They call it fly over country and then I get the comment when you’ve seen one corn field you’ve seen them all. Nebraska is the epitome of boring I am assured. Okay then I decided to leave Interstate 80 and meander through the backroads of the Cornhusker State.
And yes there is farming going on here. This is where your food comes from so that’s something to ponder.
They grow corn and sell farm equipment and supplies.
And they drive tractors. All true.
And much is flat just like the snobs will tell you if you announce a recreational drive through Nebraska.
But like everything else if you grab onto negativity and cliché you will miss out. This also is Nebraska.
A bit of traffic from time to time coming at us but we drove 63 in a 70 mph speed limit and rarely had a car catch up to us. It seemed quite empty.
Coal trains going east fully loaded and coming back west empty. Miles of trains stretching to the horizon all day. Not all the activity is boring old farming.
We bought high ethanol -15%- gasoline for $3:50 a gallon in a village called Hyannis. It was 90 degrees and windy but Rusty was ready for a break and so was I.
Two cars passed us as we walked, they looked like 1990s Buicks each driven by an older white woman. They paused for a lengthy stop at the stop sign and the round pink face with a blob of gray cotton wool on top swiveled and stared with unabashed curiosity. I smiled and waved my camera hand and got a solemn nod each time and the big old bath tub took off slowly down the deserted street. I got the feeling I was the subject of some comment that night over the supper table. 
No I don’t want to live here especially in winter but I like driving through here. There is a wealth of picturesque images to snag from just the side of the road, rolling hills, old fashioned sign posts, tumble down barns, and these weird Sand Hills.
The Sand Hills of north central Nebraska cover 19,000 square miles and were declared a national landmark in 1984. They are described as grass stabilized sand dunes. It’s like driving through a green desert and compared to Highway 50 in Nevada this really could be the loneliest road in America.
The unexpected feature of these sand dunes is they serve a purpose as they sit on top of the Oglala aquifer. And all 265 miles of covered sand dunes are responsible for filtering water into that aquifer from all the precipitation, both rain and snow, that lands here.
In point of fact these sand dunes are critical to prevent the desertification of Nebraska. Which, when you see a sign reading “Next services 74 miles” already makes it seem quite deserted.
Cows and horses looked healthy and relaxed despite the lack of shade.
The fascinatingly named Middle Loop River meandering along. Yes I know I’m being sarcastic but you’d think they could find a real name for the middle loop.
We bowled along, me alert at the wheel, with Layne napping on the bed, Rusty napping on his cushion and the alert driver listening to the radio and enjoying watching the world go by.
Call me weird but I had great fun just sitting there looking out and enjoying the scenery. It’s a pity there aren’t more pioneers ready to repopulate these villages.
Layne found a national forest campground which charges us seniors ten bucks and we got a shady camp spot with electricity to run air conditioning all night, plus we had hot powerful showers and lovely shaded walks for Rusty. Sausages and mashed potatoes for dinner and we passed out in the silence.
We were at 3,000 feet and it stayed warm into the night and we missed that mountain chill in Colorado and Wyoming as a high heat warning blankets the state.
Yes it is flat and straight but I’m a traveler and I like to see things. This was much better than I-80, I’m seeing a bit of Nebraska let the critics turn up their noses.
