Another big state – took all day to get across. But here I am in Ogallala, NE. Don’t ask why Ogallala – the answer would be becuz it’s here, I think. Last night I checked the weather and it was expected to hit 39 celsius. I couldn’t sleep and in my revery I thought it best to rise early and depart in the nice weather. I packed around 5 and was on the bike by 5:45. The temperature was 27 celsius but it cooled as I headed west. It was a great big blue sky again but this time the full moon was right in front of me. Pretty cool too. I decided to go as long as I could without breakfast as it would continue to heat up while I sat in a restaurant. However, the GPS was telling me I would arrive at my destination by 11:30 am so I needed to kill time. I stopped for gas at Waco but I think the legendary Waco was probably in Texas. I saw a huge crane/heron fly over me within about 20 feet and since I just passed Kearney, NE – the sandhill crane capital of the world (according to the sign), I guess this was a Sandhill. I stopped at a huge bridge across the highway but it seemed to be closed. So, I ended up at a Perkins restaurant – as luck would have it the same time as 2 other Beemer riders. Dan and John are from Brantford and we rode the rest of the way to Ogallala. I hope we meet again in Utah.
Arriving at Ogallala, I decided I’ve had enough of I-80 for awhile and with the help of the hotel manager, I’ve decided on a re-route via I70 through Colorado instead of going through Wyoming. So, my next stop is Silk, CO. After that, I made a quick tour of Ogallala, visiting the famous Boot Hill (although there may be a ‘Boot Hill’ in every western town. I also went out to see the big lake used here for community amusement – Lake McConaughy.