Buffalo Bill

The temperature is climbing on the bank sign, it's 75 now but forecast to get up to 92. We're sitting in the Columbus library, the only place in town that I can get internet. Most of the morning was spent trying any other wireless connection, but none worked, so I had to wait until the library opened at 10. We've got 50 miles to ride today to Fremont. The roads have been so flat and nice that the miles seem to go by pretty easy. That's why we are lingering this morning, which we may regret later today as we ride, feeling the sweat in the heat, when even the wind won't dry it off quick enough to prevent the drip, drip, drip.

Yesterday's ride was uneventful, 43 miles of corn and soybean fields. We did ride 5 miles or so with another rider on his way to RAGBRAI, who we had met the day before. He had come up from Alamagordo, NM. Arriving in Columbus, we ate at the Pickett Fence cafe, feeling like we were in an assisted living home. There are a lot of elderly/old folks in these Nebraska towns. The youngsters leave for the big cities and come back to push the wheelchairs when they visit. After lunch we headed for the B&B up the street, which was as nice as it could be. I headed for the library as usual, to look into local history, and found a mural on the wall depicting a massacre in 1720. Seems the Spanish in Sante Fe had heard that the French were encroaching on this part of their colony, and sent a military force to investigate. There were 45 Spanish soldiers, 60 Pueblo Indians and some guides. When they arrived here the Pawnees were hostile, having been provoked by the French, and after a couple of days of failed negotiation, the Pawnees attacked, along with French tri-cornered soldiers, and killed almost all of the Spanish, including the leader, Pedro de Viiiasur. The original painting of the massacre is on buffalo skins, and is now in Switzerland, but they have a mural here which is an exact copy.

Glurs Tavern is the oldest continuously operating bar west of the Missouri River. We had dinner there last night. It was burger night, so the homemade burgers were $1.50, or 1.75 for a cheeseburger. We also made it for happy hour, with the on tap beer $1.50. For $20 we spent 2 hours there and had dinner. Glurs was built when McKinley was president, in 1876. It's operated ever since as a bar, but the whorehouse on top floor closed down long ago. The hookers are gone, but you can imagine them in their hoop dresses walking the floor. Buffalo Bill Cody was a regular customer, because he spent a lot of time in this town back in the day. Now there are Nebraska Cornhusker banners and national championship ceiling tiles. The big game heads on the wall are 130 years old, there is a table 100 years old, and the floor creaks like the boards are ancient. They have standard Whirlpool refrigerators full of beer and soda. The grill is behind bar for all to see. The year Glurs was built is the same year Custer met his demise, and it feels like it.

Colorado became a state in 1876, while they were building Glurs. It's named Glurs because the second owner was Louis Glur, and it was in his family until the 1960's, when the last daughter had to sell. The train still goes by, but now it's not steam. There was a 30 year high school reunion in there last night. 30 years doesn't seem all that long when you think about Custer and the Indians. The weather had been threatening most of the afternoon, but we had no idea that when we were in Glurs it would form into black tornado formations. It wasn't easy to walk against the wind, and then the rain started. Then it intensified. Laura was scared of getting hit by lightning, I was worried about Big O. We were soaked when we got back. Big O was drenched but at least it was sill in the yard. If it was any smaller it would have blown into Iowa.

The temp is probably about 85 by now so we had better get going. Thanks again to all who read, and comment on the blog, it makes is seem like we're in touch a little and makes looking around and noticing things easier. Sharing the trip is part of the fun. Anyone reading this going on RAGBRAI, please get in touch and we will look for you in Iowa.