The Longest Day

Well, we made it to North Platte.  We got away at 9:20am, just 20 minutes after our targeted departure time (that might be a record!)  When we first put the pile on the sidewalk next to the van, I wasn't sure it was all going to fit.  But, not only did we get it all in, there is still enough room for Jennifer and her two more bags when she joins us on Monday.

The first almost 600 miles, through all of Wyoming and into Nebraska were generally uneventful.  But, then it really started raining.  It poured and poured and we learned that there was a severe thunderstorm warning in the area.  Finally, a useful radio person helped by reporting where the warning was by mile marker.  Sure enough, we were right there.  There were winds in the 30 to 50 MPH range and we couldn't see through the rain at all.  We pulled over to wait it out.  As we sat there, the water running down the front windshield looked like there were four or five garden hoses on the roof dumping water on the van at full blast.  After 10 minutes, it let up and we continued on our way.  When we got to our hotel in North Platte, about 1/3 of the parking lot was flooded.  There was a lot of water and lightening.  The girls amused themselves (and consumed all of my phone space) by trying to video lightening.

Well, a quick dinner at Runza's (which we recommend), a dip in the hot tub and it is off to bed for an early start tomorrow.

710.5 miles today.  We put 44.331 gallons of gas into the van for a remarkable 16.027 MPG!




The backseat crowd: