...But it was a fun trip, none-the-less!

 First for an update:

We are packing and loading the trailer once again.  Out front.  Not in the back.  

Bryan came up with a brilliant idea.  We didn't want to move the trailer back through the mud, and the only way to bring stuff forward was through the house.   Lots of muddy footprints that way.  So his idea was to load all the garage stuff onto our little wire-mesh 5x7 trailer, hook it to the truck, and bring it around front to transfer to the big trailer.  That has worked great so far.  

I packed my entire dresser, got more stuff out of my closet, emptied the pantry, and got a good share of the kitchen closet packed.  

The house is getting emptier and emptier!

Now, although the trip to Wisconsin was a white-knuckler, it was a lot of fun and we had a good time!

Sun rises and sun sets were spectacular!

This is the bright sun glinting off the trucks and the reflective signs on I80 in Nebraska.

The sun reflected off the truck and trailer into my mirror.  It looked cooler in person and the picture doesn't do it justice.

Nebraska sunset at one of the rest stops.

Sunrise on Monday was amazing against the cloud cover.  Almost to Omaha.   

I was trying to get creative here and capture the sunrise framed by the thruway overpass.  I thought both pictures turned out great.  Still sunrise in Nebraska.

I tried to capture each state border sign, but it didn't work out very well.  We never did see the Nebraska sign from Wyoming, though I was looking for it.  I'm not sure the sign is up!  Going out, we were navigating Omaha during morning rush hour, so I wasn't ready for the Iowa sign.  Also, I missed crossing the Missouri and didn't get a picture, same issue.  That kind of thing happened going into and out of Wisconsin as well, because we were crossing the Mississippi River then.  And because the truck bounced so crazily, when I did try to take pictures, my poor phone couldn't focus quick enough.  I would hit the button and lower the camera (because my subject matter had long passed me by) and then I would hear the click.  I got lots of nice pictures of the truck dash board as a result! 

 

But here's the Minnesota sign!  

One of my favorite things about going on long road trips is crossing the rivers.  Unless you count the Colorado River, we don't have giant rivers in Colorado, and I guess I get a little homesick and nostalgic about those great big rivers in the East, where you can see barges navigating the channels and you think back on the big side paddle riverboats of yester-year.  And the bridges, in a lot of cases, are giant engineering marvels.  That kind of thing is fun for me. So I try to capture them.  

I think going out and coming back, one crosses the Platte, be it North Platte or South Platte, six or eight times in total.  I didn't get pictures of any of the Plattes because it was dark both times we were in that area of Nebraska.  

Again, I didn't catch the Missouri going out.  

But I caught pictures of the Mississippi both directions! 

Mississippi crossing going east.

Mississippi crossing going west.  

And I did catch the Missouri as we headed home!

The Missouri as we headed west.

And lookie there!  I did find a good one of the Nebraska state line as we headed west for home.  

But no Wyoming signs.  And we came into Colorado at 2am, so taking a picture was not an option.  

So that's the rivers and sunrises and sunsets and state borders.  Much more to come, so stay tuned!