Friday morning I left Logan Utah at 5:30 am to drive to North Platte Nebraska. According to Google Maps this drive should take 10 hours and 19 minutes. To be perfectly honest I had never been to Nebraska before and I had only seen the area of Wyoming by Evanston. I went through Logan Canyon to Bear Lake and headed south where I got onto I-80 East. I did have to drive in snow from Logan until I got to about I-80. I traveled on I-80 for over 500 miles. While I was driving I listened to The Last Lecture on CD. I had always wanted to go to Cabela’s headquarters in Sidney Nebraska, so I stopped in and checked it out. I like the Lehi Cabela’s more. I got to my destination in North Platte at 4:30 pm. I stayed at the Knights Inn, it was a dump. The tiles in the bathroom were about to fall off the walls.
I got some rest and on Saturday morning I was ready to test for a Conservation Officer job with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. I headed toward the testing location and my “check engine” light came on. I opened the hood to my car and immediately saw that the coolant level was very low, so I filled it with coolant. Then I went to testing. We were required to have a drivers license with us to check in for testing. Because I turned 25 a few weeks ago I had to renew my license. I showed them my temporary license and they wrinkled their noses at it and asked me for another form of identification. Luckily, I also think temporary licenses are a joke, so I had my passport in my pocket just in case they wanted to see something else. The first portions of the test analysed our reading and language abilities. This portion of the test was extremely easy.
Then we took a lunch break and I was able to meet some really nice guys from Nebraska. Most of the guy that I was talking with are currently police officers in different cities across Nebraska. I got the impression that being a Conservation Officer pays better, has better retirement, and benefits. The second part of the test tested our knowledge of outdoor recreation. I felt that this was my best point going into the test, and afterwards I felt like it is where I struggled the most. I imagine everyone else also struggled through this part. I am really hoping that some of my educational knowledge in animal identification pushed me ahead of the rest of the applicants. The last section of the test was a personality assessment, and some practical reasoning questions. I ended my test at 3:30 pm Eastern Time (2:30 pm Mountain Time Zone).
I put in the Old Man and the Sea on CD and drove west on I-80 and I hit snow just west of Rawlins. The freeway was a graveyard for semi trucks that were pulled off to the side to avoid accidents. One truck was actually flipped on its side. By the time I got to Rock Springs I was going 30 mph on occasion. I turned up toward Kemerer and the snow drifts were blowing really bad and it was hard to drive. I saw three semi trucks, one car, one school bus, and two snow plows between where I turned off I-80 and when I got to Logan Utah. The snow was actually fun to drive in over Logan Canyon. I got home to Logan at 3:40 am on Sunday. It took me 13 hours and 10 minutes. That is three hours longer than Google Maps said it would take. I wish they had the ability to account for weather.
I walked into my house, got attacked my worried wife, and went to bed.
I really enjoyed the trip and I felt that I did very well on the test. I simply hope that the other 200 testers did not do that well so that I can have a chance to interview.
Here are some pictures from the trip taken from the car while driving.
