I've used this title a lot over the years. Seems like we've been road kill on more occasions than we care to enumerate. It's not always in the middle of nowhere but those tend to be the most interesting stories. We're in the middle of one now.
Long Pine, Nebraska, seems to be a rather desperate town, a town built to service the railroad. The railroad no longer exists and the main line has been converted to a bike path. So now the main industry is marked by grain elevators and the little bit of tourism that can be eked out from those traveling through on the bike path.
We've taken a few walks yesterday afternoon and again this morning, some of them on said bike path. I took some pictures this morning just after the sun rose.
The busiest place in town appears to be Sand Hills Lounge, the local bar.
I was told the food was very good.
At least it was quiet and we had electric for the hot night.
Deb walked to the grocery store to buy a postcard. We saw those in the window last night as we were walking by. The grocery store also sells guns and knives. Must be the local flavor. She picked out a postcard and went to look for the cashier. She had to hunt and finally found a guy behind the meat counter. When she told him what she wanted to buy, he told her to just take it. “I have so many of those, I’ll never sell them all,” he told her.
Robbie showed up just before 10am and immediately set to work. He had the new tie rod end installed pretty quickly and we were at the shop in Ainsworth by a little after 11.
He had me back it into an open bay in front of a fire truck and beside a couple of semi tractors. He told us they just got a new alignment machine a couple months ago and would be using it for this job. At least it was now in the shade. By now it was super hot at 97 degrees and the shade helped keep the inside cooler.
Apparently, this RV is a bit different than semis and fire trucks as Robbie had to consult with his co-workers and a guy from another shop who had a similar machine. So it took a while to get things going. He worked through lunch and we felt a little self-conscious, sitting in lawn chairs just outside the door eating leftover pizza. His wife finally came by and brought him something.
Once he finished and had consulted with three co-workers and the guy from the other shop, it took another hour to write up the ticket so that we could settle up. That could only mean the ticket was going to be a big one.
Finally, at 2:30, the ticket was written up and we could settle up and move on. $1200 later, we were driving out of the shop and heading towards Valentine. We lost almost exactly one day, not bad considering what it could have been, way out in Nowheresville, Nebraska. I handed Robbie a fifty-dollar bill and told him we were grateful for his kindness.
Next stop was Andy’s Glass Shop. We picked up a chip in the windshield yesterday and wanted to get it fixed before it developed into cracks. The guy there was just waiting for business and we were out of there in less than a half hour.
Next stop was a Dollar General to pick up a flyswatter. The flies here are everywhere and we managed to import several into the RV with all our coming and going. The flyswatter proved to be an effective weapon and we have several confirmed kills and far fewer flies inside.
We will be camping out at the Valentine City Park. Campsites are five bucks a night. Very basic, no hookups, but it is a place to stay for the night.
We took a ten mile bike ride through town and out towards the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. At one point we stopped and stood next to the grass that grows everywhere around here. It is over my head.
Sleep may be a little more difficult tonight. It’s still 83 degrees in here.
Miles traveled today: 67
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