August 2 - Today we entered the famous Sand Hills of Nebraska. They are grass-covered sand dunes with pothole lakes and small streams throughout.
There are also a lot of cottonwoods, cattails, cattle and doves.
One of the nice little lakes that dot the sand hills.
This was in the Sand Cafe in Merriman where we stopped for lunch. The walls were covered with Polaroid pictures. Ours was added to the biker/misc. group.
Coming into the 2nd Cody of the trip. This one is a bit smaller than the one in Wyoming.
The city park invites travelers to camp there and even has a nice shower!
And very solid picnic tables.
A little later, a truck and travel trailer pulled in and plugged in. Jack and Susan came over to introduce themselves but we didn't get a picture. They are on their way to the Tetons.
August 3 - It started raining about an hour into today's ride. It was a warm rain so we didn't put on our pants. Needed wipers for the glasses though!
Oh no! ... We lose another hour!
The name is bigger than the creek at this point. We stopped in Kilgore for a snack and several Native Americans from the Rosebud Reservation inquired about our trip and then made a point of shaking our hands and wishing us safety. It stopped raining just after that.
It started raining again about 2 miles outside of Valentine, a pleasant town of about 3,000. It also just happens to be a major stopping point on the way to Sturgis. It is a good thing we got there early in the afternoon because by about 4:00 all the motels were booked and at 4:45 the weather service issued a tornado warning for the area!
August 4 - The Niobrara River, a popular canoe stream judging by the number of canoe rental places we saw in Valentine.
Still a little cloudy but today we have a tailwind and the terrain is getting ever more flat as we go east, though there is really no such thing as flat in the sand hills.
The boot fence: Nebraska's version of a shoe tree.
Now, we know we passed the middle of nowhere in Hampton, Oregon and Waltman, Wyoming! This "Middle of Nowhere" has really pleasant, small, full service communities.
We ran into Alborz, the young man walking Highway 20, just east of Ainsworth where we had stopped for lunch. He has modified his method of carrying the backpack. He is doing great and making 20-30 miles a day. He said he likes any kind of wind because it keeps him cool. We talked to him about an hour that evening in Bassett.
Coming into Bassett, our destination for the day. These are the contraptions that make all those round bales of hay.
August 5 - We found this well-preserved old gas station when we headed downtown for breakfast this morning. The cafe didn't open until 8:00 so we got some donuts back at the motel and took off.
Into the fog. It kept the temperature in the 70's most of the morning.
We figure it was about 100% humidity though. Doug's glasses kept misting up too along with the hair on his arms.
Newport #2 of our journey. We stopped and had a real breakfast here.
We arrived here just before noon and could have had another breakfast as part of Hay Days but we weren't that hungry yet.
They did have an extensive display of very old tractors. We ended the day in O'Neill, the Irish Capital of Nebraska, where we had an Italian dinner.
August 2 - Today we entered the famous Sand Hills of Nebraska. They are grass-covered sand dunes with pothole lakes and small streams throughout.
There are also a lot of cottonwoods, cattails, cattle and doves.
One of the nice little lakes that dot the sand hills.
This was in the Sand Cafe in Merriman where we stopped for lunch. The walls were covered with Polaroid pictures. Ours was added to the biker/misc. group.
Coming into the 2nd Cody of the trip. This one is a bit smaller than the one in Wyoming.
The city park invites travelers to camp there and even has a nice shower!
And very solid picnic tables.
A little later, a truck and travel trailer pulled in and plugged in. Jack and Susan came over to introduce themselves but we didn't get a picture. They are on their way to the Tetons.
August 3 - It started raining about an hour into today's ride. It was a warm rain so we didn't put on our pants. Needed wipers for the glasses though!
Oh no! ... We lose another hour!
The name is bigger than the creek at this point. We stopped in Kilgore for a snack and several Native Americans from the Rosebud Reservation inquired about our trip and then made a point of shaking our hands and wishing us safety. It stopped raining just after that.
It started raining again about 2 miles outside of Valentine, a pleasant town of about 3,000. It also just happens to be a major stopping point on the way to Sturgis. It is a good thing we got there early in the afternoon because by about 4:00 all the motels were booked and at 4:45 the weather service issued a tornado warning for the area!
August 4 - The Niobrara River, a popular canoe stream judging by the number of canoe rental places we saw in Valentine.
Still a little cloudy but today we have a tailwind and the terrain is getting ever more flat as we go east, though there is really no such thing as flat in the sand hills.
The boot fence: Nebraska's version of a shoe tree.
Now, we know we passed the middle of nowhere in Hampton, Oregon and Waltman, Wyoming! This "Middle of Nowhere" has really pleasant, small, full service communities.
We ran into Alborz, the young man walking Highway 20, just east of Ainsworth where we had stopped for lunch. He has modified his method of carrying the backpack. He is doing great and making 20-30 miles a day. He said he likes any kind of wind because it keeps him cool. We talked to him about an hour that evening in Bassett.
Coming into Bassett, our destination for the day. These are the contraptions that make all those round bales of hay.
August 5 - We found this well-preserved old gas station when we headed downtown for breakfast this morning. The cafe didn't open until 8:00 so we got some donuts back at the motel and took off.
Into the fog. It kept the temperature in the 70's most of the morning.
We figure it was about 100% humidity though. Doug's glasses kept misting up too along with the hair on his arms.
Newport #2 of our journey. We stopped and had a real breakfast here.
We arrived here just before noon and could have had another breakfast as part of Hay Days but we weren't that hungry yet.
They did have an extensive display of very old tractors. We ended the day in O'Neill, the Irish Capital of Nebraska, where we had an Italian dinner.
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