We made 460 miles today, from West Des Moines to Ogallala, Nebraska. I would have posted last night, save that the iBahn Internet system used by the Sheraton in West Des Moines simply wouldn’t work. They want $10 a day for the service, which could not complete a DHCP transaction to save its pointless little life. They gave me my money back, at least. And let’s be clear on this: The hotel is excellent, with some of the best beds we’ve found anywhere along I-80. The food is great, the service wonderful…why is Internet access so hard for them? i-Bah-n.
So here we are, at the Holiday Inn Express in Ogallala, watching an already soggy world freeze solid right outside our window, while the wind howls like something out of a bad Vincent Price movie. (So much for Global Warming.) The last 50 miles were a bit of a thrill ride. It had been sunny and 62 degrees noonish when we blew through Omaha (which, alas, has recently begun looking like the name of our President, at least from the corner of my eye) with the temps dropping steadily after that, amidst a constant 25 MPH crosswind. Come North Platte we were seeing light rain, which soon turned to sloppy snow. By the time we got off I-80, things were starting to look like black ice, and I was very glad to be done with the day’s wander.
But enough about the weather. On Sunday, Aero decided that pulled pork trumps the desire to jump on the other contestants, and on the second day of the Clinton Iowa Kennel Club dog show, he beat Leeward’s Ron Stoppable and got his sixth point. (Ron, a formidable 2-year-old recently arrived from Finland, got the point on Saturday by beating Aero.) Nine more (plus a second major win, meaning a win against at least three other dogs of his sex) and he’s an official champion.
It was the way we like our dog shows: two contestants, and each one takes home a point. Nobody loses, everybody gets some pulled pork, and the whole gang goes home happy. If only the Hugo Awards and government bailouts would work as well.
