Vacation Highlights: The Drive Down

The drive through southern Alberta, Montana and Wyoming used to be tedious and boring, filled with long stretches of seemingly empty prairie. Now that I've taken to hiking, however, the terrain took on a completely different perspective.

The mountains to the east and to the west of our chosen route teased my imagination with the numerous possible paths to the summit and what kind of difficulty they might present. The sky was filled with high level cirrus clouds, thin and white in appearance, which provided a magnificent array of colors when the sun edged low on the horizon. A pale pink in the east gave way to an eventual blazing orange in the west which grandly silhouetted the black mountain peaks. It was as if the clouds above held the shape of God's face as he smiled down on his creation and whispered: "It is good."

A short stay south of Billings and we were on our way through Wyoming and Western Nebraska the next day. Keeping primarily to Interstates (God bless the Army Corp of Engineers) we arrived at our friends' home in Eusis, Nebraska by late evening. While temps outside were record highs, our second floor stay in their renovated 1906 farm house was comfortable, thanks to big fans and good circulation.

A had a chance to haul bales (small ones), drive a motorbike, drive a 3-wheeler and the quad. The biggest thrill was driving the farm truck while the rest of the men were loading irrigation pipe. Even though it looks like he's standing still, A was moving at a fast pace here and the dog, Radisson, was keeping up. Seems every time an engine roars, Radisson feels obliged to chase it. He got a good workout.

Yes, the time on the farm was well worth the drive.

Next leg of the trip was to Omaha. Look for that in a future post.