On the way home...

This is a continuation of my previous post, Women in Ag Conference. That one was getting just a little too long so I decided to break it up into two parts. This part is my trip back home from Kearney.

Well, the conference ended on Friday afternoon at 1:30 pm. I wish I could have stayed another night there to spend more time with Chris and Katy, but since I had the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers Market on Saturday, that was not an option.

The conference ended with a big filling lunch and the final guest speaker, Georgeann Wearin. I was ready for a nap, but instead, I had to drive all the way back across the state of Nebraska to get back where I belonged, my comfy house, with my comfy nap-taking-couch, which I was so longing for.

I fueled up the pickup and headed west on I-80. Remember how I said I was going to stop and take pictures of the snow geese if they were still at that body of water by Lexington? Well, the snow geese were there, but my heart just wasn't in the mood to stop. I was tired and on a mission to get home and change into my jammies, snuggle with my cats and oh, ya, snuggle with Dan the Man. So... I blew right past those snow geese. Lame, I know... but that's how the cookie crumbled.

Another place I was going to stop and take pictures of was Ash Hollow, just east of Lewellen. Guess what? Yep, same pitiful story. All that I wanted to do was get home. So once again I didn't stop.

Aren't you glad I made a continuation of the previous post so I could tell you all the things that I did not do?

By the time I made my way down HWY 26, my butt was going to sleep, since I had only stopped once to visit the rest area. The sun was getting somewhat close to setting so I decided that I could at least stop at Chimney Rock. If it was a gorgeous sunset and I didn't stop, I would really be hating myself.

It was a little windy, imagine that? (Inside joke for those who know about the wind and Nebraska) It was also a little chilly so I knew I wouldn't last long. I stopped at the visitor center and snapped a few pictures and then took the "scenic drive" up to the cemetery and took a few more.

The pictures are not spectacular, especially since the sunset was not too impressive, but with a little photo editing, I don't think they turned out all that bad.

Remember that you can click on the photos for a full screen view of them, just hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

This view is from the visitor center.



This view was taken up by the cemetery.
And of course I did a little photo editing.


Another view up by the cemetery.



I think headstones are interesting.

When Dan the Man and I went to Mexico several years ago,
we were walking somewhere and we went past a cemetery.
I wanted so badly to go inside and look at some of the headstones
and take pictures of a few, but Dan the Man would not have anything
to do with that. He was certain we would be beaten, robbed and left for dead
if we were caught in a cemetery in Mexico! I am sure that would not have
been the case, but now-a-days, I'm not too certain...



This headstone had fallen of it's base.
Actually there were several that were in this condition.


The last picture I took since I was starting to get cold
and I was longing for home sweet home.

For those of you not familiar with Chimney Rock, it is one of the most famous landmarks on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. It is beautiful how it towers up out of nowhere on the prairie. Chimney rock was one of the field trips we took as school children. I don't remember what grade we were in when we went there, but I do remember one fact. That fact being that the Native Americans called the rock "Elk Penis." It was also a lot taller when I was a child. It has been hit by lightening several times since then and has also eroded away over the years.

Read more at the Wikipedia page on Chimney Rock National Historic Site.


When I got home, Dan the Man and Skyler were just sitting down for a gourmet dinner of frozen pizza. Luckily I was not hungry, so I opted to skip dinner. I put on my jammies and slippers, grabbed a blankie, a nice hot cup of coffee and the nearest kitty and curled up on the couch and watched tv.

Home sweet home.