Husker Nation

Livin’ the Nebraska life this weekend… where the corn grows for miles, the concrete roads keep your ride less than smooth, and good friends are like family!

We spent a quick night in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver after leaving Utah.  It was really strange having to put on sweatpants and jackets after we had just nearly sweltered to death in the desert.  The campground I picked was on a beautiful lake up Mt. Evans, which just happens to provide the highest road in altitude in North America.  We waited out a thunderstorm (a what?! Haven’t experienced one of those in a couple years!), made dinner, and enjoyed some home-made pie at the lodge.  But instead of sleeping with wet towels on us to keep us cool, we actually had to turn the furnace on to keep us warm.  ‘Merica’s got it all people, and all in a day’s drive.

We left super early to get on the road to Omaha yesterday.  While on the road, we realized we were going to make it to the area a lot earlier than expected, so I started texting our good friend Susan Snyder.  We ended up driving straight to their house in Papillion instead of to our campground about 30 minutes east of them, going out to dinner, and scratching the whole “camping in the muggy heat” plan altogether when they insisted we stay with them for the weekend!  It didn’t take much convincing, and we are very appreciative of the AC, Internet, and queen-size bed.  Ah, the luxuries of life.

Layla also gets luxury treatment again this weekend in another kennel.  She’ll play with other puppies and get her own room to stay in.  I tell myself these things are what she really wants instead of being with us so the cry-ball in my throat will go away.  Yup, I totally teared up again leaving her there. I need therapy.

Jordan drove through Offutt AFB on our way back this morning and our old neighborhood.  We were shocked to see our old neighbors across the street were still there, and my rose bush is still thriving in the front yard. But my overall reaction to our drive through this morning was how small everything seemed after living in Alaska.  Big mountains, a huge base, and living right next to downtown Anchorage made life seem bigger somehow. 

We are going to enjoy spending so much time with the Snyders this weekend and other friends.  What a blessing it is to come back to a familiar place and feel like you never left!

Check out this oversized bike we saw on the road!

Remains of an old car in the woods near our campground in Colorado.

Echo Lake... beautiful!

You might think, "Why would Amy turn around in the car and take this picture?" And I would say, "This is what I saw and made me nearly pee my pants when I looked up from the book I was reading and thought Jordan was going the wrong way!"