Day 32: July 7, 2021 A Bunch of Nebraska Comment via blog

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The day's first route reassurance marker and first construction zone both came quickly.

When I was looking for last night's lodging, I saw the name Van Tassell, WY, near where I expected to be and used it as my search target. There had been no hits actually in Van Tassell and it now became apparent why. With a population of 15, commercial activity in the town was nonexistent. What had almost certainly been a gas station indicated that that had not always been the case, however, and a sign tells of its leading role in the early days of the American Legion. Today, all the town's residents can fit into the nice looking town hall.

I gassed up in Chadron, NE, and set a new record. The car displays an estimated range based on some sort of rolling average. It is typically jumps to the mid or upper 500s after a fill-up. Today, for the first time I'm aware of, it leaped to 600. Guess I'd been extra light on the throttle recently.

A little east of Valentine, NE, I had one of the better gravel road experiences of the trip. It began in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge but the best parts appeared right after I left the refuge. There were some extra scenic views and some signs not often seen on unpaved roads. A good looking bridge sits at the bottom of the hill marked by the truck warning sign with a canoe livery just beyond. I am always happy to see graders at work on unpaved roads. This one was headed the same way I was and, being in no particular hurry, I just hung back. The driver, however, pulled to the side at the first opportunity to let me pass. A nice gesture on a road I was already impressed with.

But less than thirty miles and sixty minutes from that pleasant gravel road episode, I started one that was not quite so pleasant. It was quite nice at the beginning. The road was well groomed, there were scenic views, and even a combination post office and general store complete with handicapped parking. Then came the road closure. A pickup truck in front of me turned right but I, in a misguided attempt to minimize the deviation from my intended direction, turned left. Two miles later, I hit a double closure that forced me in a direction the exact opposite of what I desired. Five miles and two dead ends later, I stumbled onto pavement and I was back on course nine miles after that.

This trip has been in the works for quite some time and at some point I must have discovered some motel recommendations because several appear in the POI list although I have no recollection of putting them there. One of those was the Sandhills Guest House. It's a nice place (My room is here.) that I'm definitely glad was on the list. I kind of wish I could remember how it got there, though.

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