The next day took us down Highway 26 and along some scenic rocks and vistas, including Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock, as well as iconic Chimney Rock. We also came across a historical marker for Mormon pioneer and martyr Narcissa Whitman, whose journey west started in Bellevue of all places. We made a quick stop in Oshkosh for some Krispy Krunchy Chicken (and a bathroom break) and nabbed pictures of an abandoned but colorful old motel along the way.

Before long, we made it to the Scotts Bluff National Monument, a giant (and gradually deteriorating) bluffs in the panhandle that Vivian and I had visited once before but didn’t know we could go to the top of. It was quick drive through a few tunnels around the side to get to the summit, and then we had a few paths to walk around to see spectacular views overlooking miles and miles of the world below (far enough to see Chimney Rock from over 26 miles away).

The steep drop-offs and signs warning about falling made it a little nerve-wracking walking with the kids, but they stuck close along the path, venturing only far enough to snap photos of the views and some wild cacti growing along the path. We also got to see a plaque for the “Scott” the whole area is named after, among other things before our trip back down.

We made a trip next to Scottsbluff (the town), where we got some Mexican food for lunch at a place called San Pedro and let the kids play a bit at Pioneer Park around the corner. This park had a few interesting features along with the playground. One was a stone structure that was apparently built rock-by-rock by a Mexican farm worker who carried the rocks himself during his daily 20-mile walk to work, hoping to use it as a kind of proof-of-concept piece / resume to get into stone masonry. There was also replica of the Statue of Liberty, erected by a troop of Boy Scouts back in 1950.

During our brief picnic, I got to meet up with fellow web comic artist and historian Mat Rhys, who told us about these and other stories, including folks from Alliance literally stealing a building from Hemingford they hoped to use to win them role of County Seat of Box Butte County, and settlers from Gering moving their entire houses to Scottsbluff when they got tired of waiting for the railroad line to make it to their town.

We made a stop at Carhenge on our trip north of Chadron, spending an hour with the kids at one of the panhandle’s best-known, albeit bizarre attractions. The kids got a good, close-up look at the various cars strewn about in the form of Britain’s famous rock structure, and there was even one car off to the side that we were allowed to “auto-graph” before we left. A few of the cars seemed to be memorials as well, one for WWII veterans and another for the domestic auto industry.

We headed on through the Nebraska national forest, giving us a brief change of scenery and a glimpse of what was in store in the black hills as wide-open prairie gave way to a few rolling hills of trees on our way to Chadron. Then we had a quiet evening of pizza and TV shows (via tablet) before one more night of sleeping in beds (and jumping on them) before a few days of camping.

The Johnson Family just got back from an intense, week-long road trip vacation, which took us all the way to the Black Hills and back. It was a vacation with many “good views” and photo-worthy sights, but mostly it was a chance to unplug from the world — partly because we had next to zero cell phone coverage during the entire trip.

We kicked things off with a five-hour drive along I-80 heading west. This would be the longest our kids have ever spent cooped in the car, but they were great little passengers, spending time drawing in their notebooks and playing with each other along the way. We stopped for lunch at Windmill State Park, giving us all some much-needed leg-stretching time before having lunch and hitting the road again.

We spent the evening in Ogallala and swimming down at Martin Bay in Lake McConaughy. Vivian and I had glimpsed the lake just once back on our one-year anniversary trip, but this was our first time swimming there. It was nice, albeit cold, and most of the folks down there seemed more interested in boating than swimming. Hannah also got to try out her sculpting skills on the sand.

We crossed a time zone and gained an extra hour to have a Runza down by the shore before calling it a night (and getting chocolate ice cream). This stop turned out to be one of Hannah’s favorites, specifically because we all got to have breakfast together at the Super 8 the next morning.

People talk a lot about the weather in Nebraska, often because we have bizarre weeks were it’s winter one day and springtime the next. That’s what happened on Thursday last week, when a blizzard rolled into town and delivered us a winter wonderland over the course of an afternoon. It melted right off the roads but coated everything else with a snowy frosting, much to the bewilderment of the robins and squirrels that had been expecting spring.

Our pair of tulips fortunately made it through the snow, and Vivian took he kids outside to play in the snow and make a snowman and have a snowball fight before the white stuff was almost entirely vaporized by the end of the day.

The rest of our weekend weather was absolutely gorgeous — 60 degrees and sunny. It was nice enough for a “walk” with the folks from the Autism Society of Nebraska, (who had a “virtual Fun Fest” today in lieu of a real one), and Hannah also got to do some art reproducing one of our tulips.

Then that evening, we headed down to Werner Park for a drive-in fireworks show hosted by the Omaha Storm Chasers. It was a community event that seemed to be held just to lift up some spirits in the midst of a pandemic. It seemed the whole metro area came to join us, lining the streets and parking in empty fields adjacent to the park. We got the perfect view of the show from our spot on the west side. Hannah got an eyeful standing atop our CR-V while Aaron hunkered down in the trunk (with the window open). The show started around 8:45 and lasted all of ten minutes, but there was something magical and fun about seeing fireworks in the open air with thousands of others sitting a top their cars and in the beds of pickup trucks.

Things stayed fairly low-key on Sunday. We tuned in to Wildewood’s service on Facebook live (a weekly tradition in many pandemic-bound households, I’m guessing) and took Harold the Guinea Pig outside to graze in our front yard for the first time. I spent the afternoon cleaning the garage as Hannah brought out her entire collection of dolls for some fresh air. Vivian made some homemade pizza for dinner that evening, and we tuned in to the Hope Rising benefit concert online, making use of my Raspberry Pi plugged into a Goodwill TV in our living room (which is usually used as a weather/calendar kiosk).

How are you faring during this world-wide lock down? I’m quite grateful we’re able to live more or less normal lives with the kids during all of this, albeit without weekly visits to grandma and grandpa’s house. My hope is that we’re on the down slope now and will soon see this period of time in the rear-view mirror of history. For the moment, though, we’re still enjoying life very much — and grateful all of us are healthy!

We’ve had a fairly quiet start to the New Year so far, mostly staying warm inside and quietly preparing for an Hors D’oeurves Party among other things at the end of the month.

We celebrated the two-year adoption of our little tuxedo cat, Zoey on January 10. We had a few extra kitty treats in a bowl of premium food for her for dinner, and then we let her get her first whiff of catnip — which immediately made her go a bit crazy rolling around on the floor.

Then the next day we had a men’s breakfast bright and early with the men of Wildewood. We had a few breakfast burritos and listened to Scott talk a bit about his plans for the group this coming year. I got to sit at a table with my dad and talk a bit about evangelism as well, particularly his missionary work in Brazil.

In other news, we’ve had snow, snow, and more snow. It hasn’t been all that much in accumulation, but we’ve had bitter cold on one end and slush on the other that’s kept schools closed and us stuck inside. It’s been a good time snuggle up on the couch under a blanket and read comic books.

It’s also been a good time for warm, comforting winter foods like beef stew, homemade bread, breakfast corn dogs, and buffalo chicken dip. Hannah and Aaron have also been finding ways to amuse themselves dressing up as video game fighters and sticking poop emojis on the ceiling. Hannah even came out to help me shovel once and spent a little time making a snowman with her doll Suki.

I think we’ve had almost enough of winter this far, but there are still a few more months to go.

The fun fall traditions continued this week, as the trees around us all explode with colors before making way for winter. There was some beautiful weather on Saturday, so Vivian and I took the kids on a walk around the block as a family just to enjoy a few of the fall colors while they were with us.

Then that evening, we headed up to northwest Omaha for another one of Jenny’s Halloween birthday parties. She decided to have a 90s theme this year, so we had Wayne and Garth in our midst, along with some Pokémon characters, the Y2K bug, as well as Little Caesar and Captain Morgan. I shaved my beard and donned a wig (and jogging suit) to go as President Clinton, while Vivian put on some colorful 90s clothes (and makeup) and went as Kimmy Gibbler. Hannah and Aaron were Ladybug and a Ninja, respectively.

Vivian also brought some lasagna and jack-o-lantern mandarin oranges to go along with the other Halloween foods, which gave us some energy as we danced the night away, doing Thriller, led by Takashi (of course). I also made up a card for the occasion, which I conveniently left at home. We had lots of fun as usual, though, and we only went home once it was apparent the kids had had enough.

Then on Tuesday, I took the day off so we could spend a long, cool autumn day down at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch as a family. This year, Vivian and I actually worked out an “itinerary” so we could hit as many attractions as possible while not wearing ourselves out walking back and forth across the park, and it seemed to work out well. We got to see the jumping pillows, corn bin, train ride, bunnyville, pig races (with the pig wrangler), Xander the dragon, big chair, haunted house, wagon ride, spider web, obstacle course with net tunnels and a hamster wheel, big slide, storybook village, petting zoo, tricycle track, and pumpkin mine all without wearing ourselves out. There were still many little attractions we stumbled upon, such as rope and pulley games, spinning chairs, and a big apple that we might easily have missed.

The kids both got to fly on the new zip lines for the first time, and we also bumped into some old friends, Jolene with her kids as well as the Papson family. We got some chili cheese fries and succotash to keep us moving throughout the day, and then got some pumpkins for the kids before going home to crash for the night. In all, I took 575 pictures throughout the day, so you know we had a great time! Most of all, it was nice to see so many beautiful fall colors, which will only be with us for a week or two before winter. It was a fun day and part of an annual tradition I hope Hannah and Aaron will remember fondly as they grow up.

It’s been a quiet week, and it’s starting to feel a little more like fall, which I’m hoping will mean a few barbecues and fire pits before the snow starts coming. Over the weekend, I gave my parents’ lawn a good mow, and my dad gave us a rack of ribs for dinner, which he’d smoked on the patio all Saturday.

On Sunday, we took the kids to the Fontenelle Forest for dinner with a group called Our Gathering Place, which is “a mobile monthly community dinner for families with special needs” (and specifically autism). It was a fun little event with food for everybody, as well as balloons, painting, and the usual nature-related activities they have downstairs at the nature center. There were even a few prizes to take home afterward, which was very nice. I only wish we’d had time for a nice walk along the Fontenelle boardwalk, but we mostly enjoyed making some connections with other parents inside.

The event was put on by Kinesha Johnson-Roach, the wife of Jarell Roach, who visited Wildewood to do some comedy back in September, so we felt like we were among friends right from the beginning.

Then on Tuesday I attended another meet-up with my dad and the Men of God at Wildewood. We had another batch of boneless pork ribs and talked a bit about fellowship, particularly the direction the men’s group would be taking in the future. It seems bonding over food is a part of human culture that goes unrecognized, particularly when it involves cooking meat — a tradition that must date back to our ancient caveman ancestors.

Which reminds me, we’ve got to break out the fire pit one more time before winter.

On Monday last week, Hannah celebrated her last day with her Classical Conversations classmates for the year. The students and teachers (AKA “tutors”) gave a brief presentation for the grown-ups of the various memory work they’d done that year, and then each the students got a certificate before breaking for refreshments downstairs. I have to admit after two years of homeschooling, I’ve found it has lot more schooling outside of “home” than I expected. Between our two home school groups, Hannah’s been able to enjoy multiple field trips, special guests at her co-op, and extra classes to learn things like sewing outside her standard curriculum. This year, Vivian and I even managed to prepare a real yearbook for all the students (which thankfully we finished in time for them to sign). Aaron still has a few more weeks to go.

Springtime weather seems to be hanging on, despite a cold snap that brought more snow to other parts of the country. As such, I had our first lunchtime rendezvous with Vivian and the kids on Wednesday, taking them to Elmwood Park to play for an hour or two (as Stinson Park is currently being renovated). I got to take a few nice, long lunchtime walks on other days, making my way past some lovely blossoms (and less lovely geese) on the Keystone Trail just to grab some flavored coffee in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Our own yard had been in bloom as well, with an explosion of tulips we’d planted last October adding to the color of our yard. We also have some lilac ready to bloom in the backyard, which only lasts about a week when we get it (if it blooms at all).

Then on Friday night, we burned off the various branches and sticks that had fallen over the past year in a lovely fire pit. We invited our friends the Mills over to grill hot dogs and roast marshmallows (or vegetables) over the open flame while the kids ran around and played together. Aaron was especially tuckered out, crashing both Friday night and again Saturday afternoon.

In other news, Hannah and Mommy had a lovely time at the Prims’ Princess party, which happened on Saturday. I’d write more about that if I couldn’t, but it was a girls’ only event. Maybe Mommy will update her blog and tell you more about it.

We’re approaching the end of September, but it feels more like summer now than the beginning of fall. That’s all right with me, though, as I hope to have more time to finish some work on the house and go on early morning treasure hunts with Hannah in the yard (and to Costco with Grammy).

It’s also an election year, so that means meeting and greeting politicians ahead of the mid-terms, of course. On Friday, Senator Deb Fischer paid a visit to the Business and Professional People for Life luncheon down at the Garden Cafe. I got to attend with a number of my colleagues from the Pope Paul VI Institute and even got to share a table with Hal Daub and Mike Foley. There was something uniquely fun hearing Hal talking about free speech issues on UNL’s campus (as he’s a member of the board of regents) and watching the Lt. Gov. pass around photos of his new grand-baby on his cell phone.

Sen. Fischer also took several questions from the group on issues related to Planned Parenthood funding, bipartisanship in the Senate, and theatrics over the Cavanaugh hearings. Fischer said she’s driven 100-150k miles around the state during her term, and I think I believe it considering how often I seem to bump into her just in Omaha (unlike that other Senator we have).

Fall also means it’s time for Husker Football, and for the first time in my 23 years of living in Nebraska, I actually got to attend a home game! I won a pair of tickets (generously donated by my boss) at a weekly drawing a work and got to take Vivian to see the Huskers play Troy at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. We arrived just in time to follow a sea of red into the stands as the mascots goofed around before the National Anthem played, and then we baked in the sun for a couple hours as the Huskers lost 24-19. I’d watched plenty of these games on TV, but there’s nothing quite like watching it with the passionate fans in the stands (even when they’re clearly unhappy with the outcome). I even got to bring my DSLR with a telephoto lens to get some closer-up pictures of the action (and the crowd). I even got us a Runza to share for lunch, making for the most Nebraska picture in the world that doesn’t involve corn.

The only downer of our trip was getting a flat tire on the way out of the stadium, which meant spending an hour or two inflating it at a gas station down the street and then getting it patched up. I’ve never been so grateful for Walmart, as they fixed the tire when every other place in Lincoln was either booked solid or closed for the day. We finished off the day with dinner at Pho Nguyenn before a long ride home.

Fall also means the Fall Festival at Gifford Farm. We hadn’t been there since 2016, so it was good to get back and let the kids slide down into piles of hay once again. We said hello to the horses, chickens, cows, goats, and other animals. Hannah and Aaron also got to decorate cookies, ride a hay rack, and look inside their favorite hollow tree.

The kids played some more in the children’s area (making a “house” out of the various instruments, gourds, and utensils they gathered up), and then we finished our day buying some pumpkins and having some flavored ice before heading home (where we said hello to a woodpecker and bumblebees in our own yard).

Temperatures stayed in the 90s throughout the week, which made for a steamy experience at meet-and-greet with local candidates hosted by the Sarpy County GOP. My friend Phil came (with an appropriate shirt) to meet folks like Congressman Don Bacon, who suggested throwing me in the pool, which would have been great if someone got it on video. Bob Evnen, Rusty Hike, and a handful of others also showed up, along with Gov. Ricketts. He actually came dressed in a tie and jacket and somehow didn’t even break a sweat until after his stump speech.

There was time afterward for selfies, of course, but no swimming actually took place. Between this event and the one on Thursday, I was repeatedly impressed with how easy it is for someone who’s not even a donor to the Republican party to have access to people running for office. (I don’t mind chatting with Democrats either, of course, but most of those events on my radar come with a price tag, and that’s a hurdle I generally won’t jump.)