DAY 5 surprise

I think I said in my previous post that I expected a "good driving day." Well, I guess it was for the most part, but it had a big surprise toward the end that was scary! But first, let me describe our itinerary. We came west from Onawa, got a little lost on a Rte. 51 detour, corrected that, and worked our way up to US 20, one of the major cross-country highways, one we've taken again and again in various sections of the country, and took it to Ainsworth and Valentine. We were making good time, so we made a side trip in Valentine to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, which turned out to be a great idea. It is a unique ecosystem because six different ecosystems come together there, making it an unusually rich and diverse area - all 19,000 acres of it! For example, 250 bird species have been sighted there. They are actually maintaining a herd of bison there, and we saw some. We could have driven right up to one lying in the road, but decided not to disturb it. We went to a couple of scenic overlooks which were quite nice. If you have the time, you can raft the Niobrara River. We were not able to spend a lot of time there, but we got a good taste of it. There was a visitor center where we met a woman who has recently become the assistant manager - a ranger. She is from Upstate New York and went to college in Maine. And her sister went to Keuka College, where I taught. It's fun to make connections like that. It makes the country seem much smaller.

Informational display

Bison display in the visitor's center.

Bison skull - this is on a table full of natural items kids can handle with impunity.

One of the scenic overlooks.

Another scenic overlook. ******************************************************* Well, anyway, we headed west from Valentine and could see a storm up ahead. Pretty soon we were getting quite a light show in the heavens, not only from sun and clouds, but huge lightning strikes as well! It seemed to be moving fast and we thought we would probably not go into it, but we were wrong. Suddenly we were in one of the worst storms we have ever experienced. Thunder, lightning, heavy rain, high winds, and worst of all, periods of zero visibiity. Ellen didn't dare pull over because she couldn't see where she was going. So we kept going, barely able to see the white line that marked the edge of the road. We had our flashers on, but fortunately there was virtually no traffic. Finally it began to lighten, and by the time we got to Fort Robinson, it was clear and dry! But for about ten minutes, it was scary, and also exhilerating! The rest of the trip - to Lusk, WY - we were treated to a continual light show as the sun set through the clouds creating fantastic colors and forms. Lusk is where we are now, at the Townhouse Motel, in a room we have been in before, probably more than once. Here are some sky scenes:

Storm ahead.

Amazing light on the hay field.

Here it comes!

After-storm light show.

It just goes on . . .

. . . and on . . .

. . . and on . . .

. . . and on.