290 miles of Nebraska continued the Iowa rolling hills for a ways then began to flatten out more and more. If we were geologist, ornithologist, or even botanist, this trip would have been slower and more educational. We just take the views, birds, and plants at face value. Sometimes it surprises us to see so much glacial effect on our country. There also seem to be similar rock formations across the land: North and South, East and West.
On another expert point – bug expert 'entomologist'. Ruthi has throughout this trip been attracting all sorts of biting bugs – flies (big and little), mosquitoes (again small and large), gnats, no see ‘ems, spiders, ants (red, black, small, large, etc.), etc. etc. etc. At one point her calves were so bitten that it looked like a case of poison ivy/oak. Nothing would relieve the incessant itching. We tried histamine, camphor, calamine, cold water, etc. Finally, Ruthi’s sister’s cable guy came up with a cheap easy solution that seemed to finally solve the problem – spray vinegar on the bites. This provided relief for 3-4 hours and Ruthi was able to stick her legs in the shower or do the application outside by spritzing her calves soaking wet. Then she waited a bit for it to dry and she could get back to a sound sleep for a few more hours. Vinegar simple, cheap, and organic!
