Deer Creek Valley RV Park – Topeka, Kansas

August 31 

Today started out sunny and nice enough, but it was very windy. Early on we drove through a huge bunch of bugs that just spattered the window and then a huge grasshopper made about an 8" splat right in front of the driver's side of the window. Shortly after that it started to rain and then pour. The rain started just before the border sign into Kansas, so I borrowed one from the internet again. Shortly after, it cleared up and was sunny again. Timing is everything....

just picture trees in the background of where our sign was

It was a short drive today and it is hot and nice out, which is a welcome change from mornings in the 40’s. Nice to be heading south.

There is a BBQ place called Lonnie Q's BBQ that is the top rated one in Topeka, but it has very limited hours. Our only shot was to go tonight for dinner. Monday to Friday he is open from 11:00 to 1:00 and on Friday he opens for dinner at 5:30 to 7:30. Reviews said to get their early because of the long lines and when he runs out of food he runs out.

So, we went about 5:15 to find quite a line waiting for him to open. Lonnie stands at the door and greets everyone that comes in. Once inside we waited in line a bit over 30 minutes. It was worth the wait for sure. We ordered a lot of food figuring we could take some home. We ordered a full rack of Baby Back Ribs and his creation called the Cup of Heaven which has beans and Cheesy Taters topped with brisket, pork and turkey. They were the tenderest meatiest ribs we have ever had. All the meats had a just right smoked flavor. YUM! We have plenty for at least one more meal. Just after us, they ran out of ribs, but announced they had plenty of everything else. 

 Lonnie Q's BBQ - see the line out the door

 their van says "we smoke it and it's legal"

 Cup of Heaven - cheesy taters, beans, smoked turkey, brisket & pork

 half of the rack of ribs - we took the other half home

 We had 2 huge portions of cheesy taters

After all that food we went for a waddle around the park and the local area. The park has cement spaces which is a plus over the gravel ones we have had lately. The coach leveled with no issues and we have satellite and good water pressure. Whoo Hoo! 

 the office of the park

 pool area

 around the park - it's a medium sized park

 our spot

 yikes, I thought Kansas was flat?

milkweed plant

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5whfzdmnCdJZJpkh6

Tomorrow, we are off to explore the Capitol building and maybe a museum or two.

Branched Oak State Recreation Area & Lincoln Saline Wetlands Nature Center - Lincoln, Nebraska

August 30

Today, wasn’t as pretty as predicted. It was overcast, windy and cool. It warmed up a bit later in the day, but still windy. 

Our first stop was at Branched Oak Recreation Area. While it was a nice State park for boating, camping and other activities, the hiking trails weren't all that great. We did see a few birds, but nothing new. Most were quite elusive so this post won't have a lot of photos. We saw some Baltimore Orioles, lots of Robins, Blue Jays, Finches, Cardinals, Goldfinches and Sparrows. 

 Canada Geese

 there were 6 female turkeys and 5 ran off right away

 this one was too busy preening to notice it was left behind, when it did it half flew/half ran after the others

 Branched Oak Lake

 Northern Flicker

 Northern Flicker

 Baltimore Oriole

probably a Chipping Sparrow

From there we drove into Lincoln and had lunch at Cowboy Chicken, a fast food rotisserie style chicken place that was good, but not out of the world.

Our other birding spot was in Lincoln at a Wetlands Nature Center that was behind a neighborhood. It was a nice pathway around the various ponds. There were tons of frogs that screamed as they jumped into the water when we approached. We saw a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron. A few Mallards flew off as we arrived. We saw a pair of Grebes with a young one and some Ducks that we think were probably Blue-winged Teal. 

 the wetlands

 Green Heron

 Lincoln Air National Guard base is near by

 Blue-winged Teal - females

 Pied-billed Grebe

 Goldfinch

 Goldfinch

 pair of House Finches

 Goldfinch - female

House Finch

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JJm3CrKFaFY1Uyxt8

We leave tomorrow for Topeka, Kansas for 5 nights.

Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum - Ashland, Nebraska

August 29

We spent the day at The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum. It was very interesting and well done. We grabbed a quick bite in their café for lunch and resumed touring. Only complaint was that it was freezing in there. The room with the films was even colder.

There were a lot of personal stories of pilots and more. They had good descriptions of the aircraft and their role in the military and the wars in which they were used.

They had 2 of the biggest Bombers; the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Convair B-36 "Peacemaker”.

 T-39

 Atlas, Thor & Blue Scout

 Blue Scout

 Thor

 Snark

B-1 Lancer

 AQM-34L Firebee

AQM-34L Firebee

We went back to the coach and showered before heading out for dinner at Round The Bend.

 Round the Bend Steakhouse

testicle 

The restaurant was highly rated for having great steaks and they delivered. They are also known for their testicles. They have an annual testicle festival in the "Ball" Room. For those that don't want to order a whole basket of them, the have a "buck a nut" deal. We ordered one since we had never tried them before. We thought they tasted like breaded and fried veal. They were quite good. We could have ordered a basket full they were that good.

 Round the Bend Restaurant

testicle

Rocky Mountain Oysters are also known as prairie oysters, Montana tendergroins, cowboy caviar, swinging beef, and calf fries and are true Western delicacies. They are that part of the bull that is removed in his youth so that he may thereby be more tractable, grow meatier, and behave less masculine.  When the calves are branded, the testicles are cut off and thrown in a bucket of water.  They are then peeled, washed, rolled in flour and pepper, and fried in a pan. Calf testicles are the size of a walnut and are much more tender than the larger bull testicles.

It was one of the best ribeye steaks we have had in a long time and the hash browns were also quite good. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RvPLs1ZgzqXTVmYUA 

Tomorrow, is supposed to be a few degrees warmer than today and we have a few birding areas to check out.