Jul 2006

This is Friday night, and we are in a hotel just over the Iowa border near Omaha, NE. Our window looks out over the Missouri River, just about 50 feet away. I was looking out imagining Lewis & Clark floating along the river a couple hundred years ago. Pretty cool.

We promise to post a photo of Carhenge. It is pretty wild. This guy arranged all of these old cars on end in the exact locations and dimensions of Stonehenge, and then he painted them all grey. It's out in the middle of the corn fields outside the tiny town of Alliance, NE, in the NW corner of the state.

Yesterday and today we visited my farmer relatives. We drove out to a couple of the farms which are really rural. To reach them, you have to drive over 10 miles on dirt roads, which go only by a number, like "38." Not 38th Street or Place or Drive. Just a number. Apparently the farmers here prefer certain brands and colors of tractors. My great uncle Malvin, who's lived on the same farm for over 60 years, likes red tractors. But his sons and grandkids like green John Deeres. Also, my cousin's husband ordered a drink I'd never heard of at Ole's last night: "I'll have a red beer." When I inquired, he said it's a popular drink that's half tomato juice and half beer. I declined to try it.......

We stopped and walked around the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln. 'Weren't really very impressed. Not surprisingly, it has a huge football stadium. Omaha seems to be a prettier, livier town than Lincoln, although Lincoln has an impressive revitalized downtown area that looked pretty "happening."

Tomorrow we'll head towards Illinois, passing through Des Moines on I-80. If it's not too hot to be outside, we'll tour the Amana Colonies. These were communal villages settled by German immigrants in the mid-1800s. They are preserved and are quaint, sort of along the lines of Amish communities. Anyway, the villages eventually went corporate, and the Amana Appliance Company was the result. We're also anxious to see the Mississippi River. (Remember the little chant you said when you were little to remember how to spell that?) Then it's on to Galesburg, IL to visit my college friend who is the head of the Political Science Dept. at Knox College.

ESH

Hi everyone! It's the one and only Hayley again. Yaaay! Right now we are in some town in Iowa. It was very hot today, and we got lost both on the road and in our hotel. We accidently recieved the wrong key and went into a room with some random smoking guy in there. It was quite awkward. Anyway, yesterday's first stop was Carhenge. If you're wondering what Carhenge is, it is an exact replica of Stonehenge in England, except it's a bunch of old cars spraypainted gray! In Nebraska I also met my relatives! I met my great great uncle Malvin, who is a farmer, my first cousin twice removed Margie, my third cousins Noah and Marissa. Malvin is 90, Margie is 59, Noah is 4, and Marissa is almost 2. I learned from Noah that red tractors are really not cool, but GREEN tractors are totally cool. In fact, he got a shirt with red tractors on it, and refused to wear the shirt because the tractors weren't green! Then we all went to a restauraunt called Ole's in Paxton, Nebraska. I ordered ribs, and they gave me this HUGE plate, and the ribs went off the plate about 3 inches on each side! I only ate about a quarter of it there was so much. Today we drove for about 5 hours, but first stopped and found my great grandma's grave. Now were are in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is a town just into Iowa near Omaha, Nebraska. Well then, I'll see y'all later!
- Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay (enough 'Hay's for you?)

Hello! OK everyone, before I start the blog I have something to say. Where are you guys? Are you not reading the blog??? Come on people, show some spirit! Anyway, we went to Wind Cave National Park today, and it was great. We were in the cave and got to a point that we were 220 feet below the surface of the earth. We'll post pictures if we can. Also we saw praire dog land, where praire dogs were everywhere! They are so cute!!! Now we're in a hotel in Alliance, Nebraska, and we're going to Carhenge tomorrow...
What is Carhenge? You will have to find out tomorrow!
TO BE CONTINUED...