Best Western Inn of Kearney

... of rail in 1869 and cars in 1918 on highway 30 to now this mega highway I - 80.

Fort Kearny (notice the spelling has changed) Historical Park and State Park is about 4 miles south of town on the south of the Platt River.
The Fort was the only defence for the wagon trains going west in the early days so again all the different Trails converged here which enabled repairs and supplies. 

... pea sized hail for about 20 minutes.

From Chimney Rock I went up to Carhenge in Alliance NE. This is a replica of Stonehenge but it is made of cars, to the correct dimensions of Stonehenge. Kind of tacky but definitely an icon of western Nebraska.

After Carhenge I continued east, again getting more rain, and spent the night in Kearney NE.

... village consisted of a collection of metal quonset (sp?) huts crammed full of "historical items" (i.e. junk). Some replicas of old-time buildings did exist but the only period dress we saw were some grandmas dressed in housecoats. (No offense to the Grandmas in our viewing audience.)
Enjoy the attached video for more historical sites (I mean, hysterical sights).

The drive to Kearney, NB today was very long. This was the first time in three trips West that I have encountered extended traffic stops on the interstate. My luck finally ran out. We stopped at Cabela's. This is my second trip to this store. It is fabulous. I bought some new assault rifles to defend myself when I get to California. Check out my photo with the bear. It is in the entrance of Cabela's store.

... many towns in the Midwest use Lewis and Clark as a tourist attraction. I wanted to ride the buffalo, but the docent went nuts. I wanted to try on Sacajawea's bison skin , but they didn't like that either. This is a great stop if you are ever in the area ...

So after five weeks of enduring America's public transport system, it comes as a relief to head west from Chicago in a car. I'm sharing the petrol and driving with a fella moving West from Chicago, who turns out to be a bit of a character. The first day takes us 800 miles over the Great Plains through Iowa to Western Nebraska - thoroughly uninteresting landscape but pretty stunning skies.

... past 110 on a straight stretch of freeway, trying to get ahead of the storm as the first few golfball-sized hailstones fell around us. Got past it just before it crossed the freeway. Didn't need a broken windshield and dented up car a few hours after fixing the oil leak. Once we were past it, it put on a spectacular lightning show and gave us a chance to stop for some dramatic photographs.

... the first one only lasted 30 minutes but the rain was severe, causing some drivers to pull over. The second storm, this time in Nebraska, was about an hour with high winds but the rain was lighter. It did serve to drop the temperatures from the low 30sC to the low 20sC, which was a nice break. I stopped for the night in Kearney, Nebraska (about half-way across the state). Total mileage today: 1087km

Today was a long long drive. To make it worse, I was just plain sick. I did make a run by the famous "Rock City" that I always saw the "See Rock City" signs as a kid. I did not bother to pay to go in. I was not feeling well. I got to the hotel and crashed hard.

... the way!!!!!!!!!Tom has driven EVERY SINGLE mile of our 5,000+ mile journey and we are so very thankful for safe travel through 12 states and for all the wonderful experiences we've had with the bonus of time with family and friends along the way. We count ourselves very blessed! The start of our day was absolutely beautiful scenery again through the Rockie Mountains! We traveled through some tunnels,and some were quite long. We ...