After spending another fruitless hour trying to upload the reports from Saturday, I gave up and left Grand Island, intending to drive pretty much straight through for home.
(Important fact: the town of Kearney, Nebraska, is pronounced "Carny".)
I briefly considered driving US 30 instead of I80 to Omaha, but the hopeless desire to get home before dark and the siren's call of the 75 mph speed limit lured me to the boring road.
It was time to buy gas again as I crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, so I took the first exit into Cedar Rapids. The name sounded familiar, and I knew there was something here I needed to see, but I had left my copy of New Roadside America at home. I found the library, but it was closed. I wandered aimlessly for a while, finally stopping at a gas station in a less than attractive neighborhood.
After filling the car with fuel and picking up some more Diet Dr. Pepper, I asked the clerk what it was I was supposed to be looking for. I guessed white squirrels, but she immediately told me that it was black squirrels I was seeking. When I asked where I could find some, she told me just to drive through the nearby residential areas. I did just that.
The neighborhood improved, and I just drove around side streets, by houses, under trees, looking for my prey. Finally I saw one beside a house.
I hopped out of my car, explaining to the old curious couple in the yard, that I just wanted to photograph that squirrel. The woman explained that it was quite tame, complaining loudly when she forgot to put food out for it.
It didn't cooperate well, and I ended up shooting it in shadows, but I think the pictures will turn out well.
At this point I had no idea where I was, but, using the sun for direction, and knowing that I29 and the Missouri iver were to the west, I drove north on a fairly major road, looking for another heading west to take me to the expressway, with any luck at an interchange.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I ended up running right onto I480 without a choice, crossing the river back into Nebraska. I took US 75 north, which the map showed was an expressway about half way up to I680, which I could take back over to Iowa and on home.
I found an adorable hamburger stand on 75 after it got traffic lights again, with a wonderful neon sign and a lot of character. If you are ever in Omaha, take 30th Street north to Bronco's amburgers (since 1959).
I made good time to Des Moines and figured I'd be home by six, but I hit serious construction areas on I80, three of them that throttled traffic to one lane. I spent over an hour going five miles at the first, before I could exit and take US 6 instead. In all, they cost me about three hours.
From Iowa home is ground I've covered many times before. Two hours after I left the quad cities I was back home.