May 31 - Swirls of Activity on the Wind


Wake up to potential thunderstorms / tornados / who knows? --


our first precip of trip,


so


beat a


hasty retreat east,


as the fronts scud southeast, and, in short order, in the clear, overland from the Platte River Valley


to the environs of


Lincoln,


for a supply stop,


then on towards Omaha,


over the Missouri into Iowa.


Council

Bluffs!


I-


o-


wuffs!


Near the


windmills


of

Avoca ("Acova" sic)


for re-fueling,


seemingly endless rolling hills of cornfields-to-be to a charming Vistors


Center


just about across the state,


and,


ta-da,


the


Mississipi River, soon (unlike most of Mark Twain [1835-1910]'s The Adventure Finn [1884]) on the Illinois side. 


A


charming second-for-the-daily-drive


petrol stop in Andover


(not quite our Massachusetts experience,


but reasonably reminiscent),


and we make a


play for


Peoria,


dining Mexicanishly once more,


this time al fresco at Kouri's Pub, before another delightful night...  61st day of summer back home, high up 3 to 81, with uncharacteristic, though minor, rain: .03, same as last moisture (April 19), for a total of 46.27 since July 1...

Kearney, 75
Des Moines, 78
Peoria, 76

May 30 - High Points


Still snow on


Rock Springs'


White Mountains,


as


we


head


up


Bitter Creek


Canyon,


into the


Great Divide


Basin /

Red


Desert,


and over the second Continental Divide marker,


to


Rawlins


for


Conoco


petrol,


then


cross


town


to


City 



Market


for


sumptuous


supplies.


On


towards


Sinclair,


curving


northward


around


the


distant


Medicine


Bow


Mountains,


eventually


dropping


into


greater


Laramie


Valley,


checking


out


the


University.


Subsequently


up


Canyon


to


Sherman


Summit --


the


highest


point


on


Interstate


80,


with


monuments



re


Lincoln


Highway


and


an


informative / scenic


Vistors Center.


Beyond,


a long gradual downslope


against the Pole Mountain


area's


rocky


outcrops.


Cheyenne


fill-up,


and off we go,


approaching the state line at


Pine


Bluffs,


to western Nebraska's


gentler


erosive landscapes.


Computer


and


informational stop at the


Kimball Vistor's Center,


then


the


extensive


pull


across



 the

Lodgepole


Creek


and


Platte


River


Valleys


to


Kearney, and a welcome


Mexican repast and


other evening adventures... 60th day of summer, back home, high down 8 to 78...

Rock Springs, 75
Laramie, 68
Kearney, 81