ernoon from a four day vacation at Niobrara State park in northeastern Nebraska. We were joined by our daughter and her family, so there were eight of us altogether. Our cabin had two bedrooms, air conditioning, a full kitchen, living room, bath, and a wonderful screened-in porch.It was furnished and equipped, so we weren't exactly roughing it. If you need a TV or a telephone to get along, you are out of luck here. Even a cell phone will work only if you use it on top of a hill. As you can see from the picture, the park is hilly and well forested. The last thing we did every day was to drive slowly around the loop road just at dusk to see the deer. We saw so many on our second day that we lost count - probably eighteen or twenty. During the day, wild turkeys and rabbits are to be found all over the place. The animals don't get too spooked if you are in your car, but if you are on foot, it is hard to get close. I walked the loop road every day for exercise. It measured 3.2 miles and gave me a pretty good cardio workout on the hills. I timed myself on two of the walks - 62 minutes - just a smidge over 3 mph. On my first really hard climb, I could tell I was pushing myself pretty hard, and had to stop for a moment to catch my breath. It occurred to me that if I had difficulties in the boonies at the far end of the park, I would just have to lay on the trail until someone happened past. Not too smart on my part, but happily, my heart and lungs held up well and I was able to make it back OK. One of my favorite memories of the trip was going out when it got dark and looking up at the Milky Way. There are so many lights in the city that you can't see it. I spent four hours Wednesday visiting the Ashfall excavation site. It is a state park, and you can watch archaeologists unearth prehistoric skeletons. Evidently, a monster volcano erupted almost 12 million years ago in southern Idaho. The ashes were carried by the wind and a heavy layer was deposited in this area. The dig site was a water hole where animals came to drink. They breathed in the ash, which eventually ruined their lungs and killed them, and they were subsequently covered by the ash and preserved. I found it interesting, and read every placard. It would have bored my wife to tears. Afterward, I met the family at the Green Gables restaurant on a county road south of Ashfall. I don't know how they do it, but they do a huge business. Of course the food is great and the decor is Quaint. Their peach pie ala mode is to die for, as I can personally testify. We have been keeping up with the Tour de France, and are very happy that Lance Armstrong will probably end up in third place overall. The race winds up tomorrow in Paris. Lance is 38 years old and still able to ride with the younger cyclists. Of all the tours that we have watched, this one had the most outstanding riders. There are eight or ten that have what it takes to win the race.
Now I have to get back into watching the political game, so I can criticize, criticize, criticize.
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