Vigilantes? The Pony Express Oath; An Arch Where? Nostalgia Night Under Steer

Yesterday was a long day. After a quick breakfast at Penny’s Diner in North Platte, we got underway heading east. Lucky we left when we did, because we heard rumors that the North Platte Chamber of Commerce was disturbed about my less than enthusiastic comments about their Central Business District in the previous night’s blog, and a vigilante posse was being formed to come throw me in the hoosegow until I changed my evil words. Fortunately, their one-horsepower posse was no match for our 400 horsepower diesel engine, but I am unlikely to be given the VIP Key to North Platte anytime soon. In case it is needed in any future defense case in this town, I would like to praise Penny’s Diner (we had an excellent diner breakfast there, just as good as Waffle House); also, I would like to recommend to all readers of our blog to visit North Platte, Nebraska, and its world famous Bailey Yard, the world’s largest railyard. Please visit and spend lots of money so my sentence will be reduced...  

We stopped briefly in Lexington, Nebraska, to get in a run. It is a lovely town (I learned my lesson in North Platte; my momma didn’t raise no fool...). We ran from the Wal-Mart parking lot down a dirt road past the State Police station, the Heartland Military Vehicle Museum, and the Goose Refuge under a cloudless sky through flat terrain with fields of stunted corn. The drought has hit hard here; please send prayers for rain! It wasn’t quite the same as running in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but everyone who passed waved and smiled. We were running about a quarter mile apart, and one farmer in a pickup slowed when he passed Suzanne to say that I had asked for a lift (you meet a comedian wannabe every day). 

Rudy would love to be able to run with us, but his short legs are a disadvantage. He looks sad that he’s being left behind... 

In the 1860’s, Lexington was a Pony Express stop; created by Alexander Majors, this equine mail delivery system employed 120 riders, 184 stations, 400 horses, and about 350 support personnel. Mail was sent from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in 10 days for $5.00 per half ounce. Pony Express riders had to swear the following oath: “While I am in the employ of A. Majors, I agree not to use profane language, not to get drunk, not to gamble, not to treat animals cruelly and not to do anything else that is incompatible with the conduct of a gentleman. And I agree, if I violate any of the above conditions, to accept my discharge without any pay for my services.”  

We continued down I-80, and something on the horizon caught our attention from miles away... Suzanne was driving, and said it reminded her of one of the rest stops in Chicago that sit over the highway. In reality, it was the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. In case you have missed this on your trips across country, I’ll try to summarize briefly... this tourist attraction was the brainchild of a former governor, and has the second longest escalator in the state, 24 life-size cast figures in a movie glorifying the Platte River area in American history, and a Conestoga wagon with the contents that pioneers would carry on their trips to Oregon. What amazed me was that a total of 89,000 blades of grass appear in the movie. Overly optimistic visitor projections forced the monument to cut expenses and refinance their bond payments... (One more time, I don’t make this stuff up... at least not this part...).  

We are now in Omaha, Nebraska, at Offutt Air Force Base FamCamp. We will stay here for three nights, catching up on admin, maintenance, and a medical appointment. One of the maintenance issues was that I either misplaced or left behind at another campground a brass fresh water pressure reducer, so I had to find a new one. This little gizmo attaches to the campground water spigot and our hose, and ensures that the pressure going to The Bus is 45-50 psi or less. Some campgrounds have 75 psi water, which can blow the water hoses in RVs. That not only creates a big mess, but can cause significant damage if not discovered immediately. 

This afternoon after giving a phone reading Suzanne tried to kill me... figuratively, at least. She said, “Honey, let’s go for a bike ride.” My Lovely Bride then took me on a 21 mile ride on a local trail along the Missouri River in 97F heat and a 15 mph headwind. She set the pace, and showed me no mercy whatsoever. Now, I’m not a whiner, but this ride was brutal. It was as hard as our long ride in the Rockies, because the heat was appalling. I was too tired at the end to even take a picture of her smiling face. She was hardly even breaking a sweat... next time I’ll put 20 lbs of weights on her bike while she’s not looking!

We went out tonight for an Omaha steak dinner (well, at least a steak dinner in Omaha), although we passed the Omaha Steaks distribution center on the way into town. I wanted to make a raid there, but we don’t have a big freezer in The Bus. Our dinner tonight was interesting; we drove up to the restaurant, Anthony’s, which has a huge steer above the building. What amazed us was the large number of cars in the parking lot; the hostess had said there was no need for reservations when I called 30 minutes earlier... 

When we got inside, we found that most of the cars belonged to people our age attending the weekly “Nostalgia Night”. The band was hot and the folks were hoppin’! It reminded us of The Villages, but with a Nebraska flavor...  

No starters, but after our long mountain bike ride, I really needed a Fat Tire Amber Ale. A nice glass of Liberty School Cabernet was to follow (the name is of special significance to us; our sailboat was named Liberty, and several friends gave us bottles of Liberty School when we were cruising.) Suzanne had the walleye, I had the ribeye... I guess the “eyes” have it! (No groaning... I’ve made this point before!)