After a night in Hastings, Nebraska, the birthplace of Kool Aid, we visited a major Nebraska Roadside attraction: The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney. (Though it's technically not roadside, since it is built over I-80.) This interactive exhibit is a tribute to westward mobility: starting with the pioneers along the various trails that converge at the Platte River (Mormon, Oregon, California), on to the transcontinental railroad, followed by the Lincoln Highway, and culminating in the current day I-80. It sounds hokey, but it works; we all really enjoyed it. This attraction is mentioned, usually with affection, in Roadside America, Roadtrip USA and other guidebooks. If that's not enough to reel you in, a scene from "About Schmidt" starring Jack Nicholson was filmed here.
We then headed on to Colorado, where we're spending the night in Brush. Brush is in the Eastern Plains, not too far from Yuma, the town which served as the inspiration for Plainsong by Kent Haruf. (If you haven't alreadyread the book, do! Or rent the movie by the same name). The weather here is pretty brutal: hot (97 today) with high winds and often fierce storms: tornadoes, hailstorms, you name it. It will be good to go into the mountain tomorrow.
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