Day 6 - ending near Halsey, NE - Nebraska on the Open Road

August 10, 2019

Day 6 - ending near Halsey, NE

The wind woke me up at 1:30am this morning. The storm to the north was about here. I got dressed, then the wind became calm. At 2:03am the sprinkler "storm" started. It ended at 2:27pm. I was sure the real storm should have been here by now. Another check of the radar showed it was just missing us to the east. I went back to bed.

Up for the day at 5:00am. Packed and leaving at 6:50am. First, though, I tossed the bad (new at the start of the tour) front tire in the dumpster. I should have mentioned on the Day 3 report that Wayne Cyclery took the other bad tire off my hands.

I was heading back to the Tumbleweed Cafe on the east side of town when I saw a Sinclair station. I thought, "Maybe I'll just grab a breakfast sandwich, some Gatorade for the road, and get going." That's what I did, which had me on my way riding in the right direction at 7:44am.

Bessey Recreation Complex just west of Halsey is where I wanted to be this evening. There's a campground there next to the nation's largest hand-planted forest.

As soon as I was out of town, I called my wife to hear news. She had some. A moth had flown into her ear late one evening, and ultimately, it took a visit to the ER to get it out. Almost no sleep for her that night.

Soon I came to Merna (at 8:46am), which has a Sinclair station. I stopped to buy ice for my thermos, since I'd forgotten to get some back in Broken Bow, but there was no charge for my cupful! As I left I decided that I should bicycle around some in each town I pass through.

Merna didn't get a thorough tour on my new plan, but the next town, Anselmo, did. I arrived there at 10:08am, and shortly after met Dan, who was working with others on construction of a veterans' memorial. He was full of local history knowledge. At one time - back when the railroad arrived - Anselmo was the largest city in the county. After a picture I moved on to the grocery store. The store clerk told me about bad flooding in town earlier this year, which caused a fire at the old dance hall. Water was so deep in town that firetrucks couldn't get there to put it out. I made an ice coffee purchase and headed for the park. Was back on my way at 10:56am.

This morning I listened to a country music station (92.3MHz - KBRY) on my radio. All the songs were new to me. I was looking forward to seeing the actual start of the Sandhills, which I'd read is west of Anselmo. I figured I was there when I stopped seeing corn fields, which was around 11:15am.

I paused at noon to record mileage. So far for today: 30.5 miles!

At 12:35pm I entered Blaine County, where the road has a much better shoulder. At 1:10pm I came to a road that heads south to Arnold. It was closed for a car race - the Sandhills Open Road Challenge (SORC). Cars were lined up and being released one at a time.

At 1:37pm I crossed the Dismal River south of Dunning. In Dunning there were more race cars waiting to be released to head to where the others were. The drivers waved as they passed by. My tour of Dunning revealed that their park is somewhat flooded. Moving on, I crossed the Middle Loup River, then arrived at a Sinclair station. Purchased a lemonade there and picked up brochures on the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway.

Shortly after I headed out, I noticed grasshoppers thick in the grass along the shoulder. Beautiful views looking south along here with the Middle Loup River showing from time to time.

At 3:53pm I passed the Thomas County sign and was in Halsey. My town riding here included trying to locate the Double T Bar & Grill without help from my smartphone, since it only had a 1x signal. I did find the place, which had no customers at the time. I was warmly greeted by two grandma-age workers. I ordered supper and enjoyed visiting with one of workers as I drank a root beer. Supper arrived: Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich and cottage cheese. Very good! A group of four customers had arrived while I was eating, and I eventually joined in conversation with everyone in the place. Fun!

I got back on my way at 5:25pm. A short sixteen-minute ride to the campground, which looked really full. One Boy Scout troop was camping in the picnic area, and there was another one in the Ball Field / Overflow Camping area. I ended up at the overflow area myself. After setting up, I walked around trying to find a spot with a cell signal, but nowhere worked. On to report writing in the picnic shelter, where I was able to plug into AC. I started falling asleep (almost dropped the phone), so I headed to bed. Sleeping by 9:50pm.

Jeff

Spent: $8.39 (breakfast) + $3.38 (Gatorade) + $2.59 (iced coffee) + $1.99 (lemonade) + $11.10 plus $3.90 (supper) + $8 (campsite) = $39.35.

Day 6 - Broken Bow, NE to Halsey, NE

Heart

Comment

Link