7:00 a.m. - Left Camp Rodeway Inn following the North Platte River. Trail exhaustion is setting in for everyone. Doc is falling asleep on the floor of the wagon.
9:02 a.m. - Reached Ash Hollow unexpectedly. First sighting of strange boots on the fence posts. Also, first warning of rattlesnakes.
10:10 a.m. - Trail Boss John yelled out the sighting of Courthouse and Jail Rocks.
http://www.bridgeportneb.com/Sites/courthouseRock/pictures_of_courthouse_and_jail%20-1.htm
10:11 a.m. - Courthouse and Jail Rocks are out of sight. Doc yells out, “I traveled 1,000 miles, and we missed it!”
10:12 a.m. - Rocks are back in view.
10:16 a.m. - Carts are getting heavier, and we were about ready to abandon them when we saw the foreboding Platte River.
10:30 a.m. - Arrived at Chimney Rock and yet another warning sign about rattlesnakes. Met Loren, John’s long-lost friend from the fur-trapping days. Also, sweet Tornado Tour Barb met up with us here.
12:30 p.m. - Arrived at the North Platte Valley Museum for lunch and a tour of the second greatest museum ever.
2:00 p.m. - Went over Robidoux Pass (http://www.oregonpioneers.com/OTSites10_NE.jpg).
The tornado chasers were too afraid to warn us of the danger ahead.
3:12 p.m. - Rotation of tornado above bus. Ray hollered, “Get on the wagon!” Everyone boarded except Tom and Rick, who were too amused by the dung beetles to care. Ray took off with the wagon with no head count.
4:30 p.m. - Arrived at the luxurious Camp Holiday Inn in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, after outrunning the fatal storm.
5:15 p.m. - Rode a covered wagon at Chimney Rock with Ms. Rupp’s long-lost brother. Ate a chunk of cow and had a sing-a-long with the Lakota-French-German cowboy.
9:10 p.m. - End of long day of hail, rain, tornadoes, fire, flooding and singing. Tomorrow, we are heading to higher country in the Wyoming Territory.
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