Woke up to a cool but very dry morning. After a quick bagel, we were out the door a little after 6AM. As is usual on a Sunday morning, we had I-80 to ourselves. As we headed west, the weather started to cloud considerably. SO checked her phone and didn't see anything on radar, so we continued on without rain gear.
We got off the interstate at Grand Island. Weather continued to deteriorate to the point where it was somewhere between mist and fog for quite a while. I assumed it wouldn't last and it didn't.
We took Nebraska 2 through the heart of the state as the terrain changed from crop fields to the Sand Hills Region. The Sand Hills are an interesting geographical feature in the United States. People who complain about how "boring" Nebraska is to drive through have never taken the time to get off the interstate.
Nebraska 2 parallels train tracks. It was educational to see train after train of cars full of coal. The shear magnitude was staggering. I don't think that Nebraska has much in the way of coal, so I can only assume that it originated in Wyoming.
The weather improved through the morning as we gained an hour going from Central to Mountain Time Zone and elevation increased to nearly 4000 feet above sea level. As we progressed, the clouds quickly left and the sun shone brightly. The sun shining made the Sand Hills Region even more amazing to drive through. The down side to this was that in the dry air, it got hot very fast. By the time we were near Alliance, it was already over 90F.
We got to S&T's house and visited for a while. Last time we were in Alliance, we went to Car Henge which was a great picture of American Kitsch.
This time, we went to Dobby's Frontier Village. Dobby's was a little hard to categorize. It was part museum, part collection, part artifact, and - some kitsch. Dobby's is a collection of buildings, some recreated, some that were made for the exhibit. They create a timeless picture of a "frontier village" as it exists through time, rather at than any one time. Artifacts and scenes could be from the civil war era to the 1930's and 40's.
When we pulled up, an old coot was standing by a building; it appeared he was painting a sign, but he was the only other visitor there. Once we realized he didn't work there, he lectured us on the things to see around Alliance (he suggested staying there for the full vacation), how to drive, how terrible boys are to girls etc. Needless to say, he helped start the Dobby's experience right.
Most of the buildings can be entered. There are things like a post office, various houses, a sheriff and jail, etc. If you ignore the historical issues, many of the artifacts are truly fascinating and I can only assume took a lifetime to collect.
It might be interesting to spend more time there at some time in the future. In a way, it reminded me of The House on the Rock, except on a very small scale near Madison, Wisconsin where I went earlier in the year. One eccentric's past-time turned exhibit.
After a break at Dairy Queen, we headed back to S&T's house for the evening.
We visited a bit more before eating a great dinner of smoked ribs and chicken. Third meal of smokes meats in a row. I'm not sure it gets any better than this.
We watched a movie (Shadow Recruit) before turning in for the night.
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