August 30 - Ogallala, Nebraska and Lake McConaughy

    We spent the morning around the RV.  Doing regular "stuff".  After lunch we headed over to Lake McConaughy. Our first stop was in Ogallala, at the Petrified Wood & Art Gallery.  What a neat gallery.  It is a non-profit and free.  The original twin owners, now 94, have been collecting petrified wood items all their life.  They have items from all over the world.  They also created art work from petrified wood chips that were very impressive.  The polished petrified wood items were really beautiful, and colorful.  

 Our next stop was at the visitor center by the dam.  They had several interesting videos about the creation of the dam, back in the 30's, and the current use of the water--mostly for irrigation and recreation.  We drove over the 2,100 foot dam, and drove the 20 miles along the northern shoreline.  There were 7 major bays, each with two or three beach access points.  However, the water level was very low, and the shoreline was probably 1/4 mile away across loose white sand.  Even though you are allowed to drive on the beach, and even camp on it, we were not willing to attempt the drive on such loose sand in our car, even if it is an all-wheel drive.  So we were not impressed with this lake.  Our last stop was at the Sandy Beach, at the western most part of the lake.  Very few people were there, and we actually found a paved boat ramp into the water that we drove the car down, so we could at least be at the lake side for a bit.  

   We decided not to retrace our steps back around the eastern side of the lake, and instead headed further west, and turned south at the end of the lake.  This gave us more to see of the countryside.  As we turned south, we came to Ash Hollow State Historical Park.  Now this was impressive.  It turns out there is a spring there with a pond.  It was visited by the Plains Indians, fur traders and trappers, and was a principal stopping point on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails.  It is a valley between tall bluffs, so to get to the spring, we needed to walk down, down a steep hill, and then back up, of course.  But sitting a the spring head, in this little valley, was quite idyllic.  Long, but nice day of sightseeing.

Petrified Wood gallery photos:

Lake McConaughy Dam photo:

Lake McConaughy Beach photos:

Ash Hollow State Historical Park photos:

August 29 - on to Ogallala, Nebraska

    Our route today was 215 miles straight  on I-80 west.  The landscape is definitely changing again.  More rolling hills, even a few small mountain ridges.  And more cattle ranches and fewer cornfields.  And along the roadside everywhere are beautiful yellow small sunflowers.  Plus, where there are cornfields, you can see the yellow tops off into the distance.   Makes for a pretty vista. There is also lots more water.  We are following the Platte river, and there are lots of ponds by the fields. 

Our campground is 3/4 mile off the interstate, and in the town of Ogallala, Nebraska.  This town is located about 12 miles south of Lake McConaughy, a huge lake and State Park.  Gabe says folks from Colorado even come up here to vacation by the lake.  It has over 100 miles of shoreline, bays and beaches.  We'll go there tomorrow.

   This campground is definitely a staging area, a parking lot to park the RV in for a few days, with full hook up while we sight see.  It is our last stop before we get to Colorado.  We set up the RV, walked the campgrounds, and hung out for a bit.  I had a  monthly sibling/cousin Zoom call, which was wonderful.  How nice to spend an hour with family.  After the call, we decided to go out for dinner, for a change.  We found a very nice Mexican restaurant a mile away.  Gee, no cooking -- much appreciated.

   Sunflowers along the route photo:

August 28 - Henderson, Nebraska

   I can't believe the wind here.  It is constant, and strong.  So, this morning, even though it is 80 some degrees out, it felt wonderful to sit by the pond, feel the wind and hear it in the trees, see the blue, blue sky, and watch the water ripple.  I read for a while.  Peter working on his computer.  

   After lunch, we needed to do the laundry, so went in to the next town over of Aurora.  Just a slightly larger town than Henderson.  It had a really nice, clean laundromat.  We ended up chatting with some of the local folks -- a 13 year old girl who reminded me a lot of Cheyenne.  Outgoing, intelligent, self-motivated.  She and a lot of other teens work in the mornings for the corn farmers, walking the corn rows and pulling the silk tassels from the corn (for some reason I didn't understand).  Also, an older woman who has lived all of her life in the area.  We heard some interesting perspectives.

   When we got back in the car, the temperature read 100.  It's the sun that really gets you.  It feels 20 degrees cooler in the shade, especially with the breeze.  It was just too hot to do much outdoors, sightseeing, so we came back to the RV and the AC.  Very relaxing rest of the afternoon.  I'm making headway on my new NICU knitted baby blanket.  Reading.  

   After dinner, we went back over to sit by the pond and watch another sunset.  It has really cooled off  a lot with the sun going down.  We have been very impressed with this little, right off the Interstate campgrounds.  There are only 31 sites, and one cabin.  But they are very well maintained, most have a tree for shade nearby, they are all near the pond, and the two owners are very friendly, helpful and appreciative of our staying here.  They have paddle boats, horseshoes, volleyball net, kids playground, etc.  And everything is super clean and cared for.  So, for a quick lay over on the road, it has been great.  A real Oasis amidst hundreds of miles of cornfields.

Morning reading by the pond at Prairie Oasis campground photo:

Evening communing with nature photo:

August 27 - on to Henderson, Nebraska

  Neither Peter nor I have ever been in Nebraska.  I really enjoyed western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, up to Omaha.  The landscape was very tall hills, all covered with cultivated farm fields of corn and soybeans.  They even needed to do some terracing.  Massachusetts has similar hilly terrain, but it is all covered with trees.  If you tried to cultivate one of Massachusetts' hillsides, all you'd get would be rocks.  As a matter of fact, I haven't seen a single rock wall here in Iowa.  But the vista is so wide open, you can see the extremely straight roads going up and down the hills in front of you, all the way to the horizon.  

   After Omaha, Nebraska landscape flattens out.  So all you see is cornfields, everywhere, and extremely few trees.  In Iowa, you could see trees, clustered around the farm houses and barn complexes, dotting the landscape.  In flat Nebraska, you don't see trees, and you don't see farmhouses, just barns, periodically.  Also, even with the very strong breeze (I needed to slow down to 60mph just to fight the steering wheel), there were hardly any wind turbines.  Iowa had quite a few wind turbine farms along the route.  I am still AMAZED at how much corn we grow in the US each year.  We have driven 1000 miles across northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and now Nebraska, and it has been non-stop HUGE cornfields.  And none of it is sweet corn.  

   Our current campsite "Prairie Oasis" is right off I-80, but indeed looks like an oasis.  It is completely surrounded by cornfields, but has a pond, and large trees dotting the campgrounds, giving nice shade.  And, the shade is really needed, as the temperature was mid-90's and the sun was scorching.  Fortunately, the wind helps a lot.  Also, as Lou would say, "it is a dry heat".  As Evie would say, "an oven is still hot".  Again, thank goodness for our air conditioned RV.

It seems that after a day of traveling, we tend to want to just set up the RV and hang out.  We walked over to the pond and sat in the porch swings, in the shade, enjoying the breeze.

Prairie Oasis campground photos:

August 26 - Anita State Park, Anita, Iowa and Atlantic, Iowa

   This morning was a beautiful, partly cloudy day, with a wonderful breeze blowing, so I took my computer outside and sat in the shade and updated the blog, then read for a while.  Very relaxing.  It wasn't as hot or as humid, so we hung out for the morning.  Chatted up some other folks who had just retired recently, and are now doing a similar trip as us.  Always interesting to hear about their experiences.  Then we noticed a storm front blowing through.  It was a huge bank of very dark, very low clouds, slowly passing over the lake area.  Strong winds,  really neat. 

   After lunch, we went into the nearby town  of Atlantic.  On the way there, driving through more farmlands, we noticed many fields of a tall, dark green, grassy plants.  Since the breeze was so strong, the grasses were rippling like water in a lake.  It looked like fields of dark green water, with waves.   Really neat.  

   Downtown Anita was 1/2 a block long, but Atlantic was an actual town.  It even had a Walmart Super Store (ugh).  I was able to get the perishable items there, that I couldn't get in Anita.  So even though I don't like Walmart in general, I do appreciate being able to find fresh produce and even Synergy and Naked in the middle of Iowa.  

   The town of Atlantic is supposedly half way between the Atlantic and the Pacific, so when the town was founded, they "flipped a coin, and obviously the Atlantic won".  We drove through Atlantic's "Historic downtown" which ended at the old Rock Island Line railroad station, which is now a town hall.  I found myself singing the chorus to that old song:

Down the Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
The Rock Island Line, it's the road to ride
The Rock Island Line, it's a mighty good road
Well, if you want to ride you gotta ride like you find it
Get your ticket at the station of the Rock Island Line

   On the way back, Peter made me stop at the local Anita water tower, so he could capture an Ingress location.  Oh joy.  We returned to the State Park, and just enjoyed the locale.  After dinner, since it had cooled off a lot, we walked a portion of the paved bike/hiking trail back over to the causeway we had driven to last  evening, to again watch the sunset.  It was a nice walk, round trip was 1.2 miles.  And another beautiful sunset with some incredible cloud formations.

Storm clouds photo:

Anita water tower photo:

Evening hike and sunset over Anita Lake photos:

Beginning of the hiking trail

August 25 - Anita State Park, Anita, Iowa

   Another really hot, sunny day.  Spent the morning updating my blog.  I could actually sit outside in the shade to do that, as it hadn't yet warmed up to steamy level yet.  After lunch, we drove over to the only nearby local attraction.  Almost everywhere we have travelled, there has been something of interest to see, either nature or historical or something.  Not so here.  So, we drove over to the Jesse James Historical Site.  On July 21, 1873, Jesse James and his gang committed the first train robbery in the west.  There is still a sign there to show it.  What I found even more interesting was the typewritten explanation of how the prairie in Iowa used to cover 98% of the State, and took thousands of years to build the fertile soil.  And now, it covers about 1% of the State, and is covered mostly in croplands, and the soil has been depleted.  This group planted prairie grasses in the area behind the Jesse James site.  Interesting.

   We needed to pick up a few perishable items so went to the Anita local market.  Ugh.  Not impressed, not even OK.  So, we will go to the nearby (11 miles) Walmart tomorrow (ugh).  When we got back to the RV, it was still really hot and steamy.  I drove over to the beach again, and swam, and sat for a bit in the shade and read, while having my wet suit keep me a bit cooler.   Back to the RV, and dinner.  

   After dinner, it had cooled off again, and a nice breeze was blowing.  So we drove around the lake, to the end of the road, that ended where the nature/bike trail crosses the lake.  We got there just at sunset, and sat on the bench enjoying the view, the coolness, the breeze and the sunset.  This park has a nature trail that circumnavigates the entire lake, about 4 miles.  If it hadn't been so hot, we would have hiked it.  Oh well, this time we drove around the lake.

Jesse James Historical site photo:

Sunset at Anita Lake State Park photos:

August 24 - on to Anita State Park in Anita, Iowa

    We had a fairly easy route, straight west on I-80 again.  The landscape is getting much hillier, and the hills are taller.  There are even areas with trees along the roadside, instead of miles of corn and soybean fields.  We even saw some pastures with cows grazing in them.  There is something really appealing about seeing a farmhouse surrounded with trees, barns, and outbuildings, in the middle of vast fields of corn and soybeans.  Very pastoral, nice to look at, but I wouldn't like to live here.  

   As I was driving, I had a Roy Orbison CD, and I had another flashback memory.  I was in high school and I was driving in a car with Lois and her boyfriend, Harvey Kline.  He played classical violin, and when a Roy Orbison song came on over the radio, I remember Lois explaining to Harvey that he was actually a pretty good singer.  Then I had another "in-the-car-with-Lois" flashback.  She was driving and we were singing "Tip Toe Thru The Tulips" together.  When we got to "Stomping through the Tulips" we were laughing so hard and long that Lois needed to pull over until we stopped laughing.  Ah, what lovely memories.  I am so blessed to have grown up with Lois as such a close part of my life.  And even though our lives had us living in different States, she is still so important to me.

   We arrived at this beautiful State Park.  It has a very large lake, with a 4 mile trail all around it.  Full hook up campsites, right along the lakeside.  Unfortunately, the weather was so hot and humid, that even in the shade, it was too hot to be outside.  And, it took many hours to get the RV cooled down from the 92 degrees it started at, to the 77 degrees I set the AC at.  So, I left Peter in the warm RV and drove over to the beach area, on the other side of the lake.  Very large beach, nice sandy area, a little shade.  The water was VERY refreshing!  I plunged in and swam and floated for quite a while, giving my body a chance to cool down.  And, I was the only one there!  I'm told that Iowa schools have already started, so during the week, there are fewer campers.  

   After dinner, it had cooled off enough that we went for a stroll around the campgrounds.  There are several loops along this long lake.  As we walked, a lone black duck came down the road towards us, then started following us.  The camp host told us that someone had dropped the duck off, and now it hangs out near people.  We watched the sunset over the lake.  Very pretty.

Anita State Park photos:

   

August 23 - Armana Colony, Armana, Iowa

   The early morning brought heavy rain, so we had a leisurely breakfast, did some bill paying, and by then, it was sunny and getting warmer.  We decided to go into the Armana Colony village.  The main village of Armana is now a tourist area, where they can showcase many of their crafts, products, and much of their history.  We visited their museum, saw a nice video of their history, and chatted for a while with one of the "elders"  (Sirius would call them Core Group members).  Peter was engaged, and I found it very interesting.  I could relate to many of their issues and challenges.  We walked the street with many shops, had lunch, then stopped at one of their micro breweries.  They also had quite a few wineries, but we didn't stop there.  We ended with going into the Woolen mill, Quilt store, and Furniture Factory.  I was MOST impressed with the Quilt Shop.  Amazing quilting patterns and fabric colors.  

   In the museum, there was an area that showed the children's area, and I was immediately surprised to see a doll house that looked almost exactly like the one Ed made originally for Anica, or was it Claire?  It was the one I repainted and refinished for Quinn a few years ago.  They also had a few kitchen tools that I thought were interesting, along with a statement about how everyone in the community had to work and do their share (that was assigned to them according to their skills), and to do it GLADLY!

   It is now 91 degrees, and the RV is out in a sunny field, with no shade.  Thank goodness for air conditioning.  

Armana Colony village photos--Museum:

Early egg beater? Whisk? Read the sign.

Armana Colony doll house

Ed's doll house

Armana Colony photos-Quilt Store:

Armana Colony photos - microbrewery:

Armana Colony photos - Furniture shop:

Armana Colony photos - Mill and Wool shop:

August 22 - on to Amana, Iowa

    Our route again was a straight shot on I-80 west, for 200 miles.  Through western Illinois, and then eastern Iowa.  I continue to be amazed at how much of the land in these States is farmland, and how much corn and soybeans we must produce.  The land is getting a bit hillier, so there are some nice vistas of dark green, light green, and gold fields, all the way to the horizon.  I was a bit surprised that I didn't see many solar farms or wind turbine farms.  There is a lot of wind and sun here.  Much more than in Mass, that is for sure, and yet Mass has lots of solar farms.  Too bad.

   Our campground for 2 nights was chosen purely because it was close to our I-80 route west, and is a Passport America campground.  That means we can stay for 1/2 price.  It turns out this RV campground is owned by the Amana Corporation, and is also an event center.  We are in surrounded by cornfields.  In a wide open field, with over 150 sites.  It was built to hold events in the area.  When we arrived, there were two events going on.  One was a Dog Diving competition.  Dogs competed to see who could jump the farthest into a swimming pool.  The other was a Dog Racing competition.  They were nearly done by the time we set up, so we didn't go over to check them out.  

   Much to our surprise, this area is part of the old Armana Community.  This religious group came from Germany, and were called Inspirationists.  They originally settled in New York, in 1842, but then moved to Armana, Iowa.  They ended up purchasing 26,000 acres of farmland and creating 7 small "villlages" in the area.  They had a communal economy until 1932 when they formed a corporation, that the members owned shares of.  They were very self-sufficient, growing and making most of their daily needs.  One of their businesses that they created was the Armana Electric Company, selling Armana refrigerators.  They also had a very large woolen mill and weaving factory, and furniture and metal goods stores.  The corporation still owns and farms the 26,000 acres.  Interesting.

  Armana RV Park and Event Center photos: