Day 9 – Travel day – Gretna NE to Kearney NE – 190 miles through NE

It was a cool morning for us to pack up and leave. We got away from the campground at 9:30, stopped at Flying J for gas, and then were on the road at 10. We took US 30 instead of Interstate 80 because Bill wanted to follow the Union Pacific railroad. So it was trains and cornfields, small towns and silos.

In Columbus we passed the Higgins Memorial, built to honor the man who developed the Higgins boat – a troop landing craft used in WW II. We weren’t sure we could get the RV in the park where it was, so we just looked and I got a photo as we drove by slowly.

We eventually got back on I80 so we could drive under the Great Platte River Road Archway. Jack Nicholson went there in the movie “About Schmidt”. Since we couldn’t check in to the campground until 4, we went to the Arch. I thought it was going to be amazingly tacky, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was one of the most well-done museums we have seen this trip. It focuses on all the different people that made their way west. The information was quite concise but entertaining. It really was fun, and I got lots of photos. When we entered, we were met by a dude in old-time cowboy gear. We talked about the movie, and he said he was working there when it filmed there. He said Jack Nicholson was quite gracious.

When we left there, it was time to drive the 6 miles to Ft Kearny State Rec Area where we found our really lovely campsite. We are on a little lake with lots of trees and a huge area all to ourselves. There is only electricity in the campground, so we didn’t have to hook up water or the sewer. A tree was in the way of the satellite so we got the portable dish out and hooked that up. We had never used it before, but we got it set up and it connected quite easily. We sat out under the trees and enjoyed the fairly pleasant late afternoon.

We didn’t feel like cooking, so we went into town to Grandpa’s Steaks - a local steakhouse. It was a real contradiction – very expensive, lovely décor, but things like the faded napkins, butter in the little plastic containers, the worst bearnaise sauce ever, soggy garlic toast and dry biscuits really detracted from a good steak. Strange little place.

Tomorrow we don’t have a lot of sight-seeing to do, mainly just Ft Kearny. It should be a fun relaxing day.