Ending the day at a local craft brewery near tonightās hotel in Alliance. Not sure how many photos weāll get posted tonightāitās been a long day of exploring the Sandhill region of the state. š·ļø25.08A
Made the pilgrimage to Runza for this Nebraska classic. Hmm. I get why this is a midwestern thing, but I think once was enough. š·ļø25.08A
I had no idea there were cattle phonebooks. š·ļø25.08A
Well, I have clearly been misledā¦ š·ļø25.08A
I hate to be critical, but Nebraska rest areas could really use an upgrade. At least a roll of toilet paper would be helpful. š·ļø25.08A
Three Grand Island airport observations:
- ticketing, security, baggage claim, and rental car booths are all in the same room
- there was an RV parked curbside; it did not move for 20 mins. I didnāt see a driver in the front seat.
- other cars arriving to pick up people literally just parked in travel lanes, blocking all traffic. I had to walk 50 feet to scold one to move so our uber could finally get to us š·ļø25.08A
Itās my first time flying out of Mesa-Gateway airport. OHSO Brewing offered us roadie red solo cups so we could bring beer to our gate, which feels a bit Vegas but is a nice policy.
Iām 100% certain that we are the only tourists on this flight to (checks notes again) Grand Island Nebraska š¤£ 25.08A
Our weekend trip to central Nebraska
Weāre off to Grand Island, Nebraska this afternoon, taking advantage of a cheap flight to tackle a blank space on our county quest map.
Our itinerary, or lack thereof
We donāt have much on our itinerary, and plan to play most of the weekend…by ear š½š (sorry).
That said, the general plan is to head northwest along scenic Hwy 2 through the Sand Hills region up to Carhenge (the only āmust-seeā on our trip), then loop our way south and back towards Grand Island. If we have time, weāll overshoot a bit and do a shorter loop around the Columbus-Norfolk area. We fly home Sunday evening, so we have less than 3 days to explore. Will we travel fast and pack each day as full as we can? Or will we take a more leisurely approach and simply enjoy a relaxing weekend away in cooler temps? No idea!
Weāll likely focus our route on strategically marking off a bunch of unvisited counties, while still seeing anything of interest along our route. Iāve already done large swaths of the historic trails (Oregon, California, Pony Express, et al) that cross the state, but Iām sure weāll make a few related stops. And there are some other attractionsāsuch as the Golden Spike Tower, Great Platte River Road Archway, and some smaller history museumsāthat are on our list.
And by luck, it happens to be opening weekend at the Nebraska State Fair (great domain, btw), which is conveniently located in Grand Island, so we may try to add that on Sunday prior to flying out. Then again, I see that itāll be ā4-H Dayā at the fair, so…maybe not.
To tank, or not to tank?
The only truly āNebraskaā activity weāre considering (besides, perhaps, getting some Runza) is going tanking.
Whatās tanking, you ask? Well, itās akin to tubing down a river in a metal cattle tank. Itās apparently a legit local thing; a whole bunch of river outfitters rent them, and there are even tanking races, too.
Why might we go tanking? Just for the shits and giggles, really. And hey, I love relaxing river trips, and itās been awhile since Iāve paddled my beloved Lower Salt River. Iāve also been contemplating adopting a new quest of paddling on a river in some minimum number of states, so this could add Nebraska to my list.
Iām not sure if the timing will work, or if the weather will cooperate, or if we should be out on the water for so long given my recent health issues (my doc barred me from kayaking for now; but hey, he never said anything about tanking).
Either way, weāve tried to pack in a way that gives us the option of doing some tanking if the opportunity arises. And if it doesnāt happen this trip, Iām pretty sure that weāll be back to do it at some point. These cheap flights to Grand Island might help unlock some future trips to the fly-over states that we wouldnāt have otherwise considered.
A new travel cooler
Speaking of packing, weāre big fans of having a cooler on road trips, so that we always have cold beverages available, even in remote areas or if we break down.
Most of our road trips originate from home, so itās easy to bring a cooler or two. But even when we fly to a distant destination and rent a car, we often snag a cheap cooler from Walmart after we land, then donate it to someone in need or a charity shop on our way back to the airport.
But this trip is a bit unusual for us, as weāre only flying in for a long weekend, which makes the per-day cost of a cooler purchase much less appealing. An added challenge is that, because we bought such a cheap flight on a budget airline, we canāt bring any luggage. Instead, we must fit everything we need into a āpersonal itemā that fits under the seat.
That led us to look for a small packable cooler that could fit in our small backpack. We tried a few different options before settling on one that holds 18 cans and folds down to about 3ā thick, which we can make work. It has a rigid folding bar on each side, which seems like a great feature to help give it some additional stability.
Since we arenāt travel camping on this trip, weāll have access to hotel ice machines each day, so even a poorly insulated cooler like this should work just fine for our needs.
Posts during the trip
I donāt expect to post any of my OTD photo posts for #Blaugust during the trip. But hopefully I can get caught back up on those yet again after we return.
In the meanwhile, I do hope to get at least a few trip photos posted to rsjon.es while weāre traveling. Iāll be the primary driver this weekend, so Jen will likely update her own site more frequently than I do. So if you’re dying to see if we didn’t die tanking, check out her site, too.
Jen & I had our first “date” in Ironwood Forest National Monument, and I helped launch the Friends of Ironwood Forest five years before that. It’s an incredible landscape worthy of permanent federal protection. That’s now under threat: Ironwood Forest National MonumentāArizonaās hidden treasure
Aug 19 OTD for #Blaugust2025: Sheep in Wales, Iceland, Waterwheel, North Cascades
Another belated postāand more Wales, more Iceland, and more domestic adventures.
On Aug 19 2023,
ā¦we wrapped up our time in Wales before heading to the airport to fly home.
On Aug 19 2021,
ā¦we had another fun day in Iceland, visiting some waterfalls, doing some short hikes, and finding ourselves some fun street art.
Wait wait waitā¦
ā¦was that a sheep staring me down back in that first Wales photo? Yep, yes it sure was. Look buddy, Iāve got my eye on you too.
On Aug 19 2018,
ā¦my friend Jessica and I had camped in Coconino National Forest, then hit the Waterwheel recreation area on Houston Mesa.
On Aug 19 2017,
ā¦we spent the day at the North Cascades Parks Complex (which is includes the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, which most people mistake for North Cascades itself).
Aug 18 OTD for #Blaugust2025: Iceland, Wales, water in the desert, Isle Royale
Iām posting a bit out of order again today, as Iād like to highlight this day in Iceland. I had to leave out a number of other years, tooāAugust is quite the busy travel month.
On Aug 18 2021,
ā¦we had an excellent day in Iceland. What an amazing place. I included some roadway shots, because even those are scenic as hell.
On Aug 18 2023,
ā¦we had a great day in Wales, too. More great scenery!
On Aug 18 2018,
ā¦my friend Carrie and I paddled around Bartlett Lake, in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Scottsdale. Stands of saguaro near water is a special thing.
On Aug 18 2018,
ā¦I spent the day up at Fossil Creekāanother gem in the desertāwith my old twitter friend Jessica. We made a weekend out of it, camping that night up on the Mogollon Rim, with a great sunset.
On Aug 18 2012,
ā¦I was apparently in Isle Royale National Park. Weāre looking to return in 2026 to celebrate our friend Kristaās completion of her 63 National Parks quest.
Aug 17 OTD for #Blaugust2025: Conwy, Myvatn, andā¦Cabinetlandia?
Iām a few days behind on my OTD posts, hereās one fro Aug 17th.
On Aug 17 2023,
ā¦we spent the day in Wales, among other sites, visiting the castle at Conwy and the town with the longest place name in the world.
On Feb 17 2021,
ā¦we visited the Myvatn geothermal region, and finally did the Icelandic hot spring thing.
Who needs a shower?
On Aug 17 2019,
ā¦I visited Cabinetlandia!
Look, Iām not sure how to describe it, but itās worth checking out the much longer blog post I later wrote about it. Itās an intriguing story. Anyway, hereāsthe video tour I recorded without knowing any of the background, which somehow holds up pretty well:
On Aug 17 2014,
ā¦I visited Uncle Bearās Brewing in Ahwatukee with my friend Jenny as our 10th in pursuit of our #PHXBrewQuest. Funny enough, this would be where Iād meet Jen (my wife, not my friend Jenny) the following year. So even though the beer wasnāt great, itāll always hold an important place in my life.
On Aug 17 2010,
ā¦I apparently drove part of the Pacific Coast Highway and stopped at the Monterrey Aquarium. These must be among the earliest photos in my current iPhoto Library.
Aug 16 OTD for #Blaugust2025: Icelandic waterfalls, Isle of Man, Agua Fria ruins
Catching up on my OTD posts, highlighting Iceland again here.
On Aug 16 2021,
ā¦we had yet another amazing day Iceland, highlighted by our visit to the incredibly impressive Dettifoss.
On Aug 16 2023,
ā¦we spent the day exploring the Isle of Man before heading back to Scotland.
On Aug 16 2015,
ā¦I made a trek up to Agua Fria National Monument to check out a pueblo ruin I hadnāt been to ages. In a longstanding tradition, I apparently rode a gila monster in Carefree on the drive home.
I wrote a quick bit about Asshole Scott for #Blaugust2025.
If you’re not already a member, Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) is having a 53% off sale on their premium membership right now (just $23/yr; use the code HAPPY10THBDAY). We’ve been members for many years.
In spite of some fun destinations and photos, I didn’t get around to any OTD posts for #Blaugust this weekend. I probably won’t get one posted for today eitherāat least before bed tonight. I’ll see if I can catch up over the next few days. It’s been a fun way to relive previous trips.
Creating a rental car kit
When we fly and rent a car, we bring along what we call a ārental car kit.ā Itās a premade ziplock bag of the stuff we want to use in our rental car. We keep it easily accessible so that itās quick and easy to get everything all set and pull away without any fuss.
Hereās what it includes:
- Mag-safe vent phone holder (one for each of us; we bring two different styles so that itās likely at least one works for the driver, though CarPlay is making this less important than in the past)
- Phone charging cords (again, one for each of us)
- 12V charger - we use a high wattage one with three portsātwo USB-C and one USB-Aāso that we can fast-charge our phones, but also charge our laptops if necessary. If we expect to charge a lot of things while driving, we bring a second one and extra cords, too.
- Charging cords
- USB-C cord, for charging laptops or other items
- USB-C to USB-A adaptor, so we can charge using the USB-A port on the charger when appropriate, or use Apple CarPlay if you have to plug-in
- USB-C to USB-micro adaptor, so we can charge using the USB-A port on the charger when appropriate
- Sanitizing wipes - itās nice to have a few of these to wipe down any gross spots the rental company missed.
- Lens cleaner wipes - useful to clean the inside of the window if necessary; if not, theyāre conveniently accessible for cleaning my glasses, which I often do when I shift between regular glasses and sunglasses.
- Hand sanitizer - I only add this to the kit if I’m checking luggage; otherwise, it lives in the ziplock with my other “liquids.” But we always have one of these handy for road trips, so I’m including it here.
It seems like a simple thing, but itās stupid how much easier this makes things when youāre renting a car. We intentionally put this in an easy-to-access spot in our luggage so we donāt have to rummage around when weāre in the airport parking garage.
A few other rental car tips:
- Check your insurance and credit cards for what coverage they provide for rental cars. For instance, our (basic) Chase Sapphire card covers basically everything you need liability-wise, as does our normal auto insurance (State Farm). But if youāre overseas? Hmm, we often pay the LDW premium to avoid any hassles, especially if itās a tough place to drive (eg, a small island nation where the roads are shit).
- Take a video while inspecting the vehicle for damage before you pull away. You can supplement with photos, but make sure you zoom in on problem areas either way. Thereās nothing worse than having to fight damage claims on a rental car.
- Adjust the seats and mirrors before you leave the parking space. Dial it in before you touch the gear shifter. Seriously, it seems like every other rental car is doing stupid stuff just 200 yards after leaving because the driver canāt see or is adjusting the seat or whatever.
- Choose your next destination and get that GPS map running before you pull out. Look, airports can be confusing and itās better to have clear directions before you start moving.
- And yeah, thereās a little marker near the fuel level gauge indicating which side the gas tank is on. Take a glance before you pull up to the pump.
- Speaking of fuel, donāt prepayāyouāll always overpay. The only reason to do is if you are absolutely, 100% hopelessly awful at refilling before you go to the airport and youāve consistently proven this fact. But thatās only like 6 people in the country, so youāre very very likely not one of those people. Thereās always a gas station not too far from the airport.
- If youāre in an area that has toll roads, make sure you have a fast pass of the appropriate type. Itās just so much easier, especially in traffic.
- Keep your rental agreement in the glove box, so you can easily find it in case of an accident or getting pulled over. Or, more likely, to remember which damn company you rented from when youāre navigating to the right lot when returning the vehicle.
- Donāt get rushed in the check-out process when you drop off the vehicle. Take plenty of time to check for all your stuff before leaving.
- If you have a specific vehicle preference, smile big and ask for it as soon as you arrive to check-in. They’ll often accommodate a request if they haven’t already started working on your check-in, or at least give you specific available options to choose from instead of just randomly picking something for you.
I wrote a bit about how I abandoned minimalism to reduce friction though duplicative purchases. I’m just far more interested, these days, in better enabling activities I want to do than focusing on how much stuff I own. #blaugust2025 #blaugust #blogging
Aug 15 OTD for #Blaugust2025: Iceland, Paleozoic Trackways, and Spaghetti Monsters
Iām misordering these posts again today to better highlight our Iceland memories. Man, itās been fun looking through all of these photos.
On Aug 15 2021,
ā¦we were campervanning around Iceland, checking out some great waterfalls, geological features, and even an iceberg-filled glacial lake.
On Aug 15 2023,
ā¦we ventured to Dunbar, Scotland to pay homage to John Muir and his hometown, then explored the New Lanark World Heritage Site.
On Aug 15 2020,
ā¦we were camping near Big Lake in Arizona. Funny enough, a friend I met on a group paddling trip down the Green River in Canyonlands National Park at least a decade earlier took up the adjacent campsiteāhe goes by the nickname āWu.ā I jokingly obscured my face a bit and walked up saying that I had gotten a call from our mutual friend Russ saying he owed us a bottle of whiskey. A bit frazzled, it took him a moment to figure out what was happening, and we subsequently spent the evening hanging out around the campfire together.
On Aug 15 2019,
ā¦I made a trip out to Las Cruces, stopping at the Lordsburg playa along the way. In Cruces, I visited the museum to see the Paleozoic Trackways exhibit, then hiked in the (oddly named) Prehistoric Trackways National Monument.
On Aug 15, 2015,
ā¦I attended the 100th birthday party for my great aunt, Delmaāthe inspiration for our ASU Football fandom. She had just been honored as the Arizona Cardinalsā āoldest fan.ā
On Aug 15 2014,
I became an official ordained minister for the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. No, seriously. Unfortunately, I only perform weddings while on vacation at amazing destinations. So, um, keep me in mind.
On Aug 15 2013
ā¦I tried as I might to get a good selfie with my dog, Sipapuābut he would not be denied in making it extra weird. It was my last night before I moved to an apartment and couldnāt easily bring him along. My mom had just lost her dog, so she was going to care for him for a year as a transition, and could provide a better home as I was often traveling for both work and fun. Unfortunately, he suddenly passed away the following St Patricks Day. :(
Jen is starting to narrow in on the finish line of her National Park units quest. She only has ~50 remaining (the white pins on this map), which are strategically grouped into convenient batches. We have trips booked in the next 60 days to tackle the units circled in blue, with group trips in 2026 that hit the units in yellow. Even with the other travel we’re looking at, she’s on track to finish in 2027 if she wants to. There are currently only 8 of us who have visited all 433 park units.
