A Rare Season in the Sandhills

Anyone who has been through Nebraska's Sandhills knows it's a very special place. The vastness of the region -- about 19,000 square miles -- is amazing.  This is first and foremost ranch country. Towns are miles apart and the roads are long stretches of asphalt surrounded by sand dunes covered in grass, hence the name: Sandhills.
Trees are an endangered species. Windmills dot the landscape along with wet meadows, evidence of the massive Ogallala Aquifer seeping from below the ground. Towns are a welcome sight and people -- they are the friendliest to be found anywhere.
I have been to the Sandhills many times but last week I saw something that I had never seen before. Almost everywhere you looked there were sunflowers. They were growing along roadsides. They covered hills -- sometimes as far as the eye could see. For a minute I thought I was in Kansas and not Nebraska.
We talked to a woman outside of Brownlee and she told us the sunflowers were the result of a drought last year and good rains this year. She had never seen so many sunflowers.
If you happen to be in the Sandhills, take the road to Brownlee, a county road south of Valentine in Cherry County that connects Nebraska 97 and U.S. 83. It's a single lane county road with good pavement and hardly no traffic. We saw one pickup. The drive is well worth it because it cuts through the heart of the Sandhills.
A funny story: We were driving down the Brownlee road and saw two dark shapes ahead. We thought they were bicyclists, then walkers, then coyotes, no wolves! The black shapes turned out to be a black lab and a sheep dog out for their morning walk. They looked at us kind of funny -- like what are you doing here?
We said hello and kept going down the road.

Nebraska Star Party

Every year, for the past 20 years a group of amateur astronomers from Omaha and Lincoln come to Nebraska's Sandhills and throw a party -- with telescopes.
They come to central Nebraska for some of the darkest skies in the nation. Some have called it Nebraska's Black Hole. They say it is the best place to view planets, galaxies and other celestial objects because there is no light pollution. The nearest town, Valentine, is 26 miles away.
Nancy and I took three of her grandkids with us to the star party for the experience. It's a long drive but worth it. We camped at Merritt Reservoir for three days and enjoyed swimming, camping and gazing at stars.
You don't need to bring a telescope to view the heavens. To see the Milky Way and shooting stars, you simply spread a blanket on the ground and look up. That's it. People from Minnesota and other states told us they have nothing like this -- too many lights. Not in the Sandhills. Amateur astronomers on Observation Hill are more than willing to let you look through their telescopes. Some people bring a good pair of binoculars.
During the day, the Omaha Astronomical Society and the Prairie Astronomy Club hosts an astronomy field school for adults and children. You can learn some amazing things about our universe just by listening and asking a few questions. For instance, the best time to view the Moon through a telescope is not when it's full -- too bright -- but when it is in a transition phase like a half moon.
This year's star party featured a special guest, NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson. He came up and gave an inspirational talk on what it's like living in Space. Anderson spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station. He retired earlier this year but still comes back to Nebraska for public speaking engagements. His message: Follow your dreams and never give up. He should know. Anderson tried 15 times to get into NASA's astronaut program and on the last try, he was accepted. Anderson made the most of it, too. He not only walked in space but also put Nebraska in the spotlight every chance he could -- from 250 miles above the Earth.

Astronaut Clayton Anderson -- the tall one -- came out to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Nebraska Star Party. He posed with three of Nancy's grandkids, Jenna, Joey and Jacob.

Amateur astronomers from all over the country come to the Nebraska Star Party in early August to view some of the darkest skies anywhere. They bring their telescopes and give adults and children a chance to view the stars.

The star party hosts a gathering on a few nights. This night was the free Cattleman's Barbecue. Great people and a fun time was had by all.

http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/

Breakfast with a Twist

Nancy and I like to stop at out-of-the-way places for meals. On a Sunday morning in early June we found ourselves in Ames, Iowa, looking for a breakfast place. We found on her phone: "Breakfast and Chinese Cuisine."

Sounded interesting. We walked in and the entire place was empty except for the owner and his wife. He welcomed us and we ordered -- no Chinese food just omelets. The food was good and the owner was in a very talkative mood. Seems he had owned the place, just off the  Iowa State University campus, for 28 years. But most of the block was being sold and developed into retail and housing. His last day of business was June 15.

We found out he was from Indonesia and traveled back there for weddings and funerals. He shared a lot about his life and we listened intently while we ate our breakfast. He came and went several times, telling us more about his life and his family. On one return visit to our table, he asked us if we drank alcohol?

I said, yes, we do. He then asked us if we like apple pie?  I said, yes.

He then disappeared behind the bar and returned with two shot glasses. He informed us this was his homemade alcohol drink. He "distilled" it by boiling down Everclear and adding apple pie spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice.

Not wanting to offend, we took a sip. Wow! The "moonshine" tasted just like apple pie! I finished mine in a few sips and then finished Nancy's. Very good stuff.

He asked for no payment but we left him a good tip!

Hello

Nancy and I are RoadTrek virgins.

We've never owned a RoadTrek. Never owned an RV. So, how did we come to take the plunge? Don't quite know. But here is what I have managed to piece together through a blur of memories.

Nancy has always wanted a RoadTrek. She liked the style and compactness of everything. RoadTrek -- a self-contained vehicle with everything you need to travel to distant and beautiful places. Year after year, she talked about getting a RoadTrek, spent hours researching the vehicle over the Internet, and stopped at the local RoadTrek dealer at least once or twice a month. I think she even took a test drive or two. She thought they were too pricey, which they are, and was leaning toward another manufacturer. Then one day fate stepped in.

I was sitting in Bagels & Joe, a local coffee shop, reading the paper. Lo and behold, I saw a RoadTrek for sale. It sounded nice: low mileage, looked good, and low price. I hesitated for just a moment. Should I or shouldn't I give her a call? This could change our lives, I thought to myself. After mentally debating the issue, I decided fulfilling lifelong dreams are very important, so I called Nancy.

Five minutes after she saw the RoadTrek, she wanted to buy it! Full price! I convinced her to offer $1,000 less and the owners accepted. Within days, we were the proud owner of a 2004 Popular 170 RoadTrek. There it was in our driveway. I recall, sitting inside the RoadTrek that first evening, sipping wine and thinking: Now what do we do?

We've had the RoadTrek for about two months now . Over that time, we've learned how to operate most everything by reading the owner's manual, reading websites and blogs on the Internet, and calling up the RoadTrek dealer. We even paid an RV mechanic $50 to spend a half hour with us, going over things.

I won't bore you with accounts of how we gained our RoadTrek wisdom because we are still learning. I think we just finished elementary school and are freshmen in high school. No degrees from RoadTrek University!

Nancy and I have taken one trip together to visit my relatives in northeast Iowa. Had a great time! Will write about it soon. She, on the other hand, has loaded up some of her grandchildren and taken them on overnight expeditions to a local state park. Three or four kids and her in a RoadTrek. Tight but she makes it work.

In writing this blog, I hope to share some of our adventures and misadventures, point out new places, and provide a different perspective from the road. I won't be writing that much about RoadTrek maintenance and where to get the best campground deals. Instead, I will be telling stories about people and places as we travel along highways and backroads.

Obviously, the title for this blog comes from Star Trek. My apologies to Ray Bradbury, William Shatner, Mr. Spock and the rest of the crew.  I chose it because the top windows remind me of the Space Shuttle. This will be our spacecraft and Nancy and I  hope to go "Where no RoadTrek has gone before."  We hope you drop in once in awhile and see how we are doing. Maybe we will meet you on the road!