Sweden Is Coming, Sweden Is Coming

Friends from Sweden came into town this week. Mostly they came to Omaha to see the well touristed interstate I-80, a legend in it's own time. Omaha has become the number one tourist destination for the Swedish people. Oh, and they are good friends with my wife but I do not think that had much to do with it.
So, my wife is stuck in the corporate world and working during the week while I have taken the road of self employment. This means that I was able to play the role of tour guide this week which ties in neatly to this blog. So where does one take a newly arrived Swede in Nebraska? Why, the General Crook House of course. "The What?..In where?" you might say. Or that is what I said before I did a little research and found out a little about our friend General Crook.

The General Crook House is a restored home on the Metro Campus in North Omaha. General Crook himself, went to the United States Military Academy where he graduated near the bottom of his class. He is the lowest ranked graduate ever, to rise to the rank of general. To me this says A: He did not fit in the academic structure and could only really fulfill his potential when applied to the realities of field command. or B: Slacker/First Hippie ever.
Once he graduated he served in Oregon and California fighting Native American tribes and started to gain a reputation as a "great Indian fighter"
He served under Ulysses S Grant in the civil war in West Virginia, where for several years in a row he won the prestigious "Most Crazy beard in The Union Award", and that is really saying something considering the beard growth at the time.

After the war he was sent to the Arizona territory to fight the Sioux, and then to Omaha in 1875 where he spoke out for Native American rights specifically for the Ponca tribe. He gained a reputation among the Native Americans as always keeping his word which was an easy reputation for him to dominate, as he was the only one to do so. He later went on to fight the Apaches in Arizona but ended up spending the rest of his days speaking out against the unjust treatment of the people he had been fighting against his whole life.
An interesting man and I am glad he had a cool house built right here in Omaha. Some fast facts: He did not like to wear his full uniform and the only time he was said to have put the whole thing on was at his funeral. He loved moccasins and wore them a lot because they were comfortable.
But onto the house. A photo of a Swede always makes an image look better.

The house itself was very nice as one might imagine. It is unusual to think of the wild frontier outside and this fancy house on the inside. Something that I found very stylish that I am thinking of putting in my own home? The Buffalo horn chair.

Nothing screams "COOL" more than a chair made out of buffalo horns. There was also a buffalo horn table and I think given time a man could make a buffalo horn candle obera, and a buffalo horn bath tub, although I will admit that water retention a pointy horns on naked skin could be the downfall of that latter.
There must have been a lot of "hanging out" back in the day, hanging out in full formal clothes. There was a reading room with some chair not made out of horns.

There was also a very pleasant garden outside.

I will conclude that the General Crook House was well worth the effort and a good chance to see a well restored home from 1875. A pleasant garden and an interesting man, just be sure to take someone from Sweden with you.

Peru Video

O.K. back to our semi-regular feature of videos from South America. After much gasping and praying to God we reach the top of the highest part of the Inca trail called "Dead woman's Pass" How high? oh, just about 13,500 feet. Not unlike the first time you fall in love or 2000 presidential election: it took my breath away.


All of the porters on the Inca trail chewed Coca leaves. The history of coca chewing dates back at least to the sixth century. Coca leaves have been used in ceremonies, as offerings to the Gods and has practical applications as well. What are those? First they are full of vitamins and protein, they alleviate hunger, and give a boost to energy, not unlike a cup of coffee would. Coca can also help relive altitude sickness, it was used as an anaesthetic for operations during Inca times and when chewed long enough starts to numb the mouth exactly like Novocaine. Everyone knows about the history of Coca-Cola and Cocaine BUT did you know that Coke still imports tons of coca leaves to use as "a taste enhancer" in their peppy little soda.
Cocaine is NOT coca, the process to make cocaine is long and involved. Cocaine has only been around since 1860 when Albert Niemann made some in his lab. After discovering cocaine, later that night he painted his house, did some push-ups, and bought a Lamborghini. Cocaine is, crystalline tropane alkaloid. Cocaine sulfate is produced by macerating coca leaves along with water that has been acidulated with sulfuric acid, or an aromatic-based solvent, like kerosene or benzene. This is often accomplished by placing the ingredients into a vat and stomping on it, in a manner similar to the traditional method for crushing grapes.
I only point all of this out to make the distinction between how the natives use coca leaves and how coca is perceived in the U.S. The er ratification policy forced on Bolivia is seen as a personal attack by the natives by people who do not understand/care about their culture. I do not this destroying the coca crops is the answer, I think the question we must answer is why does the U.S.A. use so much cocaine in the first place and how can we cut down on demand. The U.S. accounts for 50% of ALL cocaine consumption worldwide.
WOW, I really started to rant about that coca leaf thing, must have had too much coffee. Anyhoo, the real question is how do the coca leaves taste? I think my wife can answer that question.


So, after the Inca trail we took a train down to Puno. On the train as we slept a group of Peruvians snuck in. Very quietly they moved through the train and came to a stop next to where we were seated and then.........



And then they wanted a tip, instead I gave them a demand "Give me back my hearing!"
Now a view from the train of a typical Peruvian town

And I will end up with a parade that was going on out side, kids parading around town very cute.


Tune in next time for a trip around Omaha

Colorado, That place with big hills

Over the labor day weekend me and the wife took a trip out to Fort Collins Colorado, but first we had to get there. This entails a drive across the great state of Nebraska. Nebraska, "The Good Life" being the state motto should of course be changed to Nebraska, "Wow, I-80 sure is a long road to drive on through this state with not a whole lot to look at, Oh and the good life" I realize that the cost of making the signs bigger would break the budget, but since when has that stopped this state.

Me and the wife have friends in Colorado so we have made the trek several times but this time we found a way to make the trip fairly easy. We stopped half way. Yes, taking the night to sleep is a good idea on a trip though the grass lands. We ended up staying in North Platte and I have to give a thumbs up to the place we stayed at, Americas Best Value Inn was a friendly, clean place to stay on the cheap, about 45 bucks. I really like the name too, it gives me faith that all of those sushi places have not named their restaurant incorrectly but this is some sort of world wide advertising idea the places value on just throwing out a jumble of happy words at you. An example being I have seen sushi places called "Happy Number One Sushi", and "Sushi Number One Enjoy", and my favorite "Go Happy Number One Sushi" and yes, they ALL seem to be number one which begs the question "How sad it is to be Number Two Sushi?" OR they might be called "Very Sorry Unhappy Number Two Sushi"

Anyway, major sidebars aside, Americas Best Value "Happy Number One" Inn, may be just that so if you are rolling by North Platte give it a shot.

My other shout out to a place that surprise me on the way is Sterling, Colorado with a historic downtown and pleasant Northeastern Junior College campus we stopped by for breakfast at the J&L Cafe. We try to stop at local places as we go. It is the whole "avoid big chains and try to support local biz thing" This kind of philosophy can be trick as the quality of local places can vary wildly but that day we hit the jackpot. A small town feel with great service and non-greasy food (crazy but true.) I wish there was a place like this very close to me, like right outside my house. I also must say I am a sucker for any place that has a chef chasing a cow, pig AND a LOBSTER around with a cleaver. How Awesome is that, and that cow looks a little tired, tired enough to be dinner, HA.

So, back in the car and to Greeley Colorado our first stop before Fort Collins. Greeley is a nice town with a good downtown too, but the best thing and this gos for most of Colorado I would say, is the beer selection. I am a beer snob from way back, the smaller the micro brew, the more idiosyncratic the label, or the more pricey the beer the bigger sucker I am. Colorado is a heaven for this kind is indulgence. Sure they have bush, and old style but they put them in a corner where they are regularly beaten with sticks and made to clean the bathrooms. No, the real word of the day is "micro" in all of it's glory. New Belgium, Odell, Fort Collins Brewing, Big Horn Brewing, and so many more that Colorado is ranked third in the county for number of breweries, and brewpubs. Not only that but the selection of imported Belgian Ales is amazing, I love those ales, they are wonderful, they are great. I know this is not good writing but I am trying to make a point about the yummieness factor of Belgian ales. So, we bought some beer while in Colorado. The down side of beer is that sometimes it will make you do things like.....

In all fairness this friend of mine was NOT drunk or even drinking when he preformed the "Corn Dance" so it is up to you to decide if that is worse or not.

After a fun night in Greeley we headed up to Fort Collins, or the fifth most populous city in Colorado, that is their city tag line Fort Collins "The Fifth Most Populous City in Colorado, and the Good Life Also" it is a little belabored but at least factual.

In light of our recent South America trip, Fort Collins small 5000 feet was nothing although still enough to set off my ear non-popping issue that I brought back with me (thanks a lot for that South America!) Fort Collins turned out to be a great town with yet another cool downtown/old town area, beer, and trees all over the place. So, go there already and visit those big hills to the west I hear they are nice too. Next week Peru Videos.

I got to wear some big sunglasses too.

Back in the U.S.

We are back!

Most people already know we are back but I thought I would blog it anyway. Back in Nebraska and while I love traveling there are a few things that I like about being back. 1. Traffic lights. Oh how I have not appreciated you for so long. Yes, part of the adventure of going to Peru and Bolivia is simply crossing the road but a person can grow tired of such advent re. Having a place to cross and being secure that no one will ignore the red light is something we should all appreciate.
2. Roads. I love roads, mostly paved ones, that do not have pot holes in them the size of Texas. 3.Bathrooms. I neglected to take a photo of a bathroom back here in the states but just go to ANY of them some time today and realize it is wonderful. I could live with the hole in the ground toilet that was provided throughout Bolivia but I came to hate the toilet, minus the seat. Why, What kind of leg muscles is a person suppose to have to use one of these things?4. My cat. I have, over the last few years slowly become a cat person. I thought I was a dog person but my cat has become the best pet EVER. I am not ashamed to say I missed my cat and was glad to see it when I got back

One of the top things that annoyed me when I got back

MY CAT! how she loves to claw everything and sit on anything I happen to be reading. ah the love/hate relationship. Bad kitty

Some of the many things that we both miss from the trip are: Everything. We would still be traveling if we could. It is great to touch home base but the thrill of traveling is wonderful. New places and things to see every day. Having a meal is an adventure and the next thing you experience has a one in three chance of being the coolest thing you have seen in your whole life. All that being said I have another thing that we seem to only have in Nebraska. It is a main feature of the state that no matter where I go I have not seen anywhere else in the world: The Weather.
Sure there are places in the world that get colder and places that get hotter, or more rain or more snow, BUT could all that happen in one month anywhere BUT Nebraska I think not. I personally give Nebraska the strangest weather award. To give evidence I show this photo.

There was a huge lightning storm, it rained all day, then in the evening the sky turned orange (why not). It may sound strange but I really do not thing anyone gets as varied weather as we do right here. Now I'm going home to wait for the hot lava tornado

O.K. There is one last thing that is just great about being back and that is the heat. Boy how I love the heat. 105 degrees out side. No problem just get out and try to keep cool and here is the best way to keep cool in heat like that.

Get yourself a damn slip'n'slid.

Well, that is it, next week we will have more videos from Peru and a home brewed travel log. We went all the way to Colorado over labor day weekend, I even got to go to the hospital, be sure to click back in.