Minnesota seemed to fly by, but go so slow as well. Having a partner in crime made the time move…differently. But now, I had to move on to the next state, as my time was up. Problem was, the two things on my list in Nebraska were on the western side of the state, and I was far from even the eastern border. Smooth shooting there. Ahead of me, gps called out an 8 hour drive assuming I took the fastest path, which I usually don’t, and if I made minimal stops, which again I usually don’t. So, audio book loaded up, I set off for my destination, hopefully reaching it by nightfall: Valentine, Nebraska.
10 hours later.
With an audio book, calling friends and family, and rocking out to the awesome static of local radio stations, I arrived at the entrance of tonight’s home, Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest. Rolling in, I hoped for some camping signs and quickly found one. Following the dirt road, I took a turn off to what I thought was a camp site, but turned out to be a side road comprised of….SAND!
If you didn’t know, I’m rolling around in a 1998 Toyota Camry. It has as much clearance as a turtle with a lift kit, rocks front wheel drive and has a powerhouse of engine pushing out nearly 100 hp. Sand is basically its greatest enemy next to snow, large rocks, and deer. But, it was dark out, and I could only see in the small bubble of my high beams, I didn’t realize it was sand until I was far too stuck.
Crap.
I’m in the middle of…somewhere, suck in sand at night. All I want to do is pass out. Thankfully, I was prepared, both mentally and physically. A little over a year ago, I spent a winter working in Pittsburgh. It was a normal sight to make the 15 minute walk to my car and spend another 45 minutes chiseling off an inch of ice and digging out my car from the snow so I could get to work. One main difference was that to get out of the snow, I would through sand down for traction. I don’t know what it was, but something told me that adding sand might not help as much in this situation. But, I still had all the safety supplies from then, which included a pack shovel. Tunes cranked up for maximum jamming out, I began digging out my car from the sand pit.
Reaching far back to get under the full frame, and packing down the sand as best as I could. After a few minutes, and satisfied, I decided to test my luck. Rocking the car back and forth: 1st gear, reverse, 1st gear, reverse, repeat. Feathering the throttle I finally made it out to something kind of safe. Success! A little bit more (cautious) exploring, and I found a spot that seemed good enough.
I noticed one thing while digging out my car though, and that was the sky was almost as bright as a parking lot, but as a result of all the stars instead of lights. Stoked to bust out my camera and get some shots, I wasn’t tired any more. A few quick test shots proved my suspicions correct. With my car fully off, the grey streak of the Milky Way was apparent in the night sky, surrounded by the millions of other stars. I was like a kid in a candy shop with how good the lighting was, and how amazing the photos were coming out. It was too surreal!
Finally though, I conceded to sleep, excited for what other gold I was to find the following morning.
----
Waking up in not a parking lot is amazing. Silent air flows all around, a hint of waves crashing in the distance, cat tails dancing in the wind, sand and plants under my does and smells that I haven’t been able to pinpoint yet. A little slice of paradise just outside my door. I had lucked out, and just 30 feet from my car over a small hill was my own private beach! I took the morning slow, stretching, reading, eating and enjoying the time. This was awesome! Alas, it was time to start my day.
I drove into Valentine and stopped at the visitor center for info, though little was to be had. My hit list for the state was complete, and few new points of interest popped up. I made it to my first stop not far, Smith Falls. An awesome 70ft waterfall in the middle of nowhere, but creates a great little oasis that was great to cool my feet off in. From there I looked to my next destination which was conveniently a 2 hour drive away. Joy. Hopping in the car and rocking out to the audiobook again, the drive flew by. But the destination was a state park with an entrance fee that I found unreasonable. Instead I posted up at a local McDonalds for the free wifi and educated myself.
The evening flew by as I ran through tutorials and began work on a side project that will hopefully come to fruition in a few months, so stay tuned.
But with the day dead, and not excited to the copious amounts of driving ahead of me, Walmart was tonight’s home.
----
Washed up, not out, and on the road, I was on my way to Scotts Bluff National Monument. Cruising down the cornfield lined roads, it was uneventful. Though I did make one, strange, pit stop at Carhenge. Some artist got the great idea to recreate Stonehenge...with junk yard cars. It sounds strange, mostly because it is, but it’s also pretty cool. The distances, pieces leaning, and even half buried “stones” are all correctly replicated as cars. Just like its neighbor to the north, making some bit stuff out of metal on the side of the highway seems to be a past time around these parts.
Satisfied I headed for Scottsbluff. The untold area of the badlands stretches all the way down here and though small again, it is much larger and yields a different perspective. The official area is a national monument, which falls under national parks, meaning free entry! Though, there wasn’t a whole lot going on. A single large mud hill, since that’s essentially what the “badlands” and all extensions of it are with one foot path, aka “trail,” up, and one road to the top as well. Thinking this was a good opportunity to stretch my legs, the 100 degree heat killed that thought rather fast. But I did drive to the top to enjoy the view from the top of Nebraska. Looking at what else was around I found….nothing.
So I hopped in my car and headed towards Lincoln and wound up stopping in North Platte to stretch and do some work. All this driving has been making me a bit crazy, and I had blazed through my audio book and needed another. The area off the highway was another pure strip mall with every chain store small and large, including my go-to spot, Starbucks. Seat found, internet connected and headphones in, I set to it. Mixing work with connecting to the world and surfing the internet a bit.
With occasional glances outside I noticed the sky turned dark, with tints of green. Not a good sign, but I was happy to be in a real building, hoping my car and bike would be ok for whatever was to come. Then, it hit. At first the wind was just strong and blew some of the patio chairs off. I went out to pick them up and set them somewhere safer. The lady next to me said it was kind, I replied thanks and went back to work. But it only got worse. The wind picked up, rain and hail fell like confetti from an air cannon. The chairs I had just put back were swept away clear across the street, or so I presumed since visibility was barely to my car just 30 feet from the door. Then the power went out.
Bummer.
So much for getting work done, I was thinking more about how strong those windows now were. Thankfully there was someone else, Jenifer who was equally, if not a bit more, as terrified as I was. We struck up a conversation to pass the time and panic. She is from the area, but works full time in Milan. I kind of wished I had kept up with my Italian, but still had some room to relate. I told her my story, hoping my car/home was safe just outside in the raging weather. She looked at me, awestruck, but at least I’m getting used to that reaction now.
Finally, the storm moved on, east, and the rain had reduced to a fine mist. Taking the chance, we parted ways, and I looked for another place to work, not wanting to continue driving and risk going right back into the storm. A gas/truck stop across the way had a good place to work, and I sat down to let the clock tick by. Eventually, noticing the hours had slipped faster than I thought, I looked for a home for the night. Thankfully a Walmart wasn’t too far, but as I reached it, I found it was a distribution center. Unfortunately my car wasn’t going to blend in very well here. Still kind of hyped up from the storm and feeling restless, I hit the highway, stopping at the next rest stop not too far for sleep. With quite the eventful day, the rest was more than needed.
----
The rest stop was much quieter than I expected. But I hopped in and made my way towards Lincoln, this time without a hitch. I arrived and went to the sunken gardens, the one place on my hit list for Lincoln. A great oasis in the middle of the city with colors as vibrant as a kid’s picture book. The plants were in full bloom with nearly every color of the rainbow present in multiple shades. It was great to have the world stop for a moment and be back in nature.
But the gardens are small, and only kept my attention for so long. I desperately need to get work done and found another Starbucks to work the day away. Mixing learning, working and traveling is a hard combination, but damn if it isn’t fun. Being free to set my own asinine schedule and do/see what I want as I see fit. Then being able to stop and work again as I see fit is a great luxury. But I often indulge in one end or another and haven’t quite found a flow that gets both done without one fully encompassing the other.
I’m still learning, and growing.
