Nebraska Synod ELCA

by Morgan Tranmer

For the past few years, my family and I have spent our summer months traveling throughout Nebraska collecting passport stamps with the Nebraska Passport program. The Nebraska Passport creates a list of 70 stops across the state at various parks, museums, restaurants, boutiques, and more. What started as a last minute addition during a week away at Chadron State Park quickly turned into a love for strategizing our routes, hours of family road-tripping while listening to Yacht Rock and 80’s music, and meeting hundreds of our Nebraska neighbors. Since our first stop at the Bean Broker Coffee House in Chadron, we have enjoyed Tin-Roof Sundaes in Potter, checked out dinosaur bones at Ashfall Fossil Beds, had British High Tea in Hastings, visited a windmill factory in Nebraska City, and stepped back in time at Willa Cather’s childhood home in Red Cloud. And that is just to name a few! Our family has visited over 350 Nebraska Passport sites and each season brings new discoveries, stories, and family favorites. 

Our first year doing the Nebraska Passport program was a bit ‘haphazard’. We tried out a few of the stops on a whim and later decided to visit all 70 sites before the deadline. We had only a couple of months and had to quickly organize our driving routes, hotel stays, schedules. Our goal was visiting every stop, but in doing so we were also rushing through the sites. We couldn’t always visit during opening hours, or we would skip walking through something in an effort to stay on schedule. While we did visit every site, it wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as it could have been and some days were just a lot of driving in the summer heat. 

We learned a lot in our first year doing the Nebraska Passport Program, and our biggest lesson was to slow down and enjoy the journey. Nowadays, we plan our routes in advance and build in extra time for walking around, visiting with locals, learning more about the community, and maybe even hunting down a geocache or two while we are in town. We make an effort to visit the passport sites while they are open, and head inside to check it out. We visit, we wander, and we try new things. 

In making this adjustment in our mindset to be slow and intentional, we truly enjoy this state-wide journey. It isn’t just driving and stamps, but also connections and learning and exploration. More and more, I am reminded of the value in slowing down. Putting aside rigid schedules and outside noise, It is in this slow space where I am able to build connections with others, sit in reflection, or wonder. In this slow space, I am a better daughter, a better friend, a better community member, and a better disciple. 

Maybe you are sensing a call to slow down. Maybe you are feeling confined to a rigid schedule that just isn’t leaving room to be. What do you sense needs to shift for you? What needs to be re-created? Your first step might just be visiting a stop on the Nebraska Passport – I bet there is something near you. Give yourself some time to check it out and explore.

And if you see the Tranmer family out passporting this year, feel free to say hi! We’ve got nothing but time.  

Morgan Tranmer lives in Lincoln, Nebraska and works for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She can often be found laughing loudly, spending time with her family, or on her next great Nebraska adventure.