Day 3 - Cranes, Trains, and Other Things

CRANES:  although we haven't seen any cranes, we are told that in late February to early April, 80 percent of all sandhill cranes stop at the Platte River for a layover and rest before they continue north.  It is something I would like to see.  You see advertisements and information everywhere so it is a really big deal to Kearney, NE folks.

TRAINS:  another really big deal in Nebraska and I think the western part of the country.    When we drove through Lincoln on Sunday, we crossed over one of the biggest rail yards we had ever seen.  There are train tracks and trains moving stuff everywhere.  Most of the towns (even the smaller ones) have overpasses to accommodate auto traffic. Decatur could learn a thing or two about how to accommodate autos inspite of trains.

OTHER THINGS:   Where to begin??    I have to write about some things because I want to keep them in my journal so here goes.  We have had a series of minor problems beginning with the flat tire on Friday, followed by a blown fuse on Saturday, and an indicator light on the truck showing "low collant.". Naturally, we were concerned and stopped at a large truck stop to buy some.  When we opened the hood, the collant level was fine.  We are hoping that the indicator light is in error because we haven't had a problem since.  Then last night we lost all electric power to the camper.  Carol checked everything he could think of and nothing worked.  We were able to have some light from the battery but when the battery got low, the refrigerator stopped working.  Finally we went to bed at 8:30 under three blankets and waited until morning when we could call the place we pruchased the camper for help.  When we talked to them, they told Carol about another set of fuses he should check that we didn't know about.  Of course, we didn't have that fuse size so we had to go to three different places to find the correct size.   We were very glad to get those fuses in and even more glad when the power came back on.  We are hoping and praying that these things are behind us for the rest of the trip.

We did see some neat things today.  We went to Ft Kearney which was a fort from 1831 until 1871.  Since we love history, we enjoyed walking the grounds of the fort and learning about it's history.  Then we went to the Great Platte River Road Archway which is the only museum built across an  interstate highway.  We had seen it others times when we drove west on I-80 but had never stopped.  Again, we enjoyed it.  It told the history of road travel on the roads west from early settlers to present day.  Interstate 80 was the first interstate built.  Then we hiked a trail that was an old railroad bed with a railroad bridge that crossed both the south and north branches of the Platte River.  The trail was about four miles.  All in all, after we got the electrical problem fixed, a great day.  Tomorrow we pack up and continue to head west.

Archway over I-80 near Kearney, NE

E

The Platte River

The trail to the river.