Traveling Through Corn Husker Country

Lucy and I said our goodbyes the other night. She had rubbed most of the skunk smell off, so I took her for one last four wheeler ride to the top of our favorite hill to watch the sunset with me.

Monday morning it was back to work! We drove west to Billings and loaded sulfur, which was delivered Tuesday morning in Nebraska.

Western Nebraska was after dark, and mostly after midnight. But central Nebraska was after unloading on Tuesday. We reloaded 30 miles north in Lexington and headed east towards Arkansas.

Driving I-80 is always interesting, and always crowded. I-80 is one of the busiest interstates in the country, and it's busy all the way across from Boston to San Francisco!

Driving on I-80 through Nebraska, you will see many interesting things. The road pretty much follows the Platte River, which is mostly evident by the thick stands of trees that shelter it's banks.

Another common sight along the interstate are large ponds right next to the road and occasionally the active sandpits that will later be more large pond.

Nebraska is home to the world's largest aquifer, the Ogalala Aquifer. It stretches out under surrounding state boundaries. About 27% of the United States irrigated land is over this aquifer, and it yields roughly 30% of the countries ground water used for irrigation.

Another common sight along I-80 in Nebraska is land marks and historical points of interest.

Because it follows along the banks of the Platte River, it is also following the path of the California and Oregon Trails. This part of the country is rich in pioneer history! Nearly every little town along the way claims some museum or point of interest to pull in travelers. Some require a little drive off the beaten path, while others are right by the interstate. The easiest one to find is this one...

...in Kearney, NE. You can't miss it because you drive right under it.

And of course another common sight in Nebraska, something your guaranteed to see even if you don't stop at any of the tourist spots....

....cows and corn!

I like Nebraska. It's one of my favorite states. Malcolm's family ranched in western Nebraska when he was a kid, near Scott's Bluff and Chimney Rock monument. We have friends there still. Nebraska is a good state! For a few more interesting trivia facts about the Corn Husker state, you can click here.

We delivered last night in northwest Arkansas, slept for a few hours, and then this morning, our broker couldn't find anything good heading to where we wanted to go. So we're bouncing 680 miles to Chattanooga to see my family for New Years. We should be there this evening sometime.

But until we get there, we can enjoy some pretty scenery of Arkansas hills...

...and in a few more hours, we'll be back in my home state of Tennessee! Looking forward to a visit with this side of our family. We haven't seen them since April. We'll be down here till after New Years, and then I'll be back to blogging to share our travels and adventures.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoy bringing in the New Year!