Scenes from Nebraska, the December 2011 Edition

Five years ago, I did not give much thought to the Midwest and rural America.  I knew the West Coast well because I have lived almost my entire life in Los Angeles.  I knew the East Coast well because my mother is from New York and I went to college in New England.  But the Midwest?  That was just a big chunk of land in between LAX and JFK.  From the airplane, it looked pretty boring.  

Five years ago, if you had asked me if I would ever visit Nebraska, I would have shrugged.  And if you had asked me whether I would visit rural Nebraska during the dead of winter, I would have laughed hysterically.  

Then I met my husband, who grew up in a town of 1,600 in rural Nebraska, and now I have visited his home state four times - including three December trips!

Every December, Nebraska looks different.  In 2009, there was a blizzard and snow.  It was like we had stepped into the movie Fargo.  In 2010, there was less snow but the landscape still looked like a Christmas card.   

For Christmas 2011, I was prepared for Artic temperatures... and then my gloves, scarf and hat spent the entire trip in the rental car.  During the day, the temperatures were in the 50s and I just needed a sweatshirt to stay warm.  Almost all the snow had melted.  Let me tell you about the un-snowy Nebraska countryside: it's beautiful and the roads are safe.  From now on, I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas.  


Random Countryside View as we drove through Nebraska.



More Random Countryside while driving.

Sunset at the family ranch.

  

Farm cats at the family ranch.

 

Sign for a steakhouse where we had dinner.

Snow!

I was told we could have breakfast here - or the gas station.