lot of really good food. Back home, Brad complaining he was stuffed (he ate all his), so a walk for Rudy, rain or no rain.
Sunday ended up being sunny and cool, so we packed up, on the road by 10:00 and took the back road out to route 34 and continued traveling that to Grand Island, NE. It actually is nice being able to stay off the interstates and see what the country side actually looks like, I don't think that I have ever seen so many corn fields in my life, I think they went on for the whole 180 miles we traveled. We did get on Route 80 for about 10 miles, looking for a rest stop but didn't find one, so we got back on to 34 on the other side of Lincoln. We were headed through the little town of Seward, when we spotted a grocery store big enough for us to pull into, so a quick turn and we have our break. There was a little pizza shop in the plaza, so while Brad walked Rudy I went in and ordered a Calzone. It was a cute little shop, crowded with people and the Calzone was delicious....all in all a nice find. After that back on the road towards the CG we even did a little side road to the CG we picked, not a bad place, a little more road noise then we like, but heck, not too bad for not knowing where you are going. We got parked and set up, a couple of walks for Rudy and back to the office at 3:00, when they opened, to do our check in and get some information about the area. We didn't go anywhere for the evening, a lot of walks for Rudy and for dinner we ate the fish and bread we brought home the night before...and yes there was still enough for us both to be full. All in all, not a bad day of travel and a nice evening at the CG.
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| KOA in Grand Island, NE |
Monday we had a quick breakfast at the CG, then headed into Grand Island, looking for Antique Avenue.....and yes we found it. There were only a couple of stores open (it was Monday after all), but we did some shopping then headed up the street looking for a place to eat lunch, settling on the Coney Island dinner. Neither of us braved the Coney Island hot dog, but we had a bowl chili and sandwiches, which ended up being pretty good. After that we headed out to find the Mormon Island State Recreation area and after driving through there, we wondered why we hadn't camped here. We then stopped at the Stuhr Prairie Museum did a little drive around and decided since it was already 3:00, it was too late to appreciate it, so off to find a grocery store. We found a Hy-Vee, did our shopping, then headed home to rescue Rudy. Chicken on the grill and another lazy evening at the CG.
Tuesday we got up, took our time getting ready and on the road. We only have 150 mile to North Platte, NE, our next scheduled stop. Not a bad trip, Brad ended up swinging into a Cabela's distribution center where we parked and had lunch, a nice walk for Rudy, then back on the road. We traveled Route 30 (the Lincoln Highway) again and were beside the RR tracks the whole way to town. For about 30-40 miles traveled side by side with a train, he would pass us in the small towns when we had to slow down, but once out of town, lead-foot Brad would hurry up and pass him. (ha ha). We ended up pulling into the CG about 2:30 and the lady checking us in was very pleasant. We decided to stay 2 nights and check out North Platte while we are here. We had burgers for dinner and did a lot of walking Rudy, checking out the showers and the Nebraska shaped swimming pool, pretty cool. (For a travel day, I just missed 10,000 steps, about double a normal travel day).
Wednesday was breakfast at the CG then we headed out looking for the 'Golden Spike Tower', which gives you a great view of the over 2000 acre Union Pacific railroad yard below. There were some interesting videos, showing the past and how they fed every WW-II Military member at a Canteen in North Platte just outside the RR yard, it was a great story. On the 7th floor there is an open air walk where you can view the RR yard, but the most interesting was on the eighth floor. It was another viewing area, enclosed where the was a retire RR worker to provide information and answer questions. We were both impressed with the information that he shared, we learned a about the RR and how the yard worked, both of us walking away with a different perspective of the train yards. After that we had lunch at the Lincoln Highway Diner, then headed off to the BuffaloBill Cody 'Scout Rest Ranch'. We got the 2 min spiel, then headed off on our self guided tour. There were a few pieces of his original furniture in the house and some other artifacts, such as clothing, saddles, and wagons. We walked around the about 1-1.5 hours, then headed home about 3:30-4:00, stopping to get a 12 pack a beer, 78 degrees just didn't sound like a wine night. We walked Rudy, discussed going out to dinner, then settled on steak on the grill with salad and garlic bread....Rudy was happy. A lot of walking again and then settled in about 9:00, and being at the end of the time zone, it was still light outside.
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| The Rail-Road Yard |
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| Bill Cody's House |
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| Dark Skys rolling in!! |
Thursday we managed to get on the road about 9:30, not sure if we are going to travel 130 miles or 220. We stayed on Route 30 and stopped for a break about 1.5 hours into the trip but it was now only 10:00, since we had crossed into another time zone. We traveled about another 1 to the Cabela's Headquarters in Sidney, NE, which was our first overnight option. We settled on lunch then headed back out, hoping to make it to Warren AFB in Cheyenne. It ended up not being a bad trip, we were checked in and parked by 2:30. We got all hooked up and set up, just in time for the sky to turn black and chase us inside. It is now raining, the skys don't look quite so bad, but I guess we'll have the rain the rest of the night. I guess I'll be making dinner inside.....ugh.
Diane and Brad
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