Wild Sandhill Prairie

Out in the hills, the Middle of Nowhere still exists

When I was growing up, we lived about eight miles from a wide-spot on the highway known as Rose, Nebraska (population 2.) Our house was about six miles off the highway and about 32 miles from the nearest real town.

I grew up in the Duff Valley, just west of the Middle of Nowhere.

People sometimes remark that I grew up in the middle of nowhere, but actually, there were quite a few neighbors in and around the Duff Valley where we lived. Our nearest neighbor lived about a mile and a half away. Our mailbox was only a mile from our house, where our land met the nearest county road.

The most sparsely-populated area of Rock County was east of where I lived. At that time (1950s and 1960s,) no improved road went through the hills from Rose on U.S. Highway 183 to Nebraska Highway 11, the road to Burwell. You could drive through, but when you came to the end of the maintained road, you had to open gates and follow some very rough and sandy two-track pasture roads. A four-wheel drive pickup truck was recommended.

Times have changed. Nowadays, there's a road all the way through from Highway 11 north of Burwell, Nebraska, to Highway 183 just north of Rose, Nebraska. Along the way, you pass the Sitz Ranch, the Gurney Ranch, and the Rose Church. It's a beautiful drive through Sandhills prairie that is still much as God made it. The road truly does go through the Middle of Nowhere.

I don't recommend the drive if you are a timid driver who is likely to get stuck in a sandy spot (can't slow down, must keep going or you're sunk!) You also need a clear understanding of where you're going and a good inner sense of direction (or a GPS unit.)

It was a great joy to drive my kids through this wild area of southeastern Rock County several times when we went on vacations to Nebraska. I think it gave them a better understanding of what the Sandhills are like and where their mother is from.

The photos in this post were taken along the road somewhere in the hills east of the Rose Church. In the image at the top of this post, the windmill is on top of the hill so it can catch enough wind to provide water for the cattle. The water tank is in the "pocket" down below, between the hills.

The image below is taken from the hill where the windmill stands. You can see the wind-sculpted peaks and pockets of the dune formations. Indeed, the Nebraska Sandhills are grassed-over sand dunes, the largest area of sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere.

One thing I should make clear -- this is not the only Middle of Nowhere. Many other remote, unspoiled, rural areas still exist in the United States -- and I'm glad that they do.

Adventures in Dreamland

Strange dreams of no particular significance

I rarely remember my dreams more than a few seconds after I wake.

However, last night I had a long dream (or so it seemed), and I clearly remember its theme. I was engaged to marry Dave, whom I had a crush on through most of my grade school and high school years.

Where was my real-life husband of 29 years, Dave's wife of 35+ years, and the children of our two marriages? Apparently they didn't exist! Dave was young, tall, and handsome, and I was young again, too.

Here is a curious detail I remember. I told Dave, "I knew your mother." I offered that to him because I knew he would value it. In real life, his mother passed away about 15 years ago.

I don't attach any meaning to this dream, except that my subconscious still remembers my emotions of forty-some years ago. It was entertaining -- especially the part where our engagement was announced in the front page headlines of my hometown newspaper. Wow!

This dream about an old infatuation brought to mind another oddly vivid dream I had a few years ago. It was about a nice guy whom I dated for a few months, many years ago.

In my dream, I chanced to meet him, and he was genuinely glad to see me. He put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. That made me happy, and I thought, "We're still friends after all these years."

By pure chance a few days later, I read on the internet that he had passed away. It was a great shock to me. I don't think he was even 50 years old. He died several months before my dream about him. I suppose it was all just a coincidence.

Benazir Bhutto

I'm sorry.

Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, 1988
Photo from Wikipedia, Source: DOD via pingnews

This morning, I woke to the news that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. Beyond my concern about the national and international repercussions, I am personally saddened. I've admired Benazir Bhutto for a long time.

Born in 1953, she was just a couple of years younger than me. She attended primary and secondary schools in Pakistan, and then she came to the United States to attend college at Radcliffe and Harvard. After graduating with honors, she went to England and studied at Oxford.

During her years as a young woman in the West, she surely must have thought sometimes about staying in the U.S. or England. But Benazir decided to put on the scarf and go back home. I won't summarize the events of her life here -- you can read about her in any number of news articles today -- but I have always respected her for being smart, brave, strong, and intensely loyal to her country.

Rest in peace, Benazir. The world is a poorer place without you.

Another Mackeral Sky

Unusual cloud formation over Hopkinsville, KY

Looking to the east across
the former Skyline Golf Course.

A few days ago in the late afternoon, this unusual cloud formation stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon over Hopkinsville, KY.

I don't know if it was a natural phenomenon or if it was created by an airborne vessel. It seemed much too wide to be a normal jet track, but perhaps it was. Or perhaps the little green men brought the mother ship this time.

Whatever the cause, it was a spectacular streak of mackeral sky.

Looking to the west
(K-Mart on left, Holiday Inn on right.)

Christmas Inflatables

Decking the halls outside

Decorated for the season in Elkton, KY.

This house and yard is decorated with exuberance, to say the least. I can imagine how fascinating the big inflatable Christmas figures are to young passersby.

Thrilling the children is one of the main reasons for Christmas decorations, both inside and outside. Sometimes the thrilled children are the adults who put up the decorations!

Compared to this house and many others, our exterior decorations are bland. We don't do much since there isn't much traffic on our road.

I hang a big lighted star in the second floor window of our shed. It's on a dusk to daylight timer. I always enjoy seeing it when I drive in at night. I hope our Mennonite neighbors who share the road enjoy it also.

I also hang a few lights in our living room windows. The Mennonite lady who lives on the other side of us told me once that she enjoyed seeing the lights, so I put them up each year for her. She would never put up Christmas lights for herself, but her inner child is still happy to see them.