Day Three: Sidney & Seward

Third Day Agenda: Cheyenne, WY to Seward, NE

[Cabela's headquarters]

Welcome to Nebraska: Check!

Day three was all about Nebraska.  Once out of Wyoming we noticed that the landscape turned into rolling farmland.  It was charming to drive past the fields and look out at the traditional looking farmhouses with the barn next to it and the white picket fence separating the yard from the fields.  It was exactly how I pictured the midwest country farms to look like.  Unfortunately none of the crops have been planted yet so when we drove by most of the fields were still brown.  In addition to being in the 'corn belt' of America, we also noticed we were heading to the 'Bible belt' of America.  As you can see above we came across crosses and many barns that said 'Jesus' across the top, or billboards with verses or redemption warnings.  Something that is definitely not very common in the Northwest. 

Our first stop of the day was in fact Cabela's.  This was not just any Cabela's store, it was actually the original Cabela's and now the world headquarters.  It was my first experience being in a Cabela's and it was interesting.  Chris of course was in heaven!  It only took five minutes and I lost him to the fishing and hunting section.  I decided to check out the women's clothing and footwear sections, which I was actually fairly impressed with.  They had Columbia, NorthFace, and a few other brands that had super cute stuff.  What really caught my attention though was the huge animal display in the middle of the store.  I was not expecting that!

The animal display was super cool.  The animals looked so realistic! They had everything from deer, to moose, bears, elk, cougars, and wolves.

It was hard to get Chris to leave, he probably could have spent the entire day there if Seward had not been calling our name.  It was a nice break and we hit the road rejuvenated and ready to see more of Nebraska.  Somehow we were still super lucky and had the most amazing weather!  The sky was the perfect blue, we had our stunna shades on, and the road was ours to conquer. 

Comment from Chris: "Driving across country is fun.  It would be even more fun if you could take your time and stop along the way.  I'm excited to see new things, every mile that we drive is something new.  I'm excited to see things people have talked about [Rockies, Cabela's, Midwest] and I'm really excited to see Carbondale, it is going to be a whole different lifestyle. This trip has made me want to drive all over every chance we get. When we can afford it I want to drive and see new places, Alabama, Mississippi, everything."

Something new that we started seeing in Nebraska was water towers.  They take their water towers serious out here!  Almost every single one of them is painted a certain color, has the town name, or something that is unique to that place.  I still don't even understand the purpose of water towers, I get the simple concept that they hold water...but why do they have to be so far off the ground? Why can't it just be in the ground or just in a normal tank.  Plus isn't the water gross?  Hmmmm.....

Welcome to Seward: The most adorable little town in Nebraska and Home of the 4th of July!  

We stayed with Uncle Bob and Aunt Shirley - Grandma Stutzman's sister and brother-in-law.  Oh my goodness what a BLESSING!  They were so excited to see us and had prepared a delicious home made meal.  It was so calming to sit around the dinner table and learn about their lives and tell them about ours.  It was a little eerie though because Aunt Shirley literally talks and sounds exactly like Grandma Stutzman!  After dinner Aunt Shirley showed us pictures of all their children and grandchildren and told us a little bit more about the Midwest.  After saying goodbye to all our family at home it was very healing to stay with them and get some family lovin.  Chris and I got into our first and only quarrel the next morning because we had to get on the road but I didn't want to leave! It did not help that I am not much of a morning person and I was a little grumpy when I first woke up...oops.

Up next - Iowa and Lewis University!