7/24-Does the Rain Make the Gravel Better?

The forecast didn’t call for rain today, but it most certainly did rain! I had to dig my rain gear out from the bottom of the bag. I left the hotel and rode the sidewalk along the busy highway to where I could turn to head back to the route. It wasn’t long before I hit the first gravel section. It was like the red gravel/sand sections of the Cowboy Trail, but now add washboard. My speed took a definite hit, but I was able to ride it. It was a relatively short section. I came to Hwy 24. Before turning on to the Hwy, I pulled out my hi-vis vest. I haven’t worn it since Montana! It was just so dark and dreary and I wanted to be as visible as possible. 

There was a gratuitous gravel section that went off from 24, only to come back to it. The shoulder on 24 was fine, so I just stayed on the hwy. 

I rolled into Stanton 13 miles in. I wasn’t going to stop, but there was a Casey’s. I got a chocolate milk and a donut. I was also able to get a travel sized toothpaste, and some more wipes. Casey’s has it all!

The route wiggled through the town to the next gravel section. 

The first real hill I’ve climbed in many days!

The rain had pretty much quit. The next gravel section was more of the same. 

I just rode right down the middle!

I’m really hoping that Iowa gravel is going to actually be gravel, not just sand with a few bits of gravel! I have to think that the rain must have made it better. At least there wasn’t any dust! Wanda handled it well. The washboard wasn’t bad most of the time. 

There was a brief bit of pavement into Pilger, then it was back to another stretch of gravel. 

They were also long straight roads.

Then, somehow, I was miraculously transported to…

Germany!

Actually, I think this area was settled by Germans. In Stanton I had gone by a church that’s name was in German.

That section of gravel popped me out onto Hwy 275. It’s definitely a busy Hwy, but the shoulder was wide, and most importantly, smooth as buttah!!! It looks like they are adding  two more lanes (it will make it a divided highway. 

This went all the way through Wisner.

In Wisner, I stopped at another convenience store for a snack. I looked at the route, and decided, since I was going to West Point (off route), I would just stay on 275 as it went to West Point directly, and I would end up not far from the park I’m camping at. 

The highway became a 4 lane divided hwy, but the shoulder was still as wide and smooth. As I came into West Point, I could see that the shoulder disappeared. I looked on my phone and saw I could turn off the hwy, and take backroads to the park. I was riding down the road when I spied a bike path!

Of course I hopped on it. It wasn’t long before it curved away from the direction I needed to go, so I had to get off. But, I was almost to the park anyway. 

I rolled into Neligh Park (funny, I stayed in Neligh the town…) at about 1:00 after 47 miles. I found the tent camping area. Just like in Ainsworth, showers were at the pool. One annoying thing is that the restrooms are quite aways away. 

It is a very nice park, though, with a huge playground, a fishing lake, and I nice walking path, in addition to the pool. There are a fair number of RVs in the RV area, but I’m the only tent. 

I went to a restaurant in town for dinner. It was a good burger. Vivian and Ken are here in West Point too, but at a hotel near where I came into town. Might not see them for a few days, as our trajectories are a bit different for awhile. Tomorrow my plan is to stay on 275 to the town of Scribner. There I will pick up the route again, and continue making my way toward Omaha.