Five on a Journey

When a friend suggested driving to Nebraska to see thousands of Sandhill Cranes making an appearance from the end of February until early April, three other friends and I decided to go on the bird watching journey. Our trip began around 9:30 in the morning of March 11, 2019. We drove I-76 east and our first stop was in Wiggins, Colorado for a late breakfast. Thank God for cell phones because a place call Prairie Ranch House came up on the screen letting us know it was a good place to eat.

The friendly lady who waited on us was chatty and made us feel right at home. I felt as if I had known the woman forever! When she told us her first name was Darlinda, it surprised me at how similar her name was to mine! She told us she would be at the Denver Coliseum on March 15,16, and 17 at an Alpaca Show and invited us to look her up. Aside from the lively chatter, the breakfast, cooked by her husband, was tasty and cooked to perfection.  Before leaving the restaurant we had our picture taken with her.

At a rest stop in Sterling we saw a beautiful statue named Metamorphosis of a caterpillar and butterfly.  There was a poster announcing a quilt show in town. One in the group is a quilter and suggested going to see it.  We were all game and she found, with the help of a cell phone, the Sterling Public Library.  There were fifty-two quilts hanging all over the library and a few beautiful statues. We are all readers and fell in love with the cozy library and the friendly workers. We could vote for our favorite quilt and I have a feeling that some in our group voted for more than one!

The large wooden statue called Seraphim greets visitors to the library and it was carved by the local artist named Brad Rhea.

The children's section has a huge assortment of books, a cute sculpture of a boy and girl reading, and an out door area with a large, colorful dragon where we became kids for a few moments!

Since Sterling is not a large town, we found Columbine park with giraffes carved out of a tree. In reading some of the information, in a Logan County magazine, I learned that Sterling is known as the City of Trees. When trees began dying, Brad Rhea, the artist began to use the trees to sculpt different designs and many of his creations are scattered throughout the city.

 
We arrived at our destination of North Platte, Nebraska, and went looking for the Sandhill Cranes. Not a one showed up. I did get some information while standing in a muddy and snowy area.

We checked in at the motel and after unpacking we had dinner at the Canteen Bar & Grill. Three travelers had steaks and said that the meat was tender and tasty. Two had pizza and the toppings and crust were excellent but too large for one person so a carry-out box was necessary. Returning to our rooms we met in one of the rooms for a specially prepared Gin & Tonic in red cups! We toasted to a great day and to a "chick" that was not with us!

The next morning was foggy and there went our hopes of seeing the Sandhill Cranes. After breakfast we packed the car and drove to an area where we hoped we might see some birds. It was too foggy.
We did hear and see some cranes flying so our trip began to feel as if we had accomplished what we had driven four hours to see!

Our plan had been to see the Golden Spike Tower where we could have watched hundreds of railroad cars maneuver below the tower. We found out that it is the largest train center and around 1500 trains are moved around daily. The Union Pacific Bailey Yard is mentioned in the Guinness World Records.
In the restaurant at the Ramada Inn there were many photographs of the 1000 volunteers who prepared food for the many soldiers who traveled through North Platte during World War II.


The other thing we missed and had planned to visit was the Lincoln County Historical Museum but the fog prevented us from seeing the old buildings on the grounds.  We did see a beautiful mansion and we heard a musical chirp. Someone, in an excited voice and a good eye said, "Look, it's a Cardinal." The rest of us looked and looked until we also saw the chirping red bird. A recording of the tweeting was on one a cell phone and when the much smaller female flew to the car and landed on the side mirror, we wondered if she was responding to the mate she could hear on the cell phone.

We decided to begin our trip home and stopped in Sutherland, Nebraska and laughed and joked with two flirty men.  As we continued our drive home we saw signs on building walls, stopped at Sassy Sweets for eclairs and thought it was odd to see five bird nests in a tree. I am not sure what kind of birds they were but they darted around from tree to tree.

In Sterling, Colorado we ate lunch at the J &L Cafe before continuing our journey home.
We were happy to see patches of sunshine but even happier when the following day the 2019 Blizzard came in and we saw many accidents on the very highway we had traveled! It had been a wonderful trip with great friends!

 Even though our trip was to see the Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska we finally saw cranes in Colorado!

"It is one of the

blessings of old

friends that you can

afford to be stupid

with them."

Ralph Waldo Emerson