DAY 3: IOWA & NEBRASKA

Last night in Starved Rock we stayed very warm and cozy. Except at one point when I woke up and realized Portland was on the very edge of the covers and I had to shift him around, despite his growling at me, and rework the covers to tuck him back in. I’m more worried about him than myself. But the hand-me-down sleeping bag and wool camp blankets did the trick.

Since it had been a fairly early night, I was up early. I’d planned to hit the road for Nebraska by 8:30am, but by 6:30 I was ready to get up and start moving. I folded the blankets and readied as much as I could before unzipping the door to the tent. Portland roamed around the campsite as I quickly broke things down and loaded them into the organized chaos of the car. It’s already bad.

A stop at the bathroom building on the way out of the campground let me know that I was probably the first person of the morning inside, the lights were still out. I thought it was a good sign that there was warm water in the sink, but had the thought of a cold shower jump into my head. My thought bubble had it right, cold cold water. So I ditched the plan to wash my hair and did as quick of a wash as I could. After maybe three minutes the water did start to warm up a tiny bit, but by then I was done.

We were on the road just before 8am, back to I-80 toward Iowa, my Wildly Sarah playlist turned on. Breakfast was eaten on the road, assembled from my food box while stopped for gas. A Starbucks canned energy shot coffee, the rest of yesterday’s blueberry apricot scone and an apple. A few other snacks on standby on the messy passenger seat to hold me over for the rest of the drive.

The drive was going smoothly, pretty uneventful, until a few white flurries started to fall in Iowa. Little did I know as I playfully sang, “Snow, Snow, Snow” from White Christmas what I was potentially conjuring. Even before it really hit, my phone blared out the National Weather Service warning tone, and a snow squall was expected until 12:45pm with whiteout conditions possible. Once I heard the term “snow squall,” a pirate captain’s voice popped into my head, but I couldn’t tell you why. “Aye, it’s a snow squall, matey!”

It went on snowing for awhile with not much trouble, but once it started to stick to the roads, the snow falling in big thick clumps, that was when things got a bit scary. Traffic slowed down, and there were several cars crashed on the side of the road having slid into the median. This was my Subaru Outback’s first experience in the snow and it handled really nicely. I felt confident, much more than I would have in my old front wheel drive Scion. At a rest stop where I pulled off to commemorate the first snow, I realized the entire front of my car was encased in ice!

But, as predicted by the NWS, just after 12:45pm, the squall cleared away and driving shifted back to normal again. Eventually, the sun even started to poke through the clouds. Whenever this starts to happen, even if conditions don’t ultimately improve, I can always hear my Dad say, “Look! It’s starting to brighten up!” And sometimes it does.

Like the first day’s drive, today’s trip seemed to take forever without really making progress as fast as we should have. But, eventually we made it into Nebraska and the temperatures had worked their way from freezing to up near fifty degrees, and it was bright if a bit cloudy.

My good friend Beth had mentioned before my trip that if I ever needed any research done while I was on the road, to ask her and so I tested that offer today by asking if she could help me find a dog friendly brewery for when I got to Lincoln. I knew it might be tricky with the weather and it being a Monday, but she found one! So, we hit the capitol city and headed straight to Code Beer Company, where things were pretty empty mid-afternoon, which was perfect for us to grab a table in the corner and a Chocolate Hazelnut Porter for me. So tasty, and the perfect weather for it.

I got the day two blog all finished up and posted in no time, and a few people trickled in as the afternoon went on. The bartender, Megan was awesome and showed Portland some love. She asked if I’d been to Omaha and I told her no. My initial idea early in planning was to stop there for the night, and I’d reached out to an old contact from my trip to Europe back in high school. But, I found out they have Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) laws there prohibiting pit bulls. I don’t know what that really means for travelers, but I don’t want to support anywhere on this trip (or otherwise, really) that has those types of laws in place.

I talked with Megan for a few minutes and she offered some advice on good things Lincoln had to offer. Specifically, Yia Yia’s pizza - a Lincoln staple. So, when we finished up at Code, I wanted to grab one more beer to go, so we drove out to a brewery called Cosmic Eye (they are not dog friendly, so I knew it would be to go). I picked up a crowler of their Call of the Wolfmama double IPA, that I’ll save for a special occasion later in the trip.

Then, doubled back into town for Yia Yia’s (pronounced Ya Ya’s), only to find out that their in town location is closed on Monday! Their second location was about 15 minutes away and my mind was made up - unique pizza that’s a town staple? It had to be tried. Plus, it gave me another opportunity to pass by the capitol building, so I pulled over to snap a picture. This Yia Yia’s location was in a strip mall, but it was quick to get a couple slices of their signature pizza to go. I chose The American, which ended up being a bit spicy with bbq sauce, monterey jack cheese, chicken, corn and jalapenos. The Milano was my second choice and my favorite of the two, with chicken, capers, onion, spinach, black pepper, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with lemon juice, oil and herbs.

I ran across the street to fill up on gas while my order was being made and when I got back it was nearly ready. The guy asked if I wanted bread with my pizza and so I got a half a loaf thrown in. Good stuff! We took the slices and drove a few miles back toward town to the Sunken Gardens, a beautiful corner flower garden park that was so peaceful with koi ponds and levels of paths that made the park seem bigger than it really is. I remembered seeing it in my research for the trip, and it was the perfect spot for a short evening walk and sharing dinner (Portland always gets the crust).

I had been doing the math and research in my head and on my phone between ordering dinner and picking it up. The plan for the night was to head out to Branched Oak State Recreation Area to camp. This was a part of my original agenda from a few weeks back, and ended up being the only stay that I was unable to change or refund when rescheduling my trip. They told me I didn’t really need a reservation at this time of year, so when I learned that it would take us about forty minutes to get out there and make camp in the dark, I checked Expedia and found an inexpensive hotel and decided that would put us in a better position for resting tonight and starting out tomorrow. A very Dad-like way to reason out travel decisions and maximize time.

So, that bought us time to spend in the garden before driving just ten minutes to the airport area where we checked in at America’s Best Value Inn. I was on the phone with my Mom as I pulled into the parking lot and exclaimed, “oh my...it’s right next to an adult store!”

For $43, I shouldn’t complain, but there is a way to do budget hotel stays and really strike gold. The loud man in the room next door and nearly every guest I’ve passed in the hall not wearing a mask...well. I’ll just leave that there. So we’re here in the hotel, but may have been more comfortable in a tent in thirty degree temps, after all.

Tomorrow we’re off to Colorado; just outside Denver (another spot with BSL laws that are up for reform). Looking forward to hiking, camping and meeting up with a friend. Until then, Live Wildly!