Adventure 273: Columbus, NE

Nice Fairgrounds Campsite.

Despite being awakened at 4:30 AM by an unfamiliar buzz coming from the refrigerator, it was a fabulous day. I went outside under the azure light of a sliver moon, flashlight in hand to check the noise. It was coming from the fan, to which I delivered a Jack O'Brien styled "thwacker" (Which by the way represents the zenith of my mechanical expertise). My method worked-YAY! but the net effect was that sleep was no longer possible, so we hit the road a little before dawn. We traveled the entire 409 miles today on the Lincoln Highway (Route 30), which was built in 1913 and runs parallel to I-80 the whole way across the Cornhusker state. Many of the small Nebraska farm towns have seen better days, but a few are proud remainders of the best America has to offer. We're spending the night in one of them: Columbus, NE, which sits at the confluence of three rivers and boasts, among other things, the home of the Glur Tavern (Established 1876). It's the oldest continually operated tavern West of the Missouri River, and legend has it that Buffalo Bill Cody paid the bar tab of his troupe with a $1,000 dollar bill when they were in town attending the funeral of Major Frank North who managed the Native Americans in Cody's Wild West Show (For inspiration, Google e.e. cummings poem: Portrait). While Judy and I enjoyed a cold beer and a delectable burger, we decided that a good marriage can be distilled to a single word: SHARE.

Share the load; share the joy; share the journey; share the dream; share love; share pain; share the fear; share the blame; share the work; share sucess; share the struggle; share the laughs; share the tears, and always share the food, which at our house we call "Judy bites"- defined as Judy taking not one little bite, but two quite substantial chomps of whatever I'm eating. Be careful, this kind of sharing can lead to "bad fights", especially when your spouse says, "No, I don't want any...Gee, that looks good...and the other responding like a miffed pitbull protecting its food...the growl decoded as "Why didn't you get your own?" YIKES!! You see, soon to be weds, even the best of married life can be frought with peril!!! Always take care (Especially of each other), and above all share living, for life is good, especially today.

If it's good enough for Wild Bill, it's good enough for us.

Art shot of the day: Caught in Time.

Grass fed Nebraska beef; real fries!

Notice we are sharing the fries.

Share the love: Two of my favorite women. Happy Birthday, Libby!