Sunny, haze much reduced 57 degrees
Travel time
7 hours, traffic flowed well, 4 lane highway, I 80 west, 75 mph limit; gas was
33mpg; with wind 27mpg. Gas prices have
been in low $3.00 range.
Day 3 of our
road trip to Alaska. Marriott Club
breakfast was excellent, including lox!
Yum. Many people in the club for
breakfast; parents and students, it’s UN’s graduation weekend. The hotel room was nice and very
adequate. The pub grille downstairs is called
Miller Time, the owner’s thing. The
Haymarket area is where all the ‘fun’ restaurants are. We didn’t get down there but maybe in the
future. Drove around the state capitol
building, Trans issue protestors outside, wave and thumbs up.
On the road
by 9AM CST. Prairie winds blowing at 30
mph, have to hang onto the wheel. Wonder
how much top soil they lose each year.
Luckily we don’t have the top carrier on the car this time. The highway ramps have blizzard gates for
winter. Flat land with acres and acres
of corn fields; using long arm irrigators. Wild turkeys are in the fields
eating last year’s corn. Lincoln
Highway, Rt 30, parallels just to the north.
Same Rt 30 that passes through mid state Ohio. Pass through Kearny, NE, important for a million
sandhill cranes in migration. We travel
into the Platte River Valley; this river travels north and south but drains
west to east into the Mississippi. The
river has many channels and the valley is very broad and flat. We seem to be at sea level, the spring water
pops up all over; the soil is sand, gravel and clay. Huge sand dunes form high hills on the north,
sand sells as business here. We pass
through ‘the Archway’ over the highway; recognizes the Oregon and California
pioneer trails and historic pony express and transcontinental railroad, all
using the valley for passage. Also
identifying the Pawnee Native Americans who have been present since prehistoric
times. The wide flat valley runs nearly
the full length of Nebraska’s southern tier and closely borders Colorado.
As we near
Wyoming border the land starts a slow but steady climb. The difference makes Pat’s ears pop. We go through another time change, we are now
on Mountain Time, 2 hours earlier than home.
We are heading for the Continental Divide, rivers on the west of it will
drain to the Pacific Ocean. We pass the world HQ for Cabela’s. The land changes dramatically; the soil thins
and outcroppings of fossilized coral start appearing and new tumble weed is
growing. The land is spring green after
snow melt and rain. But it will be brown
by summer. This is cattle country with
large herds and new calves and now wheat is the crop. Dean and Quinn, we see Prairie Dog holes
along the way but didn’t see any dogs, we’ll keep looking. The rest stop tells us to keep on the
sidewalk, rattle snakes are in the grass.
Of Note: Every state has messages
about Human Trafficking and offering help.
As we pass over Wyoming border, the outcroppings are brick red ‘rock’
and the haze is thickening; it appears the Alberta fire is sending smoke here
as well. We can’t smell it, but it’s
very hazy even with the wind. CNN says
the smoke is shifting east to Chicago and St Louis, watch out Ohio. Wyoming is 80 mpg on the highway. Passing lane is in better condition but they
are doing a lot of construction using concrete over asphalt. Snow fences for winter drift are appearing.
We arrive at
Towne Suites, another Marriott chain in Cheyenne, WY, the capitol. It has a full kitchenette which we likely
won’t use and manager tells us to take snacks and drinks as we want. We ate at Wyoming Rib and Chop restaurant
downtown. Shared large rib eye with
salads and sides. Meat was served on the
bone and on screaming hot plate with thyme oil.
Delicious. Drove around the state
capitol, a beautiful building. WY
population has dropped to being less that Alaska. It’s a rough place to live, especially in
bitter winters.
On to Utah
tomorrow. Nighty night.
Miles driven
today: 456
Total Miles
Driven: 1,332
Nebraska State Capitol Building
