Tanking in the Rolling Hills and Rocking with the Rolling Stones

'Tanking' in Nebraska was our favorite activity of this whole trip. If you don’t know what 'tanking' is, unfortunately you’ll have to read through a few paragraphs of unrelated historical trivia first, but you’ll find out later.

My favorite John Steinbeck quote (and also the only one I know) is this:

“The interstate highway system is a wonderful thing. It makes it possible to go from coast to coast without seeing anything or meeting anybody. If the United States interests you, stay off the interstates.” 

The Archway Monument above I80

We tend to follow this advice on our road trips whenever possible. Given a choice, we opt for the backroads. But since 2000, Nebraska is proving Steinback wrong. The Archway Monument is built right over I80, so you can’t really not see it. But it’s not only there to give people something to see while driving coast to coast. It houses a museum that tells the story why the corridor through Nebraska along the Platte River is the most important for America’s westward expansion:

The pioneers on the Oregon Trail came through here on the way to Oregon. 

The 49ers during the Gold Rush came through here on the way to California. 

The Mormons came through here on their way to Utah. 

The first transcontinental railroad came through here. 

The first transcontinental telegraph came through the same route. 

The Lincoln Highway came through here, the first road connecting the east and west coast. 

And I80 itself was the first interstate to go all the way across the country. (Surprisingly, it wasn’t completed until 1986).

And Joy came through here. Surprisingly, not until 2024. 

The museum in the Archway is very entertaining and gives people like us something to do so we don’t drive across the country without seeing anything.

There is another site close by that shows how important this corridor still is to this day: The world’s largest rail yard is in North Platte, Nebraska. The Bailey Yard covers 2,850 acres. An average of 14,000 cargo rail cars come through here every day and get sorted on their way east or west. It’s such an impressive operation that they built an observation tower just for visitors to observe the operation. We spent over three hours there, but half of that was for two inspiring documentaries about the so-called orphan trains and a volunteer canteen during WWII. 

Despite being on the thoroughfare of American history, Nebraska west of Omaha and Lincoln is definitely rural country. The legacy of the Wild West is still very much alive. We toured the home and ranch from Buffalo Bill, who might represent the American West more than anyone else. We were lucky to be here in time for the “Buffalo Bill Rodeo” at North Platte’s “Nebraskaland Days”. 

There was one paniolo at the rodeo

This was not our first rodeo. But it was our first ‘real’, professional rodeo. Nebraska takes their rodeos very seriously. The competitors are revered like soccer players in Germany or surfers in Hawaii. Speaking of Hawaii: Between all the Nebraskans, Texans, Kansans and Wyomingites, there was one competitor from Haiku on Maui. So it was clear who we would be rooting for. We enjoyed our rodeo experience, but I have to admit that I had some mixed feelings. On the one hand, I appreciate the skill and courage of the athletes. On the other hand I feel a litte sorry for the animals and for the poor guy from Haiku. Neither one of them had a real chance.

But now on to the really fun stuff: Tanking! As I said, this was our favorite thing of the whole trip. Tanking is a mix of rafting and tubing and it is as Nebraskan as Runzas and the Cornhuskers. You float and spin down a river in a cow tank. Legend has it that two drunk guys in a bar come up with this alternative use for live stock watering tanks. To pay tribute to the origin of the activity, drinking is highly encouraged. The meandering rivers through the Sandhills of Nebraska are perfect for this. The current is strong enough to keep you going. The round tanks rarely get stuck, they simply spin around when you hit the river bank or a tree. And in the very rare times you do get stuck, the water is never more than waist deep to get out and free yourself. And there are plenty of sandbars to pull up, swim…. and of course drink.

Tanking - the best idea two drunk cowboys ever had

Finding campsites in Nebraska has been pleasantly easy and affordable. However, at Lake McConaughy we were unable to reserve a spot at first because they require a two night stay. But even that turned out to be a good thing. Sometimes we need to be forced to slow down. We enjoyed scootering and biking, went out for a fun lunch and even found time to just sit on the beach and do nothing. 

Doing nothing at Lake McConaughy

Impressive water release below the dam of the lake

We spent our first night after coming to Colorado at one of those ‘free’ Harvest Host locations. This one was a golf course and by the time we played some golf and ate some delicious BBQ at their restaurant, of course it costs more than any of the campgrounds we stayed at. So not really free, but fun.

Golfing at the Sky Ranch

Hawaii and Colorado share some kind of connection. Several of our friends moved from or to Colorado. We had not really planned on it, but we had lucky timing: Our friends Joel and Susannah were celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a beer garden right along our route. Always fun to catch up with friends who moved away from Hawaii. 

Fun meeting with Joel and Susannah in beer garden  

Speaking of friends who moved away: Of course we met our hanai parents Bunt and Ann several times. We always liked Colorado, but with three extra incentives (don’t forget April!), it’s no coincidence that we will be in Colorado three times this year.

Family reunion with Bunt, Ann & April in Colorado

As if we needed more reasons to come here, the Rolling Stones played in Denver just at the right time. I always wanted to see them live. I had heard them live once, but that was from outside the stadium in Vienna on a EuRail trip when we couldn’t afford the ticket to go inside. Now we could afford tickets, at least the kind of seats where you need binoculars to watch the big screens from way across the arena. Mick Jagger talked about the first time they played in Denver…in 1965! Still playing 59 years later is a pretty impressive accomplishment by itself. They sold out Mile High stadium twice and they sounded great. How a bunch of octogenarians can perform like that for two hours defies the accepted facts of aging. What a great show. They don’t even pretend this is a farewell tour anymore, I guess they had too many of those before. 

Not the closet seat to the stage,
 but at least we saw the Rolling Stones

We will see another legendary rock band once we are in Germany. How this came about was one of my most surprising moments in my life. Listening to the radio on the road, Sandra asked me, somewhat out of the blue, to look up whether the Scorpions are touring this year. Another bucket list band, they are only in their 70’s, but not getting any younger either. I looked it up, but could not quite believe my eyes. In the tour dates, somewhere between Budapest and Madrid they play in an obscure place called “Breisach am Rhein”. I have never been so surprised to see the name of my little hometown!

The last day before we flew out was my birthday. And birthday or not, playing games with Sandra, Cody, Trevor & Mandy all day was the perfect way to spend the day. We accomplished the “Triple Crown of Golf”: Disc, stick and mini golf in one day, with a few extra games added for good measure. Even though I lost every kind of golf; Life is Good.

The Triple Crown of Golf crew

Now Joy is stored for the summer and we are off to Europe. That does not mean you are safe from more blog posts, but they will be a little less frequent. We’ll be busy enjoying time with our families…and the Scorpions...

and Pink.

Aloha,

Chris & Sandra

Nebraska’s Good Life is not for Everyone

“Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone”. 

This was the official tourism slogan of Nebraska for the past five years. We really appreciate this. Nebraska would not be such a fun, easy state to explore in an RV if everyone were here. 

Like Nebraska itself, the Platte River is
beautiful, uncrowded and flat

Even though we spent the past week in the most urban areas of the state, we find Nebraska to be pleasantly low key, surprisingly affordable and mostly uncrowded (as long as you avoid the Omaha Zoo on the weekend). 

An astounding 90% of Nebraska is farmland! That seems impossible since it only leaves 10% of the state for cities, roads, forests, lakes and disc golf courses. But I looked it up and all of Mr. Google’s friends seem to agree, the estimates range from 88% to 92%, making Nebraska the most farmed state in the country! The first site we visited in Nebraska gave one explanation for this: The “Homestead National Historical Park” (run by our beloved National Park Service) pays tribute to the ‘Homestead Act’. They make a pretty good point that this law shaped the history of the United States more than any other law before or after.

 

The Homestead National Historical Park sits
on the land of the first homestead in the state
with the largest percentage of homestead land

We knew of the Homestead Act, but we weren’t aware of its scale and impact. Pretty much every number about the Homestead Act surprised me. I am glad we came here before any of this comes up in the next “Wits & Wagers” trivia game:

• 1862 is when the Homestead Act was passed. Yes, right during the Civil War. In fact, Congress could only pass the law because the Southern states, who opposed it, had seceded. 
• 1986 is when the last patent for a homestead was granted…123 years after the law was passed!
• 1.6 million homesteads were distributed for free, a total of 270 million acres; that’s about 10% of the entire land mass of the United States!
• 46% of Nebraska was given away as homesteads. That’s the highest of any state. Surprisingly, there are several states where almost half of the land became homesteads!
• 1/3 of Americans alive today are descendants from homesteaders!

I applaud the National Park Service: It’s not easy to honor the courage and grit of the homesteaders while also pointing out the harm they caused: They created a new way of life, but also helped almost wiping out native cultures. They cultivated the often barren land, growing food for the growing nation, but they also destroyed the natural ecosystem of large parts of the continent. Ironically, a century and a half after the very first homestead was granted here under the condition that the prairie would be turned into farmland, the National Park Service now spends considerable resources to bring back the natural prairie.

We were told that eating a Runza is mandatory when coming to Nebraska by some random guys on YouTube and by my one and only friend from Nebraska….who did not tell me until afterwards that he doesn’t really like Runzas. Well, we ordered the one with mushrooms, so naturally I liked it. But honestly, it’s not for everyone.

The Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln

Of course we had to tour the Nebraska State Capitol since we are on a quest to see all 50. Like most capitols, they offered a great free tour. That’s not surprising anymore, but a lot of what we learned did surprise me:

• Nebraska is the only unicameral legislature in the country. No senate and house of representative, just one house. Obviously more efficient, but also a little less “checks & balancy”.
• Maybe they just enjoy being different… like a century ago when they were the first state to design a capitol as a high rise rather than with the traditional dome. By now, there are four high rise capitol buildings. We appreciate it for the variety and for the views.
• Malcom X is the latest inductee into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. That shocked me since Nebraska is a deep red state. I’m not even sure how I feel about Malcom X myself, but good for them honoring their native son!

A free and thought-provoking art museum followed by a yummy cajun dinner in the Hay Market district rounded up our first day in Lincoln. 

The Robber's Cave under the city of Lincoln

The ‘Robber’s Cave’ tour was the highlight on the second day. Right under the city of Lincoln is a sandstone cave with a colorful history. The cave has had too many uses over the years to name them all, the ones that stuck with me were party cave, mushroom growing, beer brewing, concert venue and daycare facility for little kids. Our tour guide was Joel Green. It almost seems like he gives all the tours at this cave - and there is probably nobody more qualified: He wrote the book on Robber’s Cave, literally. 

The Cornhuskers college football team is probably the most Nebraskan thing of all, even more so than Runzas. We would have loved to see a game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, but even if there had been a game, we might not have been able to: The last 396 (!) home games have been sold out, an NCAA record. But you can look inside the stadium any day. 

Memorial Stadium - Home of the Cornhuskers

Memorial Stadium holds 85,000 people, which makes the stadium the third largest town in Nebraska on game days. Obviously, after 27 years in the US, we know how important college sports are, but it still baffles me that the 14 largest stadiums by capacity in the country are all college sport arenas! 

You can take a Hawaiian out of Hawaii,
but you can't take the Shaka out of a Hawaiian

But overall, I admit we are bigger fans of Hawaii than of college football. That’s why our favorite part of touring the Memorial Stadium was meeting the security guard from Oahu and talking story with him.

Trail Ride at the Mahoney State Park

Before heading to Omaha, we took a little rest at the Mahoney State Park. We enjoyed the observation tower, the disc golf course, a horseback trail ride, a cute little play at a theater and plenty of pathways for me to enjoy my new scooter. Luckily, the Costco in Omaha had one last foldable e-bike left for Sandra so that we can now take trips together. 

Me on a scooter ride in Iowa while Sandra is biking in Nebraska

Not sure why, but Omaha, Nebraska has the best or second best zoo in the country. Best if you ask around here, second best if you ask in San Diego. My favorite part was a cave with thousands (!) of very active bats. I also did not know that pandas come in red. The Omaha Zoo has another distinction, it was hands-down the worst lunch we had on this trip. At least we weren’t there on the weekend, when we would have had to wait in line for undercooked fries and a sad looking thing they called a hamburger.

At the Omaha Zoo
Who knew that Pandas come in color?

We enjoy picking places to move to without ever moving there. In Nebraska, Omaha would be our first choice so far. Maybe one of those two buildings right by the pedestrian bridge to Iowa or something along the pedestrian mall leading from the riverfront park to downtown. 

Pedestrian Mall in Downtown Omaha

It’s a very walkable, bikable and scooterable town. On the first day alone we explored the riverfront, had good food and good beer at a brewery in the Old Market district and saw the very fun ‘Moulin Rouge’ musical at the impressive Orpheum Theater. 

Jocelyn Castle in Lincoln

On the second day we took a tour at the Jocelyn Castle. Apparently printing was a really good business to be in back then. That’s how the Jocelyns made the money that built this castle. We love touring these historical homes, not just because it’s an impressive building and beautifully decorated, mostly for the stories that every house can tell, thanks to an amazing number of dedicated volunteers and professionals preserving and presenting those places. We really appreciate them.

Omaha's majestic Union Station once a busy hub,
now a quiet, but interesting museum

Omaha’s Union Station was the heart of the city during the heydays of train travel during the mid 1900’s. By now it has been a history museum longer than it was a train station. Seeing the beautifully designed and restored grand waiting room and walking through old Pullman train cars can make you feel nostalgic. Even in Europe, I don't remember any train stations this impressive. No airport even comes close to the grandeur. And given the choice, I’d rather take a trip in one of those Pullman trains than in any airplane, even in business class. But let’s not overdo the nostalgia, we love traveling and living in our 2017 home on wheels!

They can probably only afford to offer this lakefront campground
with electric hookups for free because Nebraska is not for everyone...

Now it’s time to Go West…the 2/3 of Nebraska where all residents of any single town would easily fit into Memorial Stadium. After driving west for a couple of days, I start to believe that 90% of Nebraska is farmland. Our first two stops were both at lakefront campgrounds. The one we are currently at is even free, with electric hookups! It used to be that once we settled at a campground, we did not want to leave. But now that we have a scooter and a bike, we are looking for any reason why we might need to go somewhere. We enjoy riding nine miles to town and back just to buy some olive oil.

Earlier this year, Nebraska got rid of their slogan that it might not be for everyone. The slogan they already use on the welcome signs “Nebraska…the Good Life” should be appealing to most, but apparently they are still looking for something catchier. Hopefully, they don’t find a slogan that actually makes everyone come here. It could ruin this beautiful, affordable, uncrowded state. 

Aloha from Nebraska,

Chris, Sandra & Joy

PS: I loved all the comments and responses to the last blog, even or especially the ones from 'Anonymous'. Keep them coming!

Driving Through a 'Fly Over State'

Aloha all,

the “Kansas” movie at the Domed Theater in Wichita starts off with a series of quotes and common stereotypes how boring Kansas is. They even (somewhat proudly) proclaim that, according to some thrill seeker magazine, Kansas is #50 on the list of most exciting states. 

For the rest of the film they show a variety of beautiful and spectacular aerial footage of the state. They do that without ever arguing that maybe Kansas should have been the 49th or even 48th most exciting state. In fact, they never say a single word. They let the images speak for themselves. But you know that I can never shut up about our road trip. And you know what they say: “A thousand words are worth a picture”, so I’ll write 1,000 words and try to explain why we are so excited to drive through this flyover state. 

The Keeper of the Plains in Wichita, Kansas

Our road trip actually started in Oklahoma City this year, since that is where we left Joy last year and she rarely goes anywhere without us. She was patiently waiting for us and was in good shape when we got to her, even with a catalytic converter, just not with a working battery. The first day is always about getting her ready and stocked up. We knew she needed new front tires and we also got her a new battery. Luckily Walmart’s battery warranty is valid even when you store your vehicle for half the year. Other than that, Joy was as ready and as eager to go back on the road as we were.

Joy is on the road again...

I’ve said this before: I think Oklahoma City is the most underrated city in the US. When I told that to a friend who grew up there, he thought I was kidding. I proceeded to name about ten things we like about Oklahoma City and his answer to each and every one of them was “Well, that wasn’t there when I grew up”. Now there is one more thing we like about OKC that wasn’t even there when we first came here not even five years ago: We spent a full day at the “First Americans Museum”. It just opened in 2021 and it’s run by the 39 Native American tribes that live in Oklahoma today, most of them not by choice. The museum is equally depressing and inspiring.

FAM - First Americans Museum in OKC

Another night at a campground by a lake and then we were off to Kansas, to Wichita to be precise. Avid readers might remember, this is where we had met our instant friends at a brewery last year. We are still in contact with them and reconnected to catch up, play cards and even pickle ball this time. 

Pickleball with our friends from last year's trip

We also visited the “Old Cowtown Museum”, which wasn’t the most lively living history museum, but still very fun and even free! We spent a day at the “Exploration Place”, because they let you stay in your RV for free, by the river in downtown Wichita. This science museum is mostly for kids who are even younger than us, but all the four films we saw at their domed theater were included and well worth it. The above mentioned “Kansas” film even gave us some new ideas about where to go on this trip.  

Shootout at the Old Cowtown Museum

From the museum we could walk to a great bar and restaurant and to the theater in downtown where we saw the very fun “Gypsy” musical. We also rented scooters to ride along the riverfront park. That scooter ride was enough for me to decide that I want to buy one of those electric scooters and enough for Sandra to decide that she’d rather have a folding e-bike.

My newest toy

You can probably already guess that we don’t think that Kansas is a so called “flyover state”. You’d miss a lot by just flying over it, including what there is to see UNDER Kansas. For that, we went to “Strataca”. This is a still active salt mine, in fact it’s active in three different ways: If you live in Chicago, the salt mine’s most important purpose is to mine salt for de-icing Chicago roads in winter. If you have some important documents or maybe some precious movie costumes that you want to store in one of the safest and naturally air conditioned places, the mine’s most important function is that as a huge secure storage facility. For the rest of us, who avoid driving in Chicago in the winter anyway and don’t need high security storage, the third function of the salt mine is the most important one: They offer guided tram and train rides and an underground salt mine museum. There are over 200 miles (!) of underground tunnels. Judging by the few miles we saw, those 200 miles of salt mine tunnels are probably as barren and desolate as many people expect Kansas to be above ground, but for a couple of hours it was fascinating to be in a totally different world.

200 miles of tunnels, 200 meters under Kansas
at the Strataca Salt Mine

Today, over 87% of Kansas is farmland. But it’s not that long ago that it was mostly open prairie with millions of roaming buffaloes. To get an idea what that was like, we went to the Maxwell Game Preserve. It’s not a big tourist attraction. During the week you actually have to arrange a (surprisingly affordable) private tour ahead of time and then drive over some gravel roads to get there and hope that the tour guide shows up. Ours didn’t. But she did answer the phone, apologized and arranged for the preserve manager of 40+ years to give us a tour. We’ve seen buffaloes before, but never this many, never this close and never with such a knowledgable guide. 

Private tour through a buffalo herd
at the Maxwell Game Preserve

On our way to the campground, we stopped at a castle at Coronado Heights. It’s only about 100 years old instead of 1,000 years like some in Europe, but what it lacked in history, it made up with the view. In a state as flat as Kansas, it only takes a 200 foot hill to get sweeping 360 degree views. There was also interesting wildlife, beautiful flowers and the best picnic spots east of the Rocky Mountains:

Let's have a picnic!

Horned lizard at Coronado Heights

Coronado Castle

Remember those gravel roads on the way to the game preserve? Joy did. When we got to the campground, Sandra noticed an unpleasant smell and a trail of wet spots behind us. The washboard road had loosened the pipe from our blackwater tank. We rushed to the dump site and I climbed under Joy. Luckily the repair was relatively simple, but also relatively gross. Let’s just say I was glad the bathhouse with showers was right there…

I'll admit that the scenic wonders of Kansas are not as widespread as in Hawaii, Colorado or Utah, but it’s a lot greener and hillier than most people expect and if you look for it, you can find some really cool stuff, for example the Mushroom Rocks and Rock City parks. In case any of you are as oblivious as we were, these rock formations are called “concretions" and these are some prime examples. In this case I will follow the old saying and post two pictures, saving me the trouble of accurately describing the scientific origin and saving you from having to read another 2,000 words.

I love Mushroom (Rocks)

Kansas ROCKS!

We haven’t even made it to all 50 state capitol buildings yet, but we are already making sure we will not run out of places to visit. In Kansas for example, you can also visit the “First Territorial Capitol” on the Fort Riley Army base. This building, the exhibit in it and the docent there tell the story of the first legislative meeting after Kansas became a territory. Basically, 39 dudes met here 169 years ago for a grand total of 5 days. This was during the tumultuous “Bleeding Kansas” period, so they mostly tried to outmaneuver each other over whether Kansas would become a free or a slave state. But those 5 days is all it took for the state to make this a Historic site and for us to spend the better part of an afternoon there. If we want to go to all the places where a few guys met for a few days a long time ago, we’ll never run out of things to do!

We can't see everything, but we can try!

I never wanted to drive an RV into Manhattan, but we did it anyway! It was surprisingly easy. We did not make it to the Guggenheim Museum, but opted for the Rile County Museum and the historical Goodnow House instead. Visiting those lesser known places has its advantages. Instead of standing in line and fighting crowds, we got a two hour long, private tour. Isaac Goodnow was a committed abolitionist and left ‘civilized’ New England to come to ‘Bleeding Kansas’ in order to help make it a free state. He also co-founded the city of Manhattan and what would become Kansas State University. Our tour guide had a theory that people here are so friendly because the town was founded by people who came here to do good rather than to make money. 

Joy in the middle of Manhattan!

Our last stop before leaving Kansas was the very cute Alcove Springs area. It’s a somewhat remote nature park with surprisingly well maintained hiking trails. There are descriptions from early pioneers on the Oregon Trail how rejuvenating the little oasis of Alcove Springs was after weeks of dusty wagon rides through dusty plains.  It felt very rejuvenating even after just an easy hour of driving in Joy. We did a little hike, with beautiful wildflowers and even a little waterfall to go behind, which always makes me happy.

From behind the waterfall...

...at the Alcoves Springs Park

Now we are off to Nebraska. Even if we saw nothing but cornfields there, we’re still in Joy and that is our Happy Place. And if we were to see anything else but cornfields, I might post a picture or write another 1000 words pretty soon…

Aloha,

Chris & Sandra