“…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                Summer Trip 2023

The Raine Motel in Valentine NE is an old fashioned Ma and Pa motel. I had a very pleasant night there.

        I pulled out of Valentine by 7:15. My destination was Omaha NE, 330 miles away. On the way I wanted to stop for lunch at a little restaurant in Beemer NE, which I had stopped at for lunch in 2018 on my way back from Alaska. I wonder if the woman who worked there would remember me?

Now I was in agricultural Nebraska. 

        When I first entered Nebraska it was too hilly and rocky for crops. It was a great area to have cattle, but it was just not good for crops. By the time I reached Valentine there were more and more crops. East of Valentine I rode through mile after mile of corn and soy bean fields.

I arrived in Beemer around 11:45 am. I went inside and, after I told her 

my story of 2018 she remembered me!

        I got to Beemer before noon, and went into the cafe with a wooden nickel Mary had given me in 2018. With my story she remembered me. Chris, Mary’s husband, fixed me a nice lunch. As I left Mary told me to come back the next time I passed by. I assured her I would

Lovely downtown Tekamah NE. 

        Riding west on US 275 the closed I got to Omaha the more traffic increased. I decided to take a slightly longer route taking NE 32 to Tekamah, then US 75 south to Blair. Then NE 133 down to Omaha. Tomorrow east to Burlington IA. To get there I would have to ride all the way across Iowa. I need to find some backroads to do this!

Sign on the wall of the Beemer Cafe.