It is my last full day in Nebraska. And I must say this has been quite the trip. Maybe even one of a lifetime. Today’s agenda is just watching the trains roll by and doing some reading.
I mentioned last week about the ornate bricks and designs of one of the inns I stayed at.
This is the outside of the Midtown Western Inn in Kearney. There are those concrete blocks I spoke of with some very nice white iron railings. And at the base of each floor where you see the red bricks, the mortar to hold them together just oozes out. Not scrapped clean. Quite original if you ask me.
As I finish my trip, some observations.
We truly live in one great country. A country with fertile soil, hard working people, and immense beauty. When one flies over the mid-section of this country, you see those huge farms below. These are not rich people by any means. That was confirmed to me by a woman at the Kearney Post Office yesterday. A gentleman standing in line was concerned about some folks that he knew that hadn’t yet completed their harvesting due to the snow that befell the area on Thursday. And you thought the stock market was risky. After all the toil and sweat thru the harvesting season, the farmers do maintenance on their machinery during the winter and get ready for the new growing season in the spring. And it never hurts to ask for divine intervention. I see all of these little churches in these towns and cities. From Catholic to United Methodist to Lutheran and more. These are God-fearing people. And I am sure they ask God for a little help. Farmers deserve our gratitude and appreciation. Goodness knows where we would be without them.
Then I look at the scenery and endless countryside I have driven thru. If you have lived around suburbia all of your life, you very much deserve to come out here to the Midwest and see what this part of the country has got to offer. No developers. No salesmen. Just beautiful, virgin country. And by all means, follow U.S. Route 30. If you like trains like I do, they’ll be the icing on the cake. If not, just bear with them but see what this country of ours has to offer off the Interstate pace. You don’t need any four or five star hotels to stay at. The ones that I have stayed at are all quite comfortable. You have all of the amenities. And a nice comfortable bed to sleep in at night. Once again, good hard working folks who will keep the light on for you and take good care of you.
And to finish out this trip: some last views of Nebraska.
The ubiquitous coal train at Central Avenue crossing in Kearney:
As far as the eye:
Can see.
One wayward locust:
That horizon to horizon sky, as seen at Gibbon Junction:
To the North:
To the East:
To the South:
And to the West:
And one very funky view near Shelton, NE:
Check out that deep blue diaginol slit in the eastern sky.
And the last shot as seen from Duncan, NE:
That says it all.
I hope you have enjoyed my journey. I hope it has been fun to read as it has been for me to write and photograph. In the morning we meet up with the Friendly Skies of United at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, go thru Chicago’s O’Hare, and be back home at Bradley Field in Windsor Locks by late Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for reading and take care.
I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Columbus, Nebraska.
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