The Nebraska Gem and Mineral Show and The Clayton Museum

From Ogallala we made a short drive pull to York, Nebraska. The reason for stopping there was that the Nebraska Gem and Mineral show was being held in Omaha. Normally we would try and find a closer park but there was a Nebraska Home football game in Lincoln and we didn’t want to fight the rv parks near the game.

So we made the drive to the rock show and the first booth we stopped at had a lot of beautiful stone. As we left almost everything in Wyoming, we had room for new rocks and we bought some. I was really looking for dinosaur bone and other materials for knife handles as we are adding those and letter openers to our store.

The next day we planned on driving to southern Iowa and so we got the rig ready to travel. Starting the truck, I put it into reverse and the truck started to move before jerking to a halt. Putting the truck into drive also caused a sudden lurch accompanied by a loud noise coming from the transmission. After a tow and followed by lengthy repairs, we now have a new, warrantied, remanufactured transmission.

Deciding to drive around a bit, before getting back on the road, we went to the Clayton Historical Collection housed in York College. It’s a private collection of Byzantine and Roman artifacts from 800 BC to about 300 AD.

Looking for art work we found lots of cool things including a carnelian studded sword sheath, partial piece, and a carnelian engraved ring. The stones were all formed in cabochon, like the shape of the stones we grind today. The ring was used for impressing seals. There were also displays of wax seals, ancient coins, and one case had a Roman trident and a fishhook.

The museum also contained ancient pottery including small oil lamps and a large amphora used for storing oil, wine, and other foods. I would be afraid to purchase any of these things now as you would really have to be on guard for modern forgeries.

So now we are halfway to our Keosauqua, Iowa. After visiting Renita's sister and husband, Pam and Roy, we will continue on to Florida. Our original plans were to go to North Carolina and then Florida but the hurricane has devastated the areas we were planning on visiting.

In fact, my brother’s wife texted us to let us know there was flooding and rescues being conducted in their city. She did say that they were okay and that they still had power. So we are adding extra prayers for our family, friends, and all the good people of the southeast coast. Clear skies.