Bountiful Road Trip Beginning

“The only way forward if we are going to improve the quality of our environment is to get everyone involved.” (Richard Rogers)

To begin this entry, I’d like to thank our close friends Nicole and Paul for graciously hosting us again at their home in Lincoln, Nebraska. We loved playing with their two cats and new baby and wish them “bon voyage” on their upcoming adventure ahead.

The way I see it, the best role I can play on Earth Day as a world traveler would be to enjoy the miraculous givings of our living earth to the full extent wherever I am at. That means of course taking time beyond amusement to educate myself about the best practices of sustainability in our land, water, and air resources present in human habitats visited during our extensive road tripping times. So we’ve discovered two sites of environmental interest to begin our latest cross country adventure on Earth Day weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska amidst the heartland of the American prairie. Yet to do so, these two South Floridians would need to endure late winter weather conditions with bitter cold and wicked winds likely present at any natural outdoor sites we chose to visit.

So a two day visit with our Nebraska friends enabled us to pursue such Earth Day immersion near Omaha to begin this latest vacation. Traveling first a few hours west on Interstate 80, we first considered the preservation of endangered species in the animal kingdom while taking some time to tour the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center near Grand Island, Nebraska. Imagine for a moment then such a fascinating natural scene where hordes of Sandhill Hill cranes migrate thousands of miles from February to April each year to find abundant feeding, nesting and breeding grounds in the same or similar spot amid these cornfield strewn flatlands nearby the North Platte River. Unfortunately, upon discovering at the Visitor Center that the cranes would already be gone, we nonetheless obtained some wonderful views of these rare, protected lands on a short walk along an adjoining nature trail. For we would then take our time to appreciate how these magnificent birds as well as other waterfowl species and wild bison could roam freely there in undisturbed fashion for future generations to come.

Next following this wave of Earth Day interest inside the borders of Omaha, we decided on the second day of this roadtrip leg to attend an Earth Day Celebration at Elmwood Park with our Nebraska friends. The afternoon plan then centered around listening to some live music of a country folk nature along with taking a leisurely stroll amid local exhibits demonstrating reduction of waste, conservation of energy, preservation of natural resources and conversion to all electric vehicles. Unfortunately with snow flurries forecasted on this frigid morning, our scheduled time allotted to spend there turned out to be noticeably brief. Looking now for a bit of a warmup, thankfully we will be flying out to Anaheim, California tomorrow to begin our Far West portion of this road trip. Enjoy the photos.