August 7, 2015 Nebraska/Colorado

August 7, Friday, August 7

Nebraska/Colorado

63 at 7AM.  As we begin the day, the “Check Engine” light greets us.  We head into town and google auto repair shops.  Fortunately there is a small Chevy dealer who is already open.  Greg talks to “Joe” who comes out and hooks up a machine to read the codes and tells us we need a tune up – new spark plugs etc.   This is generally due at 100,000 miles.  This shop doesn’t have time to do it today but he says we should probably be ok to get back to Texas if we use high test and drive faster.  So, we fill up with high test – ouch! – and decide we’ll stick to freeways.

We continue a little further to North Platte where we go to The Golden Spike, an observation tower overlooking the world’s largest train yard.  Huge complex which handles 125-150 trains, 10,000-12,000 cars per day.  It is 8 miles long and 1 ½ miles wide with 65 tracks.

An employee names Richard is on the 7^th floor and we talk with him for half an hour or so.  He  explains the hump area where they build trains, the tracks which carry coal cars daily, the remote control engines used in building trains, repair yard, different types of engines and lots more.  He says a big surprise to many is that engines run on electricity – a diesel engine powers the generator  which produces electricity, and the engineer regulates the power. The cost of a new engine is about

$2.5 million.

From here we begin traveling west, planning to get to Colorado and then see whether Tom and Sue are up for company.  Tom has his first chemotherapy treatment today and no one is really sure how he’ll feel.

We stop for lunch at Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge because it sounded interesting. 

Started as a tavern as soon as Prohibition ended in 1933, Ole was a hunter who ranged all over the world and decorated his place with his trophies.  Sold in the 80’s to another Paxton resident who expanded it into a steakhouse. Greg had a buffalo burger and I had a reuben sandwich (which was invented in Omaha).

We went back through Ogallala and the Petrified Wood Gallery was open this time.  We met and talked with the twins who are now 87 and still produce art pieces made from small slivers of petrified wood. 

There was also a large display of petrified wood from around the world, some quite beautiful, and some displays of works by other local artists.  Interesting stop.

About 1:00 we cross the border into Colorado.  This part of the state is more grassland and cattle, with many “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner” type signs.  We take 71S through the town of Last Chance in order to bypass the Denver congestion.  We pass miles of spinning wind turbines – many hundreds.

The engine runs ok on high test at higher speeds but sputters and sometimes dies when idling.  We decide to stick to areas of civilization, so stop at another Walmart in Falcon, just at the edge of Colorado Springs.

The hinges on the cover on the Fantastic Fan have broken completely so Greg crawls onto the roof and uses duct tape to fasten it closed. We call and talk to Tom and Sue and they say we should come by, so we set our sights on Arizona.  We make an appointment with a Chevy dealer about 30 minutes from their home to have the tune up done Monday morning