Two bunnies, four antelope and seven turkeys

Saturday, April 23, 2011

GOTHENBURG, NE – Spring is bustin’ out all over this part of America’s Midwest. Robins are hopping around the KOA campground, daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom, and in town, fruit trees are covered with snowy blossoms. It’s a nice setting for the Easter weekend, especially as we learned that today, only 24 hours after we passed through it, the ski resort town of Vail has been dumped with 20 inches of snow! We are so grateful all that didn’t come yesterday.

When I stepped outside the trailer this morning, there on the ground between our trailer and the neighbour’s was a small brown rabbit, quivering slightly and eying my every step, but standing his ground. I was reassured that, even this far from home, the Easter Bunny knew how to find us.

We got an early start today, as we are trying to cover some distance. It was a chilly 37 degrees, and as we headed down the Interstate we saw that snow had dusted the rooftops and fields just outside of town, and a few flakes were actually drifting down.

Fortunately, neither the falling flakes nor the whitened fields lasted for long, although it was fairly overcast for most of the day. Our route took us past enormous ranches with great expanses of grazing land where we saw hundreds of cattle. There were lots of new-born calves as well, trotting along beside their mothers.

The total absence of mountains pleased Val greatly, as did the clear dry surface of the highway. In addition to the cattle ranches, we saw lots of prosperous farms where crops were already starting to grow, encouraged by large irrigation frames on wheels. We had pretty well agreed that the desert was behind us, but when we stopped for a break by the road, Val noticed that the low, nubby plants along the ditches were actually prickly-pear cacti! That surprised us both.

Not long afterward, I spotted four antelope out on the prairie; I kept looking for more after that, but they were the only ones we saw all day. Val was the one who first noticed the wild turkeys. There were five of them, a couple with their tails spread like peacocks, pecking at the side of the highway! I saw several more after that – and they were a hefty size too.

The local hero in Nebraska seems to be Buffalo Bill Cody, whose home was in these parts, although he was born to Canadian parents! He earned the nickname after killing more than 4,000 bison in eight months back in the late 1800s, but his fame grew from the wild west shows he put together. Visitors could see his ranch in North Platte, a few miles west of our final destination today.

Another rabbit hopped along the side of the road to greet us as we arrived at the campground. Once we got settled, we drove into town for some fuel and groceries. Gothenburg is a charming little place with neat homes and pretty gardens. The city park has an authentic Pony Express station from 1854, a hewn log cabin which was moved there from its original location some years ago. The people seem quite friendly, too; several smiled and said hello as we shopped and toured the town.