Nebraska and Iowa

On our way from Greeley to Wisconsin to visit with Steve and Joy, we passed through Nebraska and Iowa. Stayed a few days at Lake McConnaughy, the largest lake in Nebraska.

The lake was low, and there were RVs parked on the beach right near the water, so we decided to take the truck down onto the sand. Big mistake. It turns out a dually is no good in the sand, too heavy. 4-wheel drive makes it even worse, as it adds even more weight. We got stuck. Tried to dig ourselves out, and Vicki strained her rotator cuff, and I strained my back, and we had to get towed out. It turns out the guy who towed us, who had a monster tractor with 8-foot diameter tires, also tows the RVs down to the lake and back up, because you can't do it with a normal truck.

Then we checked the air in the tires, which we do all the time because they told us in boot camp it was very important. We couldn't get to the air valves on the rear wheels, and were thinking that during the struggles in the sand something must have slipped in the wheels. So we went to the GMC dealer in Ogallalla, who said he had never worked on a dually before, so we'd better go to the tire place across the street. The tire guy was also stumped at first, but when he took the wheels off he saw that the GMC dealer in Greeley had put them on wrong. There are holes in the wheels and the wheel cover that have to line up so that you can get to the air valves. Apparently that was such a stupid mistake that nobody had ever done it before. And we wonder why they went bankrupt.

After the Lake, we stopped at Gothenburg, which is an historic Pony Express site. I was supposed to get a free round of golf there for my birthday, but because my back was out I didn't get to go. The park had a covered bridge

and a playground

The highlight of Nebraska was our visit to Ed and Edda, my friends from Connecticut. Edda cooked one of her famous meals for us, and we spent a nice evening together.

We did stop overnight in Iowa, but the only pictures we got were some interesting clouds.

More pictures of Nebraska here.