I had planned on Day 5 being a day of just wandering and photographing my hometown of Hastings, Nebraska, starting with in-depth coverage of downtown. But I found the pull of my elementary school to be quite powerful, so I started there instead…

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I had intended to get more than two pictures of the old school, but it was bitterly cold and windy, so I decided to stay in the car and warm up a bit. I drove all over town for awhile, checking out my old haunts. I drove through my old neighborhood, which seemed much smaller than I remembered. I confirmed that the cornfield and the dump I used to play in are still there. I did not check to see if the sewer pipes I played in are still there. Eventually, I headed out of town to another of my old haunts: Crystal Lake State Recreation Area. Not surprisingly, it was even windier out there, but I got out and took some pictures there, anyway (just not at the lake itself):

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By the way, the rental car I got this time is probably the coolest rental I’ve ever had. It’s definitely the most unusual color of any rental I’ve had. I don’t think I’ve seen this color on a car since I sold my 1977 Chrysler Newport:

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At this point, it was getting close to lunch time, so I headed back into town. I went downtown to a Mexican restaurant that I believe was called Dos Hermanos when I was last here. It’s now called La Casa, and it ain’t what it used to be. I had an enchilada platter that was OK, but not memorable. The waitress didn’t speak English, and even once they gave me someone who did speak English…well, let’s just say communication in general was not her strong suit.

After having been across the street from a place called NARDS earlier on this trip, I figured it only made sense to go to a place called NAD. A lot of people these days will tell you the coolest thing about Hastings history is that Kool-Aid was invented here. It isn’t. The coolest thing about Hastings history is NAD. Read about it in the next two photos, then eyeball what’s left of it in the photos that follow:

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OK, so the dead munitions factory buildings are pretty cool, but the most well-known feature of NAD is the bunkers. The bunkers where the munitions were stored are concrete covered with soil. I don’t know the official reason for this, but I believe it to be one or more of the following:

• Covering the bunkers with earth would help to contain any accidental explosions.
• If any enemy bombers were to make it this far inland, they would think the bunkers were just hills, not military targets.
• Covering the bunkers with earth would keep them cool inside, reducing the risk of accidental explosions.
• They are not actually bunkers, but pimples on the Earth’s ass.

Here’s what the fabled bunkers look like:

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Now it was nearing the end of daylight, so I headed back downtown to photograph a few of my favorite buildings there…

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Finally, I headed to Heartwell Park. As a lad, I rode my bike to this park fairly often. It was a purple, Montgomery-Ward-branded bike, which I named George. Nothing to do with George Carlin; I named my bike when I was seven years old, and didn’t become a Carlin fan until a few years later (after getting into an argument with my Rice Krispies). They’ve really pepped this park up during the last 30 years. Here’s what it looks like today (with a little history to start you off):

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With the sun setting violently in the west, I left my hometown, very possibly for the last time ever.