Kearney, Nebraska - Day 1 (August 13)

Rob started us on our tour of Kearney at the Museum of Nebraska Art. We enjoyed the display of artwork created from "found" objects and marveled at how the creative mind works.

The museum was featuring a new exhibit showcasing 8 mosaic rugs made by Jean Theissen during the Arts and Crafts Period of the early 1900's. These rugs were made by rolling pieces of felt and positioning them on edge to create a design. Two examples are pictured below.

MONA included a small sculpture garden; I sat down next to one of the other patrons, but he wasn't really into conversation.

After the museum trip, Rob and Dianna took us to Mac's Creek winery, where we tasted a half-dozen wines and ultimately purchased another half case. The wines were made from Lacrosse, St. Croix, Edelweiss, and other hybrids we hadn't tasted before.

And the highlight of the day was a private tour of
Rob arranged with Marty Bredthauer, the owner of the ranch to take us out into the middle of the herd in his pickup truck. It was really great to see the bison up close and personal. He told us all about bison and their meat. Check out his web site. We're also working on a guest post on bison to submit to Jesse's food blog, Corduroy Orange. Go check it out.

And, finally, we finished the day with dinner at Rob and Dianna's favorite restaurant in Cozad, NE. No restaurant pictures, but this is the town (almost all of it) at dusk.

We didn't visit this place but were tempted to because of its name. Click on the picture to expand it if you can't read it. We we both really impressed that Red Sox Nation has spread this far west.

These are grain elevators. Ones like this, or even larger, are next to the railroad tracks in every town.