Ogallala

Heading out of Alliance, full and happy in spite of our disappointments, we began to head east on route 2 right down the middle of the state, on the beginning of making our way to Auburn in time for Chase's graduation.  In the growing darkness, we passed small towns like Antioch, Ellsworth, Bingham , and Hyannis, where we found no places to stay and by now, no signs of life to reassure us, so we decided to drive south on the 61, through Arthur county, a sparsely populated area with the town of Arthur being midway at the junction of the 61 and 92.  We had a good feeling about finding someplace to stay in Arthur, this being Jackie's father's name, but like everyplace else, it was dark and uninviting as night had now fell and the streets were empty.  To compound our sense of growing desperation, it began to rain heavily and long trails of horizontal lightning, like nothing we had ever seen, strafed the horizon in long sideways rolling blasts that lit the landscape with an eerie glow over an emptiness that threatened to swallow us.  Since Jackie was driving, I had my nose pressed against the window, enjoying the spectacle thoroughly, until Jackie mentioned that this was perfect conditions for a tornado, and given the total darkness, if we were to encounter one, we wouldn't know it until it sucked us up and spit us out, which would be too late.  This sobering thought dampened my childlike excitement and added to our sense of urgency about getting to Ogallala, which appeared to be a large town with the best chance of finding a place to bed down for the night.   The rain and lightning followed us right to the door of a Best Western, or was it a Hampton Inn, whatever....They had rooms and we were saved.  The next morning over a buffet breakfast of grits, eggs, toast and coffee, we talked to truckers and fellow travelers who were equally awed and eager to talk about last nights events, watched the skies clear, and ventured out to see Ogallala.

I am not all that happy with this entry.  The narrative is good but the pictures aren't particularly informative, cohesive, or good.  I am reaching the point in my Nebraska road trip where there are many good pictures, but not much to say, or vice verse, so at this point I will leave Nebraska for a while to regroup and reminisce, and then cut to the Chase (as in Chase's graduation in Auburn) followed by mostly images I like that don't have a lot of context, but just speak for themselves like this one which so aptly describes Nebraska in general (who comes up with these things?!!!).

                                                                         Pablo