Cheyenne to Council Bluffs

I knew that I wanted a GPS for the car before our trip began. I did what I rarely do, I spent hours online researching them. I discovered that Magellan seemed to be deemed the best of the GPS systems. It happened that Magellan had just come out with an 8 inch screen. Apparently know one else had a screen that big.  I guess in the GPS world that is like having a 72 inch TV screen.

Thanks be to God, I found a place selling this wonder of wonders for a mere $119.00 with a complete packet of accessories. So I typed in all my info and credit card number and clicked on "purchase." I love it! What a neat little gadget.

I put "Kate" up on the dash, typed in the address of the first motel on the first leg and away we went. She is good. She knew the exit numbers, the side of the freeway that the exits were on and the exact route to get us where we wanted to go. However, she panics and gets a little testy when you turn off to get gas or something to eat. "Make a legal U turn!" "Turn around!" 

We typed in the Motel 6 address at Council Bluffs and pulled out of Cheyenne about 4:00 AM. Again, I really like Cheyenne - don't really know why. I like the big open sky, the flat rolling land. I have always loved the high desert. I guess I never grew out of the cowboy and Indian (oops - cowboy and native american thing) The old west still fascinates me.

Remember the broken safety chain? Well, we intended to go to a Uhaul center and have it replaced. But we got in after closing and left before opening. So we kept driving with one safety chain attached and the other wrapped around the trailer tongue.

We pulled in to Council Bluffs around 5:00 PM. We were amazed to see at the motel location, not only motels, including ours, but fast food places, shopping center, Wal-Mart and low and behold across from the motel and down a block, a UHaul center! We pulled in and they replaced the chains with brand ones.

We checked into the Motel and had a very relaxing evening. It was a very long haul across Nebraska!!!!!! It is flat and goes on forever. On I-80 there are no towns or cities. You hit Sidney some ways into the state and you better fuel and eat there because it will be a long, long, long time before anything else comes up. I thought we would never get across it and into Iowa. But thankfully we did.

I was surprised at how big Omaha (NE) was. We hadn't been in a big city since we left Portland. We navigated there massive freeway traffic at 5:00ish. We crossed the border into Iowa. Omaha and Council Bluffs (IA) are like Portland/Vancouver. Leave Vancouver, WA and pop right into Portland, OR.

We went into Wal-Mart got some fruit (grapes) and then got dinner. After a bit of conversation and mindless TV we crashed for the night and slept like babies.

God is a magnificient, wise, "talented" and creative creator. America is blessed with very beautiful landscape that is on loan from God. What variety, color, texture, and design is ours for our enjoyment and pleasure! Just be sure your windows go up often while you cross Nebraska (collective cattle can create crude concentrate.)

"The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land." (Psalm 95:5)