Ñí Brásge

From Cheyenne we quickly crossed into Nebraska for 450 miles of Great Plains sightseeing. Claire (my copilot) was particularly excited to be in her maternal homeland and connect with her arbor roots. This was the first state I hadn't been to yet (with the exception of New Mexico at Four Corners) and I had no idea what to expect except for mainly not much.

As you can imagine we saw many clouds, grass, cows and other cars. Ogallala was by far our favorite place along the way. We sang, scream and yodeled that one for a while. Just try it! Other than that, there wasn't much else to yelp about. After 300 miles of Midwest beauty, a ginormous bridge appeared ahead demanding our attention for approximately one half of a minute which turns out to be equally as long as its creators stuck around the unfinished monument. Apparently, the founders of the Great Platte River Archway Monument had the idea that everyone - all dozen us of - who drive through NE would not be able to resist an attraction along I-80. Much to their inevitable dismay, the attraction has not attracted nearly enough and the Arch filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The almost museum of American heritage currently operates for private visits only. Maybe if they at least made the bridge connect two things, people would be more attracted. Or maybe Nebraska's I-80 should just be left alone the way it is...lone.

The rest of the drive suprisingly became much more climactic. Claire had insisted on driving the whole day and I made no fuss over the opportunity to put my feet up and catch up on some business. After 7 hours of driving we considered ourselves worthy of something glorious. The day was long and our playlists and favorite jams (more on that later) were almost getting old. At long last we arrived in Omaha (another great word for yodeling) just in time for dinner. We feasted at an Olive Garden - thanks to the coworker who gifted my farther a hefty gift card for Christmas - thanks again!

Feeling rejuvenated we headed to downtown to check out Omaha! We cruised around Old Market and popped into a couple shops including a music store to refresh our tunes. We fell in love with the city immediately! There were tons of cornhuskers out for a Tuesday night and the lights glimmered all around. My only reservation about the place would be that there are no professional sports based in the city. College sports are fun and all but sometimes a girl needs some more mature guns and buns to goggle over, if you know what I mean. Other than that, we love Omaha! I was fully impressed and would visit again for sure. 

Oh! I should probably say something about the name of this post which is more properly the name of this state. The native people of Nebraska named the place "Ñi Brásgue" meaning "flat water" in American terms. Used in a sentence: There is a lot of ñi brásgue in Nebraska.