Nebraska August 23 – 25, 2017 and September 24, 2017 102 miles
We finally got on the road after many delays. Heading for Omaha, Nebraska area. We spent our first two nights on the road in Wal-Mart camping areas. The second night was at a Wal-Mart in Grimes, Iowa. Just a short distance from Saylorville Lake, where we did some biking last September. Very quiet restful night.
We arrived at Haworth Park Campground in Bellevue, Nebraska early in the day. No frills camping along the Missouri River. We are near Offutt Air Force Base and we can hear their Reveille and Taps played at the beginning and end of the day. Reminded us of the time spent on Fort Bragg visiting Erik and his family.
We were able to get in a 30 mile bike ride the first day on the Bellevue Loop and Keystone Trail. We road through corn fields along the Papillion Creek. I thought it was a bit windy until we road today – it was really blowing. Not the most scenic trails but all cement and well maintained. We saw lots of beautiful butterflies, had grasshoppers hitting our legs, chest and face. Many jets flying overhead from the Air Force Base.
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Art Wall was in Haworth Park. It was made as a part of the 200th commemoration of the historic journey of the Corps of Discovery. Children from the ten states along the expedition route were asked to illustrate the people, events, and discoveries the Corp encountered. Each section looks like a quilt with small blocks of drawings by the children. Awesome to see!
Tomorrow we head for Bismark, North Dakota. We hope to revisit Nebraska later this fall to finish our 100 miles.
BACK TO NEBRASKA – September 23 -25, 2017
We made it back to Nebraska after finishing in Kansas. We actually thought it would be much cooler, but it was 95 degrees when we arrived in Lincoln. Found a nice campground, Camp A-way, in Lincoln. It was full of Nebraska Cornhuskers in town for Saturdays game.
Sunday we got up early to ride hoping to beat the heat. While Lincoln was not our first choice to ride (the trail we hoped to ride was in bad shape) they have a really nice trail system. Where one trail ended another began. We were able to ride 35 miles through beautiful parks and along the river which was just beautiful near the University.
We arrived back at our car and had the bikes loaded just as a huge rain storm came through. Waited at the campground for the weather to clear and then set out from there for another ride. We only needed 15 more miles to complete our 100 and wanted to get it done as the weather report for Monday said: rain, rain and more rain. We ended the day with 51 miles and got back to the motorhome before the rain started.
We left Lincoln in a pouring rain on Monday and headed for Arkansas to visit the Pittmans and meet Felippi, their exchange student from Brazil.
- Antelope Valley Trail
- Billy Wolff Trail
- Roper Park
- Superior Park Trail