Day 1.5 – to Ogallala, NE

Hello, and welcome back to the Long Family travelblog. It’s been 15 years since our first cross-country trip and my first blog entry – when our kids were 8, 5 and 4. But time marches on. Going forward, this blog will not be written so much about the Long Family as it will be for the members of the Long family. There are only two of us on this trek now. The other three are blazing their own trails, as they should. I’ll use this blog to keep them updated on our journey. 

Yellowstone National Park, 2009

2009

If you’ve happened upon this entry and you’re not Natalie, Charlie or Clare, I’ll catch you up on their adventures. When I left you – in California, in 2021 – Natalie had just peeled off early from the group to start an archeology internship in southern Indiana. Two years later she graduated from Butler University with a degree in history and anthropology, and immediately went to work as an archeological tech with a cultural resource management firm in Rapid City, South Dakota. She conducts surveys to make sure upcoming infrastructure projects don’t disrupt culturally significant land. She’s doing a fantastic job, not just launching a career, but also making friends, establishing herself in her community and building a life on her own.

 

Charlie just finished his sophomore year at Indiana University, and at this moment is in Armenia – yes, Armenia, the country – for an intensive language immersion program, which is a requirement for his Russian major. He lives in a two-bedroom apartment in the capital city of Yerevan with Gohan and Artstruni, his Armenian host parents, who speak not a lick of English – which is exactly the point. Charlie reports that he is enjoying his time there so far, and that he finds time to play street basketball and explore the city between language classes.

 

And Clare. Exactly one year ago, Clare was inducted as a midshipman into the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, During her Plebe (freshman) year, she declared an Arabic language major with a minor in Chinese, and is considering serving in intelligence or aviation after graduation. She’s spending one month this summer in San Diego for what’s called Protramid, or Professional Training of Midshipmen, which involves weeklong rotations exploring different areas of naval service, including subs, surface ships, aviation and the Marines. 

 

So, that explains our current road trip. Keith and I are on our way to San Diego to (maybe) see Clare. We know she’ll be crazy busy for the next four weeks. We know that she has no say in her itinerary. We don’t know if she’ll be able to sneak away, or if she’ll be sequestered on a submarine while we’re in town. So, mostly, this is an excuse for a road trip; it’s been four years since we’ve taken the Teardrop out for a spin! And if we get to see Clare – even if it’s just for a quick coffee – then that’s just icing on the cake. 

 

So, that brings you up-to-date on the Long Family adventures. From this point forward, I’ll address our children as I write this. Hopefully, from their far-flung locales, they’ll have a chance to check in, monitor our progress and, in some small way, experience our journey along with us.

 

Natalie, Charles and Clare: We love you all. We are so proud of each of you. And we miss you all to pieces. It’s certainly not the same without you. We’re thinking about the stench of snail parts – from a collection that Natalie had assembled – wafting from the back seat as we careened across North Dakota in 2009. We’re thinking about the time Charlie scrambled the combination to the safe in the New Orleans hotel room in 2013 –   when we had to call the hotel security to help us reset it. And we’re thinking about the scripts that Clare wrote for “radio programs” hosted by her stuffed California Condor, Kaibab, on our Route 66 trip in 2016. We miss your flexibility, your humor, your creativity and your curiosity.  But we know that you will bring those qualities with you on your own journeys, and you will go far.

 

***

 

We left yesterday around noon and drove five hours to Iowa City, where we stayed overnight at Sue and Peter’s home. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner of fish tacos and a sublime pie that Aunt Sue made with rhubarb from their garden and fresh-picked strawberries. Gramp joined us for the meal, and then he presided over a couple of four-person cribbage games. Aunt Sue and Gramp crushed us in the first contest, but Dad and I were able to come back and win the second. 

 

As you probably know, Gramp is a very enthusiastic Caitlin Clark fan. Dad has been looking forward to presenting him an official Indiana Fever jersey, and I think Gramp is very excited to show off his new swag.   

 

We were able to hit the road by 8 this morning, and by noon we were in Omaha – just in time for lunch with William! The engineering firm that he works for is overseeing the construction of a new library, and William was able to meet us at a Runza (of course) just down the street from the job site.  If only for a few minutes, it was great to see him, and to catch up.

After lunch, we got back on westbound I-80. After a few hours, we pulled off in Lexington, Neb., where we got gas and decided to peruse the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles – a hodgepodge collection WWII and Korean War-era tanks, jeeps, ambulances and other support vehicles, as well as engines, shell casings, uniforms, equipment and, well, just boxes of parts, all piled up in a gigantic garage. Some of the artifacts were arranged in displays, and others were just heaped there. It didn’t feel like we were exploring a museum so much as combing through some guy’s massive storage unit for about 20 minutes.

 

We drove another two hours, then exited I-80 at Ogallala. We drove north through town, past the Wal-Mart and Wild West Soap Box Derby track, and soon we were bumping along on county roads toward Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area, where we are camping tonight. But as we cruised across the vast, flat Nebraska ranchland, we couldn’t believe that there was a large lake anywhere nearby, until the landscape abrurptly crumpled into the creases and canyons that descend into the Platte River valley.

At 22 miles long and 4 miles wide (at its widest point), and with more than 35,000 acres of surface area, Lake McConaughy is Nebraska’s largest reservoir. The lake is only 9 miles north of Ogallala, but, once we got out of town, it took us nearly 40 minutes to drive to Cedar View campground, on the far-northwest side. The road that skirts the lake winds past trailer parks, mom-and-pop motels and rustic fishing lodges, and it rises and falls with the sandy bluffs that line the shore. When we crested a hill, we could look down and see miles of shimmering lake rimmed by sandy beaches and stands of cottonwood and ponderosa pine.  

 

Our campsite is perched on a bluff overlooking the lake. To our left, as we look at the lake, are five empty campsites. And to our right, about 15 feet away, is a site occupied by a large extended family with a big trailer and a ton of gear. When I made the reservation, somehow I put us right smack in the middle of a family reunion. The trailer’s exterior lights will be shining right into the Teardrop all night, so that’s going to be fun.

 

It was 90 degrees all day, and I worried that it would just be too hot to sleep. But there is a stiff breeze that’s blowing right through the campsite, cooling everything off. It’s quite pleasant. 

 

Interesting development: This place is lousy with toads. There are dozens of them – some as big as my fist -- on the sidewalk around the bathhouse, and I have to be careful not to step on them as I walk past.