I was midway through a 10,000 mi motorcycle trip on the homebound half. I came down through the Badlands into western Nebraska and was going east on US-20. I won't kid you...there were lots of places..tidy and neat with manicured lawns and vacancy signs...through Valentine and Johnstown...they have a sign up..."you are now in the Middle of Nowhere".

But it was somewhere. ...Bassett, Nebraska, that I stopped. It was a clean well run motel owned and operated by a hard working lady who was proud of her place. Maybe it was just me, but I just slipped into a sense of being welcome..not just another ca-ching on the cash register.

She sent me into town to the sweetest hometown cafe where I sat for dinner watching the local folks come and go and get in touch with their neighbors.

Believe me...it's nothing fancy, but I sure slept well that night.