August 15, 2019 – Henderson, Nebraska to Cheyenne, Wyoming

It was another Interstate 80 day. The morning temperature was 64 degrees F. We left Henderson at 0838 and drove into the approaching severe thunderstorm. I said a little rain would be nice to clean the bugs off the windshield. Andy had checked the RADAR and thought we had a chance of missing it, but we didn’t. It was one of those heavy showers where the visibility is so bad that everyone slows down. I did not see anyone pulled over to the side of the road though. At one point, the was a huge, and long-lasting, bolt of lightning on our right and another immediately after on our left. We saw a tractor-trailer jackknifed in the median. After half an hour or so, the windshield was immaculate and the rain had stopped. Then it was sixty degrees. I realized then that I had been clenching the steering wheel and hunching my shoulders. It felt good to relax!

We stopped for fuel in Wood River Nebraska. I went inside for snacks while Andy pumped diesel. Two truckers were talking about the storm and I added to the conversation with our lightning strikes.

Andy checked the “Next Exit” book for a lunch stop and picked out Penny’s Diner in North Platte NE. It was a real diner, complete with the basic diner food.

The interior is also just as you would expect for a diner like that.

I got those two pictures from the web. Andy ordered a hamburger steak and I ordered a hamburger on sourdough bread. At first bight, Andy and I both said, “WOW, this is good!” Andy said this burger is better than our all-time favorite at Conestoga’s in Alachua, Florida.

Here is another picture (I got from the web) of Sinclair the dinosaur we saw as we were heading back to the interstate. The dino in front of this Sinclair station is dressed as a horse. This lady took advantage of the prop for a photo.

North Platte was also the home of Buffalo Bill Cody. It is a museum now. Maybe next time, I’ll stop in to see it.

The scenery today changed twice. We started out in corn country with large fields and few houses. Then, gradually, there were grasslands between the fields. Later, there were a few crops between expanses of grass. Finally, it was all grass – and cattle. About in the middle of Nebraska, we changed to Mountain Time. There was a sign. Then the scenery changed to cowboy movie scenery.

We got to our campground in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 1546. Cheyenne looked industrial (oil industry) from the highway. We did not see a nice part of town. The RV park is on the outskirts of town in a run-down area with junk lying around. The campground itself is very nice and is full of large trailers and motorhomes. The man at the front desk asked if we wanted to be close to the shower building and Andy said yes.