Off the beaten path 6/23/21

Have you attempted to make any travel plans these days? If so, you will have noticed that the whole world seems to be on the move right now. There are literally no reservations to be found in many of the popular places. And to be honest, there aren’t many reservations in the not so popular places either.

Enter our current travel plans. This week we are hanging out in North Platte, Nebraska - and the next couple of months will find us in Sioux City, Des Moines, Omaha, and Kansas City - before we head back to Tulsa to visit our daughter and then make our way to Dallas to pick up our new Biggest Betty Airstream in early September.

And, everywhere we go, we see SO many travelers. It seems that we are all in the midst of a deep urge to get out of our houses after enduring months of the pandemic. And with immunization numbers going up, and COVID cases going down, I don’t think this is going to end any time soon. So what to do?

Enter the hermit travel mind set. Seek out places that are less popular, and look for the hidden gems tucked away in out of the way places.

Being hermit traveler types, we have a tendency to travel to places that aren’t heavily populated. But, needing consistent WIFI for work, requires us to stay close to cities and towns during the week - so we can’t run off to the top of a mountain. A town like North Platte fits our needs just fine.

There are a few things I look for when we first arrive in a town. I take a peek at the local visitors bureau website for any upcoming events - and low and behold North Platte is in the middle of Nebraskaland Days and we have tickets to go to a Taps and Tunes festival on Thursday night that includes beer from all over the state and music. We passed on the Rancher’s Prime Rib dinner this time around but we have fond memories of attending a pancake breakfast in Santa Fe, New Mexico a few years back.

I then look for bakeries (I love good bread), an independent bookstore, museums, good biking trails, places to take the dogs to play ball, local labyrinths, and any other highlights.

So far this week we have biked down the South Platte River, thrown the ball for the girls in the early morning at Cody Park - which also happens to have a zoo, amusement rides, and serene pathways along the North Platte River. And tonight we are headed out to a local lake to see if there are any good options for our lunch time bike ride and then to find the Alpha Omega labyrinth that is a replica of the Chartres labyrinth at a nearby church.

Jason is quite fond of breweries and we spent a lovely Father’s Day evening hanging out at a super cool brewery that included a huge play yard. It was packed with families, travelers, and dogs enjoying the warm summer evening - and it was a joy to sit back and watch the world at play after being closed off for so long.

On our way here we stopped at two museums - one in Oklahoma that had the only remaining sod house built by a pioneer, and then we visited the very hokey, but fun, Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City. There was a lot of kitsch there but it also included three original buildings from the early 1800s and a fascinating display on the women who worked as prostitutes in the town for many decades.

This is all to say that every place has something of interest that makes it unique and special. We leave here on Friday and I am already looking forward to what we might discover ahead.

Yes, we could try and head to all the popular hot spots but it seems to work better for us to stay on the small highways, to go slow, and take in the landscape and communities that make up this country.

And then to settle in for a couple of weeks in a town that we have never been to before and see what we might discover. In a country that seems completely at odds with itself, it is helping us to get a better picture and understanding of where people are coming from. It is not likely to change which side of the aisle we sit on - but it may help to make us more compassionate, less judgmental and better listeners - all good travel souvenirs.

And it most certainly will give us a greater appreciation for the many people and places that make up this country.