After sleeping in, I was woken up because I was too hot! With the van in the full sun, it was actually warming up! Exciting! Halfway through cooking bacon and eggs, I stopped being brave and put my down jacket on, it wasn’t that warm. I was happy with my camp, even used the water pump to fill my bottles before leaving.

I could see Scott’s Bluff on the horizon from a long way off. Nebraska really is flat, so any sort of mound sticks out pretty well. Before getting there, I stopped at the Walmart/Maccas in the town of Scotts Bluff for some Wifi action. I didn’t even bother buying anything this time, just waltzed right in. No one cared. I put up some blogs and made additions to my travel map from all the advice I’d been given on the road. It was a very chilled morning, especially after my sleep in.

I had been thinking I’d go for a run somewhere, maybe Scott’s Bluff, since I was in the mood for some physical activity, but the walk between the car and the Walmart was enough to convince me otherwise. It was bloody windy, again! It is so frustrating to think that without the wind and the sun turned up to high, it would have been a warm day. I kept my hopes up as I drove into Scott’s Bluff anyway.

Inside the visitor’s centre, I met the park ranger Justin and showed him my annual pass. He then gave me a personal tour of the very small center and its exhibits. Impressively, they had a fully reconstructed fossilised skull of a Titanothere, which is a big an animal as it sounds. On top of that was artwork from an explorer of the late 1800s. It was much the same story here as it had been at Chimney Rock, the tale of the different travellers that used the Oregon trail to travel west to the coast of America where the weather was warm and the livelihood prosperous. It is incredible to think just how many people from all different walks of life used the same highway seeking a better life.

Justin talked and talked and somehow we got onto the different laws surrounding drug use across the different states, but he told me some good things about where he’d worked in West Virginia which I took note of. Eventually tearing myself away, I drove on up to the top of the bluff, through the only three driving tunnels in all of Nebraska (I get the feeling the whole state has a “small town” feel to it). At the top I was delighted to get a few messages from my lovely cousin Emma, who made me feel better by sending me photos of warm, sunny Mexico. I dream of the day I can be in a skirt and singlet again! The view from the top was clear and I walked along the few trails up there to see the land from a few different angles. Still terribly windy, I kept my hands in my pockets and my hood up. I suppose I should be thankful it wasn’t raining, then it really would have been shit.

My day was going along at such a dawdle that it was past 1pm by the time I left and kept going south. I drove along a very, very straight road with farmland as far as the eye could see. After that, I entered Colorado where I drove along a very, very straight road with farmland as far as the eye could see, with some wind turbines thrown in. I was excited to be in Colorado, this is one of the states I plan to spend a lot of my time when I come back from Germany. After some deliberation about how to fill the few days I have between now and my flight on Saturday, I decided to aim for Rocky Mountain National Park, which is just west of Fort Collins, where I’ll be leaving my car with new-found friends while overseas.

Having finished my audiobook, I rocked out to music as I drove west towards the sunset. The scenery was entertainment enough. Though it was just farmland, there were a few rolling hills creeping in and the horizon was starting to light up. When I topped one rolling hill, I got my first glimpse of the rockies and it was stunning. Only an incomplete silhouette amongst grey clouds and a darkening sunset, I got excited about what was to come.

The highway ran next to National Grasslands, which I assumed operated the same as National Forests, with free camping but wasn’t sure. After 4:30pm, when the sunset was approaching its climax, I turned north on a dirt road to enter the Pawnee National Grasslands. After a mile or so there wasn’t any pullouts, so I turned around to park infront of a farmer’s gate to a field. I figured I would just park next to it so I wasn’t in the way, even though it was right on the road. Once I’d stopped, a close look at a very faded sign post revealed that the field was part of the National Grassland and was open to motor vehicles. Whoop! Whoop! I got out and opened the gate, drove through, then reattached the wire contraptions to the fence to close the gate. What an awesome camp.

I parked the car in an area that had clearly been used for target practice and clay shooting. There were broken clay discs and bullet shells littered everywhere. ‘Murica!! I managed to find a whole clay disc that I kept for a souvenir. After finding somewhat level ground, I was out of the car and up the small hill to admire the sunset. It was a long-lasting one, the light lingered amongst the clouds for a good hour before the twinkling lights of what I assume is Denver or Fort Collins came into view.

Feeling happy to be isolated in what reminds me of a farmer’s field in Australia and the best thing? There’s no wind!