We stopped at a quaint little gas station East of Lincoln, in Unadilla, NE. I was befuddled when there was no place to put a credit card in the gas pump, then when it would actually pump gas without prepaying. To a stranger. Wow, this was like Back to the Future, only with a Jeep instead of a nuclear-powered DeLorean. We bought some chips and a drink and sat down on the picnic table next to the gas station and ate our lunch of tuna fish (with chips or dog food, respectively). We walked around a sweet little neighborhood that looked like where you picture your grandmother living when she was young.
You might be a redneck if: the school bus that picks up your kids is lifted.
I followed NE-2 into Lincoln, passing within blocks of the main office of the company I used to work for (Nebraska Book Company). I swear that was completely unintended, they're just right there off SR2 a few blocks. I looked it up on my iPhone and saw it on the map. Then out of Lincoln and straight down I-80 all afternoon. Not much traffic, clear skies, a good day for driving. We passed under the Great Platt River Road Arch:
We stopped because I thought Max might want to pee, or some water, or something. Nope, Road Dog just wanted to keep on trucking. He found a spot where he could nap in the sun while watching the road unroll behind us.
We made it to North Platte, Nebraska, right around 5:00 or so. We drove over to Lake Malone State Park where I was planning to spend the night tent camping. We got there, and there were signs up saying "Reduced Services due to Budget Cuts" or something like that. The wind was really picking up and coming off the lake, and there was an active gun range right next door. After considering this briefly, we went back towards the interstate to check out an RV Park we passed. It got very good ratings online, and there were some very nice rigs in there. I did not see any other tents so I didn't think they even allowed tent camping but went in to ask. Sure, no problem, and we had a spot to stay. However, the wind was really picking up. By the time I got the tent put up, a gust of wind came and slammed into the tent. It held and popped back up into shape, but I could easily envision coming back and finding it blown away, or ripped to shreds. So, packed up the tent and looked forward to another night of truck camping (but in better surroundings and weather).
We took a little drive around North Platte, specifically to check out something I had seen on the map given to me upon checking in to the Holiday RV Park. It was called the "Waggin Tails Dog Park" and was only a few blocks from our campsite. We found a new, clean, somewhat deserted trail along the South Platte River and took a walk. The temperature was nice but with a cool strong wind coming out of the South. We went back towards the hotel, first driving around North Platte. It looks nice now when the weather is perfect, but I bet it was pretty brutal a few months ago in winter.
I gave into temptation for an easy dinner and picked up a pizza on the way back across the street to the RV Park. We had a pleasant dinner on the picnic table next to the Jeep; the wind had died down some as darkness approached. We took a stroll around the park and looked at all the different RV's then settled into bed. They had WiFi access so I researched some further destinations and my plan for the next few days on the road became clearer.
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