Willa Cather made the trek out west from the rolling hills of Virginia to the flat plains of Nebraska at the young age of nine, and then lived here until she left for college. It was quite an experience for her and she is famous for her portrayals of the American landscape and its effect on the people.
There is a whole lot of this:
And this:
Today was considerably colder than yesterday (it's been sleeting and snowing) and it's overcast, which gives the landscape an interesting feel. One thing we can now say for sure - we've seen Nebraska! We drove through most of the state yesterday on our way to Council Bluffs/Omaha, then drove back through a good part of it today to get to Red Cloud. Right now we are only about 30 miles from Kansas.
That's a whole lot of flat land.
Today we visited the Willa Cather Foundation and some historical sites that she featured in her works. We are actually staying in her childhood home (which is now a B&B)! It was her second home in Red Cloud and she came back in the summers throughout her adulthood to visit the area and her parents.
Let me tell you, people. It's a very cool experience and also...there is like, nothing in this town. We just ordered a pizza from the gas station for dinner. Because it was our only option. There may or may not be some donettes for dessert.
But that's OK because we have a tour scheduled for tomorrow. We'll get to see the very first house the Cathers lived in when they moved to Nebraska, and also some of Willa's letters and personal items. I'm most excited about seeing her girlhood room, which she describes in Song of the Lark.
Tonight, I see some snoozing in my future while it snows outside.
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