Goodbye, Fred… Hello, Tigers.

We sent Fred packing this morning, like John Wesley Powell bidding some of his crew adieu as they left to try and scale their way out of the canyon. Minus the canyon. Plus an airplane.

We then courageously carried on westward, collecting various and sundry insects on the windshield and wondering how our dear friend would subsist on mere peanuts and pretzels for his long journey East.

He missed a real smorgasbord in Crete.

Yes, as we arrived at Doane College and began to set up on the stage in their Student Center, the students began to set up a table of “make your own trailmix.” They had it all… gummy bears and chocolate covered raisins, white chocolate chips and Skittles, mini marshmallows and M&M’s. Everything we had requested on our rider.

Midway through our set, their Activities Board presented us with a certificate as “honorary Members,” and before we left, we were able to buy some chicken tenders and milk on their tab.

The real treat was having a half an hour or so to relax on campus before we started playing. Doane has a great vibe, lots of big old trees, ponds, and green, green grass that is starkly different from the wild prairie you see from the interstate en route there. Great way to settle the brain after a bunch of highway miles, before picking up the guitars.

They had booked us a hotel for the night in Crete, too, but we decided to press on for the last 7 hours of the tour, driving into the sunset. And so here we are in the van, crossing Nebraska under cover of darkness, the Colorado border a few hours away. Catch y’all on the next run.