Boy, another very boring day.  They call it the plains for a reason.  Nebraska is a very long state with very few features to draw your attention.  Grain elevators and corn is about all we saw today.

We spent the day on I-80 only to make this go by faster.  It is interesting though that this route follows in the footsteps of the Oregon Trail.  The trail split west of here depending on where folks were headed.  Some on to Oregon, others to Salt Lake and still others on to the gold camps in central California.  I-80 follows the route those seeking fortune in the gold camps would have followed.  It passes very near Donner Pass in California where the Donner Family was stranded in the winter.  It is said they ate the dead to survive.  It is a horrible story.

I have read quite a bit about those who traveled these trails.  They laid everything on the line to find a better life.  Many died along the way.  I forget how many graves there were per mile of the trail but it was high.  Much of what they left home with was jettisoned along the way because oxen died or mountains were too steep to haul the heavy loads to the top.  I can only imagine the tears that mark this trail.  I'm sure most of those tears belonged to women.  Children died.  Family heirlooms were discarded along the way.  Loved ones back home would never be seen again.

Most don't realize those on the trail walked most of the way.  The wagons carried supplies leaving little room for human cargo.  Plus the added weight would have added to the load the oxen had to pull.  Can you imagine walking all day chasing kids, building fires, cooking meals, washing clothes in a stream not to mention the many unknown terrors that lie ahead.  I'm sure most of those tears belonged to women.  I have an awesome respect for those people I never knew.  They were courageous strong people.

Enough of that for today.  Not sure about tomorrow's route.  We are in Ogallala, NE tonight.  We have the choice to continue on 80 into Wyoming tomorrow or to follow Rt 26 along the North Fork of the Platt River to waypoints on the trail such as Chimney Rock.  Tune in to see.