sand hills trip tic

the first time i made the trip from the platte river valley, i was taking students west for break. it was september. no weather problems and i would get to see my sister on the rez. i was loaned a car which was okay. however, just at sunset it started to snow. quickly it developed into a full blown blizzard and i had to have the remaining student roll down the window to check out intersections and road signs. the window stuck down! which was okay because she had to tell me if i was on the road, but it was really cold for her and for me. after driving 15 and 2o miles an hour forever, i finally made it to my sister's. going back was pretty normal and the mechanic guy at the campus where my sister work temporarily propped the window back up so it was warm.

next time i made the trip it was summer--no problems--well except for the heat. each time i have a car i promise myself that the next time i buy a car it is going to air. but if you buy not during the summer time like i seem to do, i always forget. and it seems sort of silly to buy air when you buy a wrangler. next time.... i alsohad to gage when to get gas as i didn't know exactly where the stations were. driving through the middle of the sand hills is not like driving on the interstate..

the best part of the trip is always observing the sand hills themselves. i think they are the best part of nebraska. the shapes of the hills that vary from long and sweeping to funky little pop-ups with sand cuts allow the eye to see far into the horizon. and i love the way the grasses change color. expecially blue stem which turns a wonderful red rust in the fall. for probably 1/3 of the trip the road follows burlington tracks. towards evening on this last trip i came over a hill and saw a swath of rust blue stem following along beside four sets of characoal tracks.

then there was the thanksgiving trip. it was a lot of fun being with my sister and her family but the trip back was a stresser. i left around five to try to beat the storm, but it started to snow seriously around murdo. after driving in icy conditions at a snail's pace and twirling off the road two or three times i gave it up and spent the night in broken bow. i should have known better, driving at thanksgiving is always risky.

this trip is only slightly risky as far as spring blizzards. i don't know what the trip home is going to be like, but the trip up was stressful. driving a jeep wrangler in wind with 50 mile gusts is tiring. usually don't drive too fast in those conditions. then outside of thedford i drove in to clouds of swirly white stuff. deja vu... thought it was going to be the blizzard experience all over again, but it was only a little stretch of sploshy stuff. after that there were only a few rain spots and the wind died down until i hit the hills. it was windy all day and it is supposed to be windy today, but last night it was clear for a little bit. who knows what the trip back will be like.

trips are always an adventure and a little bit of excitement along the way is not going to stop this old lady from checking out the country. besides if everything went smoothly, were would be the edge?