August 2019 Scottsbluff Nebraska, site of the combined Old West Balloon Festival and the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship.  One group, the national guys, fly competitively completing all sorts of assigned tasks to earn points.  They take off twice a day, when the weather permits, and make target drops at a location where the public can watch.  Wow they can dive and rise with great accuracy.  It is great to watch.  Mass ascensions don’t happen ‘til weekend and we need to be moving by then.  We do stay one extra day to see a night glow of about 50 balloons.  Humpty Dumpty and Marvin the Martian are here along with lot of beautiful racing balloons.     

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument protects a giant bonebed discovered in a long-buried watering hole.  Dated at approximately 19 million years ago, based on ash layers above and below the bonebed, the layer contains hundreds of mammal skeletons.  Scientists theorize they died in mass as a result of a drought.  Many animals, mostly herbivores, gathered at the few remaining pools, grazed off all nearby vegetation then died of malnutrition once there was no food close enough to the water.  The bones were buried in the remnants of the muddy pool.  Interesting scientific theory is set forth and the skeletons are amazing.  They have pieced together the lives of predators/scavengers and their role in this event as well.  Worth a visit even if it is really off the beaten path.

Another cool find in the area are the spiral tunnels of an ancient beaver-sort of.  He lived on/in the ground not water and in colonies sort of like prairie dogs.  The tunnels eventually filled with fine wind-blown sand and over time became sandstone in the shape of these amazing spirals.  Quite the puzzle for the geologists for a while.          

We just had to see it.  Created by a family it is said to be a replica of Stonehenge in scale and shape.  A picture says it all!  Check out what cars are used in this work.

There have been some pretty entertaining additions through the years.    The Fourd Seasons…symbolic of wheat through its growing phases.  Carsules..time capsules buried by various classes.  Chimes.  A Carnastoga Wagon.    

Not in the Nebraska of my childhood memories.  But they are all here, we have seen them.  Forces of wind and water have worn away some 500 feet of ancient high plains leaving only these isolated spires and towers.  Chimney rock, courthouse rock, jail rock and the granddaddy of them all Scotts Bluff.  This south west corner of Nebraska is dotted with famous formations along the Oregon Trail that have marked the way for First Nations peoples, trappers, explorers and settlers moving west.  Pretty impressive way-finding skills.  We can manage to get turned around even with a garmin!      

As for the auto tunnels, the drive to the summit in Scottsbluff National Monument passes through three of them, the only three in Nebraska.  Cool.  Even on a hazy day the view from the summit is amazing.  We make our way back down via Saddle rock trail with switchbacks across the shear faces and even a hand carved tunnel through one section.  We get a close up look at the 10 million-year timeline captured in the layers of rock exposed along the cliffs.  Wildflowers are pretty impressive too.

The Plains light house, it is 55 feet tall and made of native stone built by the Veterans Conservation Corp in the late 30s.  It never housed a light but does offer a great view of Lake Minatare. I would not have expected to find it but it looks good here.           

Our track for today is straight south on I-57 to I-55; precisely along the line where cold front and warm wet air from the south collide. Oh goody.
It is cold breaking camp but no snow yet. Three brightly feathered pheasants emerge to see us off then scurry back into the culvert they had been hiding in. No hiding for us though, here we go.
It is windy but roads have been treated and are dry for now. The view out my window is telling me I’m down south, clusters of palmetto send spikes into the sky, kudzu vines drape across everything in their path, and fluffs of cotton bunch and swirl along the road edge. But wait, that white stuff is not all cotton. We have found the snow. Roads are wet now and the temperature is bouncing between 29 and 30 as the weather channel warns of freezing bridges. Kent is focused on driving and I am a bit white knuckled; it has been a long time since we had the rig in snow. Betsy, our Garman, reports one to two hours delay and a road closure in Memphis, 50+ miles ahead. We hope it clears and keep on going.
Road conditions kind of level off and I get back to the scenery. Nearly all the cotton has been harvested and fields are edged with long rows of giant marshmallows wrapped in yellow plastic. Why yellow not white like hay bales? Hmm, Now there are pink marshmallows everywhere. I just had to know so I googled it. It is a breast cancer awareness campaign set in motion by a farmer in this county whose wife is battling/has battled breast cancer. Everyone along this stretch of 55 is definitely thinking pink.
There is snow in Memphis but the delay Betsy had foretold never came to be and the final 50 miles to our stop at Enid Lake are uneventful. We know it has been cold though; the motorhome engine is still in fast idle when we finish out the day at 381miles.

The Corp Campground at Enid is nice with big level sites and great lake views. The lake is low right now and rocky shores will keep us from ever beaching the boat at the site but that isn’t a deal breaker. It is just an overnight this time but we will have to stop back some time to explore this place further.

Kent’s school buddy introduced us to this place. Thank you, Gary and Carole. It is in a tiny little farm community but this place could hold its own anywhere. We started with a St Louis area specialty, toasted ravioli. It is a great twist on a yummy standard that got even better with the jalapeño aioli. The onion rings were huge and pretty spectacular too. Entrees on the menu sounded great plus there were 8 specials tonight, a Tuesday night. I went for one of the specials, pork chop cordon bleu. The sauce was amazing. Kent’s tenderloin medallions demi-glace was spectacular too. We have enough leftovers for another whole meal since we boxed nearly half of it to allow room for snickers cheesecake. We are stuffed but we are happy! Check this place out if you can.

South of the Mason Dixson line by November 1. We are just east of St. Louis. They broke a hundred-year-old record getting over an inch of snow yesterday and there is more forecast. We are grabbing dinner with one of Kent’s high school classmates tonight then it looks like tomorrow will be a full day drive south.
I saw a Roseate Spoonbill while we were driving yesterday. He’s a Gulf Coast bird and most certainly is regretting some wrong turn he made!

It is our final evening at Deam Lake and the deer wander through calmly munching on the tastiest greens.  We relax by a campfire.  It’s been a pretty good few days.