Road 50, the End of the Grassland

It will be one week tomorrow that we will have left Chicago wth our beautifully decorated van from https://www.escapecampervans.com/

One week already that we drive through the plain, one week that we sleep in our van, pretending that we are still 20. Our backs have learned to recognize every crack between the lay-down seats that form our bed for the night. To cover the deep valleys between the cushions, we have bought a rug that smoothens the edges. We thought about a sleeping mat, but the heights would have reduced the distance to the roof by too big an amount for us to feel comfortable.

We have been driving endlessly on straight roads, crisscrossing the plains. We have met very few people, as if, due to the heat of the weather they would have all disappeared from the earth's surface, working inside, playing inside. Although most of the fields are cultivated, we saw with one or two exceptions only tractors and machines waiting for their master to come back to drive them.

We stopped at a fantastic Mennonite museum in Goessel, well worth the visit https://www.goesselmuseum.com, although not on the main road.

We were welcomed by a lady who told us a lot about her family and their trip from Ukraine to the US at the end of the 19th century. They were of German origin and cultivated the land in Ukraine, not far from Nikopol, a city I know well. They left due to the religious persecution they were the victims of. It must have been a very long trip, from there, most probably via today’s Poland to the US. Quite amazing to see her showing us the pictures of her grandparents she lived with that were the direct descendants of the ones who left Ukraine.

The museum is very nicely organized and contains tons of souvenirs from the time and Mennonite houses that give a good idea of what life must have been at the time. A great stop on the road to break the monotony of the driving experience.

Thanks to her, we went to visit the Maxwell reserve https://www.maxwellwildliferefuge.com/.

The reason we went there was to see bison. We drove through the reserve and did not see any animals. On the way back, we stopped at the information center and they showed us bison on the hills that were supposed to cross the road soon. A few minutes later we were driving through a herd.

Just amazing.

Stay tuned for the next adventure.