Chicago

Pardon the posting interruption. And the length of the last one. I've been talking to a reader who mentioned I'm perhaps being a little too descriptive, or have a lack of focus. And this is probably true.

Where does that leave the trip? At a rest stop in Wyoming.

Though technically the images of the windmills came afterward, I did take a nap at a rest stop in Wyoming. I'm not quite capable of driving all the way from Seattle to Chicago without any sleep, unfortunately. But after four hours, I was back on the road and relatively soon after went through Cheyenne.

Cheyenne is the largest city of the least populated state in the nation. I believe it has fewer people living in it than in the suburb of Denver I grew up in. Actually, I think the suburb had more people living in it than does the state of Wyoming. It is a desolate place. On the plus side, I found out later that Cheyenne that day had the lowest fuel prices in the nation. There are, however, a good number of shuttered fuel stops on the approach to Cheyenne. One of them has been turned into a porn store, and it looks like the dustiest and most desolate porn store imaginable. Really, it just looks unfortunate. But I lack a picture.

The land flattens out considerably after Cheyenne, and this is a trend that continues into, and pretty well through, Nebraska. Nebraska does have a few more trees, and a bit more standing water, however.

And it has this:

Not my picture, but I drove through at night. This actually spans the freeway a couple hours outside of Lincoln. And when you've been driving long enough and aren't suspecting it, it frightens the hell out of you. I also lost my ATM card in there one time. So beware one of the few intriguing landmarks of Nebraska along I-80.

Oh, and there was a bus on the back of a truck, which made my sleep addled brain think some odd thoughts.


The problem with being in a state that is so flat and relatively lifeless is that you can't really see a great distance. I know that it is likely that even if I could see a great distance through Nebraska, it would likely end up looking much the same farther out, but there is something about having a few hills about that tends to liven up a landscape. This brings me to Iowa.

Now, general knowledge would predict that Iowa would be about as boring to drive through as it sounds like, but in context, it's quite scenic. There are rolling hills, an area known as "Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area"

As odd as that sounds, and as few silos and smokestacks seem to be out there (at least along the freeway), I find it very reassuring somehow that there's somewhere in the nation where this is not only something of interest, but considered something that is worth protecting.

And then, passing a few large rivers, I came to Illinois. The land of Lincoln. And as far as I've gotten down the highway. Illinois flattens out again, but there are still some trees about and it seems much more interesting because there are suddenly lots of people. I ran into a traffic jam coming into Chicago, and was not quite with it enough to take any approach pictures, but there will be more to follow. I'll leave you with a picture of one of Caitlin's cats.