Saturday, June 23, 2012

Back to Nebraska

(Hastings, NE) Hi 85 Lo 64 – It was a little windy when we got up and got hitched up, but not enough to stop us from moving on to Nebraska. It took us two hours from the time we got up till we got on the road at around 10am.

It was almost all back roads this trip. The terrain was mostly bright yellow wheat fields through Kansas.
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As soon as crossed the border into Nebraska the fields suddenly turned to green corn fields.
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We saw these unusual shaped buildings on the edge of a cornfield. We think it might be a house. It had windows and a door, but sure wasn’t anything like we’ve seen before. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
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When we got closer to Hastings we passed two ethanol plants. A lot of the corn in this area is used to make ethanol fuel.
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We arrived at Hastings Campground and were immediately greeted by Mike and Terri. It was so great to see our good friends again. We hadn't seen them since last summer in Richmond when they were trying to sell their house. Their house is sold and they're now officially full timers. They've been here in Hastings for two months due to Terri's recovery from a broken shoulder she suffered a while back. She's been getting physical therapy here in this area.

After we got set up we visited for awhile in Mike and Terri's Excel fifth wheel. Mike invited us to go to a local dirt track to watch some stock car racing. Terri isn't a big fan of racing, so she stayed behind. Junction Speedway is about an hour east of Hastings in the small town of McCool Junction. It's a 3/8 mile track, with nice amenities, including a small gift/souvenir shop. As you can see in these photos, you can see for miles and miles and miles.


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The racing show was quick-paced and very entertaining. The action started around 7:15 and was over by 9:30. We had a great time. We both love local stock car racing. We really should scout out and go to more tracks in our travels.


I’ll get some pictures of the campground and post them in tomorrow's blog.
It's going to be fun spending some time with Mike and Terri.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thats photo of a Dome Home....quite a large one too!!

Chuck
A Lea, MN

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

Here is more about them:

"Geodesic domes offer the safest shelter in the most violent weather extremes around the world. In tornadoes and hurricanes, high winds and negative air pressure combine and get under the eves and soffits of conventional housing, then rip the roof off, leaving the occupants exposed. A geodesic dome's aerodynamic shape offers the best above ground protection against winds from any direction, allowing gale force winds to slip past. During an earthquake, a conventional house rocks off its foundation and topples as the earth makes lateral shifts. A dome has an even distribution of weight and a low center of gravity so it moves with the earth. Engineering for incredible snow loads is intrinsic in its design. Insulating efficiently against extreme heat or cold is a direct factor of the exposed surface area, or outside wall area of any building. The vaulted ceiling in its free span interior allows excellent air circulation and heat recovery." From: http://www.domeincorporated.com/geodesic-domes-history.html

Very useful in the Tornado Ally, and other places. I have seen lots of them over the years.

Happy Trails, Penny, TX

Elaine said...

kewl dome house....nice that your meeting up with your friends...enjoy!!! Nice to read Penny's explanation :)

Gypsy said...

Previous commenters beat me to the dome home answer. Just looking at it you can hope the wind blows over and around it, but doesn't get a chance to tear it apart. Very interesting picture.

Mike and Terri said...

Thanks for stopping in to visit for a few days. We've been looking forward to seeing you two again. We sure had a great time at the track. It certainly is a nicely run facility. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

GGuncle said...

another wind resistant home is a deltec home. when hurricane andrew went thru fl., only two deltec homes were left intact, the reg.square or retangular were leveled. dom

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