Day 49 – 8/19 – North Platte to Paxton, NE – 33 miles
After a lengthy departure from North Platte, looping around the largest rail yard in the world and the Golden Spike Tower, this was another walk spent too much on the Lincoln Highway, though that wasn’t without some positives. The route passed through three towns–Hershey, Sutherland, and Paxton (my destination) and all three still possess independent, […]
Days 47 & 48 – 8/17-8/18 – Cozad to North Platte, NE – 48.5 miles
For all the attention that Route 66 receives as the great American highway, perhaps more should be directed towards the Lincoln Highway, a transcontinental route (connecting Times Square, NYC with Lincoln Park, San Francisco) that preceded the 66 by more than a decade. In this stretch of Nebraska, the Lincoln Highway has supplanted the Oregon […]
Days 45 & 46 – 8/15-8/16 – Kearney to Cozad, NE – 67 miles
Slowly, ever so slowly, the landscape is changing. The corn is still there, never fear, but as I plunge south of the Platte over these two days, the land ripples, and cattle encroach upon the monocrop dominance. My presence seems to be an even more dramatic change for these cows, as they consistently respond to […]
Days 43 & 44 – 8/11-8/12 – Central City to Kearney, NE – 82 miles
Is there a more futile quest than striving for historical authenticity? I’m following in the footsteps of so many pioneers and settlers now. Different footsteps, different routes, depending on the day. On the morning out of Central City, I’m tailing the Mormon Trail, as those bedraggled believers, fleeing westward, deliberately distanced themselves from the more […]
Day 42 – 8/10 – Stromsburg to Central City, NE – 24 miles
Toughness comes in many flavors. On one hand, I’m pretty tough–look at how far I’m willing and able to walk on a daily basis! Can’t argue with that. On the other, I’m a total softie when it comes to being dirty. I’m fine with one or two nights of camping, but I’ll move heaven and […]
Days 40 & 41 – 8/8-8/9 – Lincoln to Stromsburg, NE – 67 miles
I’ve been thinking a lot these past two days about how the structure of the day shapes the experience. Obviously, a long walk shapes the day very differently than a short one; there’s potentially more room for lingering, exploring side streets, and easing the pace with the latter. The day’s destination might play a bigger […]
Day 39 – 8/7 – Lincoln, NE – 8 miles
One of the more annoying questions that I started using in interviews with students over the last few years was some variation on “why do you like what you like?” Often, it’s a maddeningly difficult question to answer. Sometimes, when it comes to certain hobbies or activities, there’s a simple (if somewhat disheartening) answer–simply because […]
Day 38 – 8/6 – Eagle to Lincoln, NE – 14 miles
The heat wave broke hard overnight, leaving unrecognizably delightful conditions today–cool, overcast, and even a little misty. Felt a little like Portland. The remainder of the MoPac was similar to what preceded it, and before I knew it I was already transitioning into Lincoln sprawl, shifting over to other pedestrian tracks. I had one stop […]
Day 37 – 8/5 – Wehrspann Lake to Eagle, NE – 35 miles
This was the fourth straight day with extreme heat and the worst of the bunch, breaking triple digits. It’s definitely been wearing me down, similar to the stretch through canal country in Illinois. One or two days of high heat, no problem. The cumulative impact of it, though, is more exhausting than the sum of […]
Day 36 – 8/4 – Omaha to Wehrspann Lake, NE – 16 miles
Five days later, the carnage is everywhere. After a night spent tossing and turning in my sweltering attic, I abandoned the powerless Airbnb and my plans for a day off in Omaha, pushing out of the city and back into the bliss of air conditioning. Any initial, selfish thoughts–I really wanted to visit the Joslyn […]