Weekly Update: May 24, 2017

Posted on by Annie

From Nebraska to Kansas to Missouri, I’ve seen a lot of big sky, fallow fields, and thunderstorms. And now I know you can have a Tornado Warning, A Severe Thunderstorm Warning, and a Flood Warning all at the same time. I’m not sure I needed to know that but now I do. Let’s recap my mad dash across Tornado country: Wed: Made it to the geographic center of the USA and have the photo to prove it. It is really in the middle of nowhere, 4 miles north of two-lane highway near the small burg of Lebanon, KS. Spent the night…

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The Big Muddy

Posted on by Annie

I’ve flown over the Missouri countless times, seen its wandering path through the middle of the country. I’ve driven across it in South Dakota, and even dipped my feet in it at a boat launch near a McDonald’s in the middle of Saint Louis. Seeing the expanse of the wide Missouri in a natural setting, at ground level, at water’s edge, was a completely different experience. This is a huge river, fast-flowing from floods above this week (with flood warnings all the way from the Dakotas past Saint Louis, even though there are four big dams above Kansas City to control the…

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Sunday Serenity: Green

Posted on by Annie

Spring the middle of the country is sure different than Spring in Southern California, where I grew up. The grass, the corn fields, the bird song, and especially the big trees have captivated me the last month or so. What were bare branches a few months ago, I have watched sprout tiny green buds that unfurl into different shapes, from big maple leaves to light, delicate cottonwood leaves. The wind blows through and the leaves shake and shimmer in the sunlight. Out my window right now is a riot of trees with branches so loaded down with green leaves that I don’t…

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Weekly Update: May 17, 2017

Posted on by Annie

tl;dr: Left Colorado, got windshield damaged and replaced, loved Nebraska campgrounds, currently trying to avoid tornados in Kansas. Longer version… Last Wednesday seemed great driving, all “blue highways” from Fort Collins into western Nebraska, ending at Lake Minatare State Park. Beautiful park, with a ton of waterfront electric sites, lots of trees, and a big lake. It wasn’t till Thursday morning that I discovered that great drive had also left me with a great chip and crack in Bella’s windshield. So my first “tourist” activity in Scottsbluff was a visit to the Safelite glass place, where we arranged the replacement to happen…

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Scotts Bluff National Monument

Posted on by Annie

Time to feature a National Monument since so many of them are under fire right now. These places are our shared history as a people, and we come to them to learn and to appreciate the courage and struggle that most of them represent. Scotts Bluff (named for Hiram Scott, who died here after being left for dead) was a major stop on the trails west: The Oregon Trail, The California Trail, the Mormon Pioneer Trail, and the Pony Express. Here’s the pass they went through on their way west. It is the Mormon Trail that my dad’s ancestors took…

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