Monday, April 14th

We left Nancy’s house and Milford on Thursday afternoon and started our drive of about 90 miles to Genoa, NE and cousin Ike Anderson’s place. Before we left Ike phoned and suggested we meet him in York, NE for lunch with him, sister Harriet and Dave Maser. They live in Sutton and we hadn’t seen them since last August at the family reunion in Lincoln. We met Ike at the Super Wally and he drove us to a small Chinese restaurant nearby.

The drive from Milford was rainy as a new frontal system was approaching from the west and threatened rain and possible snow flurries that evening. I drove I-80 at my usual slow pace and let the speeders go on by. By the time we arrived in York, the coach had been exposed to plenty of water from the trucks and cars passing us. We pulled in to the Super Wally lot and waited for Ike. The rain increased in intensity as we drove further west . Our lunch was almost two hours with all the visiting we did. It was a pleasant surprise to see Harriet and get some time with her.

We finally finished our visits and Ike drove us back to the coach. He went on ahead and we followed at our slower pace. Before we arrived in Genoa, Ike phoned to tell us that the park in Genoa looked OK for parking and that we would be the only occupants. We arrived about ten minutes later and got our parking routine handled. Ike had driven on home but returned shortly and assisted me in getting hooked up. Once we were settled in, we started visiting and watched the rain transform to huge snowflakes. The outside temperature was still warm enough that the snow didn’t stick, but it made for a pretty picture. We stayed at the coach that night to rest and watch some TV. We had only a 20amp electrical hookup which limited us on what appliances we could use. Our TV was working great on Lincoln channels with the antenna, so we were comfortable for the evening.

Friday morning we awoke to frost on the ground without snow. The wind was blowing and continued throughout the day. It continued to rain with reports of snow just a few miles north of us. I was able to dig out some of our warm clothes that were packed away in a storage bay. The London Fog jacket I’d gotten form cousin Paul Anderson was put to good use in the 28-degree temperature. We spent some time with Ike and Dorothy at their new house in Genoa. We had seen the house last August, but they weren’t moved in yet. They left the farm and moved in to town. The house actually gave me my first yearnings for a fixed location. It gives them plenty of room for entertaining and being close to the activities that Ike is involved in. It is beautifully furnished and each of them are very happy with the move. We enjoyed dinner at one of Genoa‘s two restaurants. I found that I was able to connect to a local wi-fi near Ike’s house, so I was able to download email and get some catching up done.

Saturday Ike and I had breakfast at the Great Plains Café, and then went to his house to tackle a project in his garage. We installed some bracing and shelving in his back garage shed for some overhead storage. It was a project that took most of the day as we were on ladders for the majority of the work. We had a great time and accomplished a very satisfying task. The girls went down to Grand Island to see Ike’s daughter. Dinner that night was after church services at another bar/restaurant in town. Genoa has about four bars and a couple of restaurants. It is a typical small town where everybody knows everybody else. It’s always fun to see some of the regulars that we have gotten to recognize from past visits.

Sunday morning we slept in and Ike visited us about 10:00am. He invited us to breakfast at the Great Plains with Dorothy, so we rushed our cleanup and joined them at their house. After breakfast, we went to the coach, secured it for traveling, and drove over to their house again. I was able to get online and download mail for the last time before we said our farewells and struck out for O’Neill, NE for the night. The weather was turning warm and beautiful. We had a slight headwind and observed the increasing signs of heavier snowfall as we drove about 65 miles north of Genoa. We arrived in O’Neill about three hours later and parked in the Carney Park, a city park south of town with 50amp electric. After our early dinner, we drove back to ton in the car for a blizzard at the Dairy Queen. I took my laptop on the chance I might find an open wi-fi. The owner of the DQ saw me as I discovered a signal in the DQ and explained that many of the businesses purchased laptops for all the juniors and seniors in the local high school. Several of the businesses have established a wi-fi connection in their stores for the use of the kids.

The drive up to O’Neill and west on US-20 to Valentine was a pleasurable trip. We see all the snow on the ground and on the side of the highway, but nothing on the roadway itself. The roads are in excellent shape and dry. But the surrounding farmland still has patches and snowdrifts very visible. I had heard that there was 3-5” of snow that had fallen and I believe it was at least that much. It makes the drive through the Nebraska Sand Hills a real experience and gives a different look to the landscape. We stopped in Valentine at the McDonald’s to sample their dollar menu for lunch on Monday and discovered an open wi-fi signal. So, this latest edition will be sent out using their internet connection. I really appreciate these free wi-fi connections!!

Our travel schedule has us in Cody, NE Monday night and Hart Ranch on Tuesday. Cody is a short 150-mile drive to the west on US-20, and another 150 miles to Rapid City on Tuesday. Our weather forecasts call for some excellent weather the next few days with temperatures in the mid-70’s. We are proud to be able to bring the good weather with us - yeah, right! The next Travelogue will be from Hart Ranch outside of Rapid City. We’ll finally be home!!!!