Day #11 - June 24, 2010

Kearney, NE to Lincoln, NE to Blair, NE
307 Miles



I found a JiffyLube facility near my hotel this morning and took the car in to have an oil change and check up. While I was waiting, I met a pleasant couple from Upstate New York who had been hired by the State of Nebraska to do a 3-week dragonfly study of each of the Nebraska counties. I wanted to learn more about what was involved in a dragonfly study, but the service on their car was complete and they headed west to the next county. My car passed the physical and it looks like I'm good for another 2,000 miles or so.


I left Kearney about 9:30 a.m.
My first stop was Shelton, NE where there is a Lincoln Highway Visitors Center. Unfortunately, it was closed and I could not wait until 2:00 p.m. for it to open.



Next I stopped in Central City, NE. I felt this was the grandest of the buildings there.

Columbus, NE is a fairly large town on the Lincoln Highway and the welcoming sign and train exhibit were a nice introduction. However, the rest of the town looked somewhat like a shopping mall with every chain store represented and very little to distinguish it. I was glad to leave.

Lincoln, NE is not on the Lincoln Highway but is about 50 miles south. Since the Cornhuskers will be joining the Big 10 Conference soon, I just had to visit the University of Nebraska and see the campus and football stadium. The campus is quite nice and is near Downtown Lincoln.

University of Nebraska Library

Bell Tower

Football sculpture with National Championship dates

Main entrance to football stadium

Football stadium

Nebraska State Capitol Building - Downtown Lincoln, NE

I drove back to the Lincoln Highway via Route 77 to Fremont, NE where this statue of Lincoln is located in the main downtown park.

Some of the smells I experienced today: Fresh country air, freshly mowed grass, manure, skunk.
I arrived at my hotel in Blair, NE about 5:00 p.m.

I had dinner at Fernando's Mexican Restaurant in Blair, near the hotel. There were a lot of local families eating there and the food was quite good - Had a chicken taco, rice, beans, and beer.

Tomorrow Iowa.