Just Us: 6/10/12

We finally started our trip homeward in earnest. The route taken was convoluted at best. We wanted to see new country and we wanted to avoid adverse weather which was abounding all over. From Iowa we decided to take US 30 westward. This was interesting, all the little towns etc. we even passed a place claiming to be the birthplace of Andy Williams. Never knew he was from Iowa. US 30 was the old Lincoln Highway and has a lot of little towns with great histories. We didn't stop except for water and fuel.

Our night was spent at Black Hawk Lake in Lake View IA. We just sorta pulled in and found a place. We were entertained by kids, little kids, riding their bikes and one little guy was not going to loose a race no matter what. The night was quiet and we woke up rested and ready to go.

We ventured, northward, up to US 20 which goes a long way west, but it was so bumpy we decided 30 was better. So we headed southward, once again. Finally we got back to 30 and found a campground for the night at Ft. Kearny State Park, NE. This was very interesting because of the prices. Not only did you pay for camping, but for water and electricity and a car fee. How do they think you will arrive there? Walk in? Anyway we felt cheap so we dry camped. It was very nice, peaceful and quiet. Next morning we drove by Fort Kearny, funny I am reading the autobiography of Buffalo Bill Cody and he spend a lot of time at this fort. Next trip in the area this will be a must see.

Next morning, must have been June 7th, we drove for awhile on I-80. Construction for miles and miles. Finally got tired of that so drove back up to US 30, ultimately 30 turns into 80 at Cheyenne and we stopped at an information station and found out there were tornado warnings and severe thunder storms forecast. The tornado did not hit but we sure got into a big hail storm. Sounded like rocks hitting our metal home. We did suffer some pock marks, but they are mostly on the very top and not visible.

There were three other Airstreamers here, heading for International so we visited with them before the evening storms. Next morning one of them had a cracked Fantastic Vent which he fixed with duct tape, the RVer's friend.

The morning was beautiful, naturally, and we headed onward. This night, the 8th, we spent in Ft. Bridger, WY. Very nice camp run by an older couple and we had a nice stay, including cable TV which held very little interest for us. As we left we realized the old fort is still there and we plan on a revisit here too.

The wind had plagued us all day the 8th and this morning was no easier so we stopped at Wells, NV for the night and to get some rest. We stopped at around 1:30 in the afternoon and took a nap. The wind was cold, the morning had been down to 42 degrees and the wind was very cold. As we were reading someone knocked on our door. It was Larry Warren. We had not seen them for about two years and we had a great reunion. We had caravanned with the Warren's on all our caravans except the Civil War series. They were one of the first couples we met in Airstreams and they are like family.

It was their anniversary so we shared our gift from the Kentucky Caravan we had received for our anniversary, a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon. Two anniversaries with one bottle. Next morning we all said our goodbyes and they headed eastward and we continued westward.

Our last night on the road was spent in Dayton, NV at a primitive State Park. Dayton for those of you who have never been there is near Virginia City and is known for its early discovery of silver. When we used to drive by there to Yearington to visit my uncle and aunt it was not much more than a wide place in the road with a few old buildings and a ranch or two. Now it has merged into Carson City and for the area is bustling.

Next morning saw us headed up the hill to Lincoln. Took almost 4 hours because it's windy and all up hill. We arrived home around noon and hit the ground running. Lots to do when you have been gone for 4 months. Our neighbors had taken good care of our house and everything is green and beautiful. The only down side is it turned hot on Monday, the day we arrived. They have had a beautiful and mild spring here and so far they have all let us know we missed some beautiful weather. We have not yet told then we had some beautiful weather where we were too.