Friday, October 23, 2009

North Platte, Nebraska





Golden Spike Tower & Visitor Center



Drive to the north west corner of North Platte, Nebraska to find the Union Pacific Railroad's Bailey Yard. An eight story tower with an indoor and outdoor observation deck staffed with a guide to answer your questions and explain what is taking place.

  • The yard covers 2,850 acres reaching a length of eight miles. From the north to the south of the yard are a total of 301 sets of tracks!
  • Every 24 hours the yard handles 15,000 railroad cars. 3,000 of the cars are sorted in their eastward and westward yards.
  • The "hump yards" use a mound cresting from 20 to 34 feet which allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of the 114 "bowl" tracks where they become part of trains headed for dozens of destinations. These cars are computer controlled & braked as they head down the hump, but a person has to pull the pin and later hook up the hoses between the cars. Papa Jim remembers that when they used to get rail cars of bagged fertilizer in the end bags were always broken. That is because before computers there was no control of the speed of the cars coming off the "hump". The resulting jolt when it hit the next car caused the breakage. When they started shipping cars by rail, something had to be done to prevent the damage to them. The brake controls were invented!
  • A diesel repair facility provides "one-stop" servicing to trains and a locomotive repair shop. The shop replaces 10,000 pairs of wheels yearly and has a fleet of trucks to repair small defects in the train. It is possible to repair 18 to 20 cars per hour, with round the clock shifts. 750 locomotives are fixed annually.
  • Every locomotive horn is tested in the yards, also. They have to have the legal decibels of loudness & sufficient air to make them work.

  • Commodities passing through these yards include refrigerators, TV's, coal, automobiles, potatoes, fruit, wine, lumber, corn, sugar, steel, chemicals, and cars.
  • A sand tower fills each engine with a special sand that is used for traction on the rails in the snow & ice.

  • A diesel fill station fills locomotives with 14 million gallons of diesel fuel every month. The fuel is transferred by a pipeline directly from a nearby refinery!
  • A coal train has at least 125 coal cars. 36 full coal trains go east and 36 empty coal trains go west into Wyoming each day.
My pictures hardly give you a feeling for the enormity of the place. We spent over 2 hours watching and talking to the guide! A picture of the tower and a video of the yards in action is available at www.GoldenSpikeTower.com

Isn't it amazing the knowledge and abilities the Lord gives us in order to deal with the circumstances we need to survive in this world system.

Thanks for traveling with us!
Prairie Schooners



Rocky Mountain National Park

Views through the windshield:

Our "bonus" day, because of early delivery, is sunny & warm as we head north and west to Estes Park. A stop at the Visitor center where our questions are answered concerning what is open in the park and a highlighted map of the area is received.

  • A small herd of elk were grazing on the lawns in an area of the city of Estes Park.
  • Miles of motels, cabins & lodges along the Fall River.
  • Again our National Park Pass allowed us in for free. (Thank-you, VR's)
  • Snow-capped peaks ahead of us as we wind & climb our way into the mountains.
  • A stop to view Horseshoe Park--a grassy area that once had an Inn for overnight guests before area motels were built outside the Park.
  • Winter coats needed today because of the gusty winds blowing down the valley!
  • The Sheep Lakes grassy area with Fall River flowing through is an area for the wildlife to graze. Nothing spotted that day!
  • We noticed fenced in areas, wondering what was contained inside. Discovered that the fences are to keep the elk out and away from shrubs and small trees. They tend to break them off.
  • Climbing to Hidden Valley, driving on some snow-covered roads, pine trees, leaves on aspens have dropped, walked a short distance on trail beside a gurgling stream flowing over rocks. When the trail became snow-covered, we knew we had to turn back. It needed boots that we did not have with us!
  • A large herd of elk grazing & loafing among the pine trees along the road.
  • Three antelope grazing beside the road.
  • Each mile brings another vista of mountain, our personal scenery movie!
  • Clouds of snow were coming over the peaks. We felt the snow in the air.


  • Sprague Lake offers a nice walking path all the way around. Fantastic view of Hallett Peak located on the Continental Divide. The Lake offers trout fishing. The trout have black backs, red bellies and a white line on the bottom of their fins. The ones we saw were very small. Catch & Release trout fishing is available on the Fall River and the Big Thompson River in the Park. Ate our last sandwich in the picnic area watching a black & white magpie and a beautiful blue bird flit through the branches of the pine trees.
  • Highway #34 along the Big Thompson River is full of sharp curves through a rocky mountain canyon. The Aspens yellow leaves were brilliant against the rocks. Three big-horn sheep were grazing along the road stopping traffic!
Coming out of the mountains and into an Agriculture and Ranching area. Spent the night in Stirling, CO before continuing east.

A WOW day as we viewed God's creativity! We could definitely tell that we were "flat landers!"

Prairie Schooners

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Destination: Longmont, CO

Pick up the Unit

Arriving on the lot in Forest City is so different since the economic slowdown. Only 5 units sitting in the "pick-up" area compared to 20+!

Ours is a View, one of the smaller units with a diesel motor that averages 13 to 19 mpg. It looks like a small truck with an overhead compartment over the cab. The wind is always blowing across this lot. Today, with the moisture in the air it feels colder than the temp records!

Paperwork, hooking up the Saturn, moving bags to unit, checking out the unit, looking for scratches, etc & a stop for fuel before we head out. Nice interior colors & storage arrangement. This unit has an overhead bunk and a sofa that makes into a bed & a recliner. Should make for an interesting night's sleep for us because we are not allowed to extend the slide out to make the sofa into the bed!!

On the Road

A strong east wind makes for a rough ride until we get to I-80. This compact unit is quiet. We can see some combines in the bean fields accented with the colored leaves on the trees in the area!

Part of our job description delivering new motor homes seems to be PR! Whenever we stop someone asks about the unit & we graciously show it and answer questions.

Heading west on I-80 with wind behind us under partly cloudy skies through rolling countryside with some combines busy harvesting. Past the exit to Springbrook State Park bringing back memories of happy family times at past annual get-togethers.

There is a certain beauty to the fields ready for harvest. Rows & rows standing at attention stripped of leaves & holding the ripened grain in readiness for the combine! The shades of white-yellow remind me of the Bible verse telling us that the fields (of people) are white for harvest. We are studying Daniel & Revelation and see the signs pointing to the time of God's judgment of the world coming nearer. Do I have a heart to labor in His fields offering opportunities for other to make the choice to believe & trust in Jesus shed blood and be a part of God's harvest of believers!

Into Nebraska with rain, road construction & singing along with a gospel music CD!

Views through the windshield:

  • Pumpkin farms with activities waiting for kids on the week-end including a pumpkin thrower!
  • Large cement storage elevators stand like silent sentinels along the railroad tracks waiting for the loads of harvested grain.
  • Rows of windmills turning out electricity are silhouetted along the high ridges in the distance.
  • The curved shape of irrigation rigs are scattered across the horizon.
  • The Platte River meanders through the countryside.
  • Patches of snow left from the earlier snow fall that was pushed in piles.
  • Several flocks of wild turkeys scratching for a meal in the fields.
  • Haystacks frosted with snow.
  • Signs indicating that we are on the "Oregon Trail Auto Tour" route.
  • Welcome to Colorado State sign.
  • Blue skies and sunshine!
  • "Beef-It's what's for Supper!" Large cattle lots.
  • "Got Milk!" Super large dairy operations with many stacks of hay & white plastic covered silage piles. One had 11 of the big blue harvester silos!
  • Bright green winter wheat fields are a contrast to the shades of white/yellow/brown corn fields accented with the rust-red grasses of the ditch & pastures.
  • Scattered oil wells in the pastures.
  • A field of sunflowers ready for harvest.
  • Prairie Dog mounds of brown sand scattered through the pastures.
  • Highest peaks of the mountain range covered in snow are on the distant horizon!

Delivery

As we listen to Focus on the Family Readers Theater version of a Father Gilbert Mystery we count off the miles to the Truck Wash! Thankful for the time change giving us an extra hour to make delivery that afternoon instead of having to wait until the next morning! Oh!Oh! Reality does not match our instructions! A frontage road is partially closed. A stop to ask for directions and we found the dealership! Unhook, repack into Saturn, wait for inspection to be completed, sign papers, find a motel, do our bookwork, thank the Lord for another safe delivery, supper & make plans for the next few days.

Thanks for riding along!
Prairie Schooners