Day Four: We Are in Nebraska and There are Dandelions!

 Saturday, April 22, 2023

Look what pretty Dandelions were right outside our door
when we parked along the edge of the parking lot at the
Walmart in McCook, Nebraska. 

Up before the sun this morning we wanted to be on our way before 8:00AM. I do not think I mentioned it but when we crossed into Texas on Thursday we lost another hour and are now on Central Standard Time. We were not sure how much sleep we were going to get last night because it sounded like the street in front of the Walmart in Garden City, KS turns into a a drag strip after dark. With all the motor revving it got pretty loud for awhile then right around Midnight things quieted down. 

We pulled out of the parking lot around 7:50AM and our first stop was to top of the Stinger "B"s diesel tank.  We paid $4.05 a gallon this morning and that price was pretty consistent with what we saw along the way today. Pulling out of the TA Truck Stop at 8:15AM we turned north on US-83. It was 35 degrees under grey cloudy skies and there was some wind.  The pictures below are of today's ride. The scenery was pretty much like yesterday's in the beginning open fields but as our morning progressed there were some rolling hills in view. Who knew, we thought Kansas was pretty flat. At least the areas we went through in the past seemed pretty flat. It was a nice change of scenery and today's ride went by quickly.

Passed these two flags blowing in the wind 
on our way to the Truck Stop.

Looked like an old gas station from back in the day when they 
came out and pumped the gas, asked if you wanted your oil
checked then cleaned your windshield.

Saw several more of these today most of them were in the distance.

Three of these passed us going south this morning.
I am going to guess in search of a wind turbine.

Scott City has a pretty blue water tower

and trees blooming with white blossoms.

There was a reference to a Bible Verse on the grain tower.
"God so love the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish
but have everlasting life.

I just liked how the road looked like a ribbon in the wind.

Today's ride included some views of rolling hills 

and those views, in the distance, were beautiful.

I always love seeing the windmills.

For the second day in a row we did not see any trains.

Wind turbines in the distance all with their blades moving.

Rexford, Kansas

Selden, Kansas

Oberlin, Kansas is in the distance.

A very unique sign.
(If you click on it,
it will open larger so you can see what it is made of.)

Signs on their lamp posts.

Leaving Kansas 

and crossing into Nebraska.

The views do not change

and I spotted another windmill.

What ended up being today's destination,
McCook, Nebraska, is ahead of us.

The sun going down behind the Walmart in McCook, Nebraska.
Definitely not the same as a desert sunset but still some pretty color.

I believe it was 48 degrees when we stopped at the Walmart in McCook just before noon to have lunch. We talked about going another 67 miles to spend the night at the Walmart in North Platte but we could feel the wind picking up and ultimately decided to stay here. Today's ride took us another 173 miles into the cold north.  

For the most part today's ride was uneventful though we did have one or maybe two little glitches. I had found a city park here in McCook with full hookups for a free will donation but when we got to it we could see there was no way we could make the turn into the park. The problem was we were now going the wrong way to continue our route and needed a place to turn around. We did find a place and it was an interesting turn around. (Full disclosure: I did have to get out and direct at one point.) Tom did manage to get us turned around and we were soon going back in the right direction. Then there was the semi earlier this morning that decided to pass with a car coming towards us. Tom managed to slow down while moving slightly over and the car was able to go off on to the shoulder, so that worked out. So other then those two moments it was mostly uneventful and we are tucked in safe and sound trying to stay warm. The predicted low for tonight is 24 degrees. 

It was 36 degrees when we went to bed last night and it is a balmy 21 degrees this Sunday morning as I finish writing this. Today is going to be a slightly longer day and we will end up in Valentine, Nebraska at least that is the plan. To be really, really honest not thrilled with the cold temperatures but still enjoying the Journey. 

 

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