As our road trip continues, lots of brown from Western Iowa through Nebraska and into Colorado. These were long days of near-sameness.
And then…!
See the transition, in photos and captions below, covering about 1,000 miles in two days across the prairies and Great Plains of Middle America.
When we left Guttenberg (IA) on the Mississippi yesterday, we followed this scenic byway for hours. There are many of these byways across America. Most drivers miss the roadside signs.We left I-80 in Iowa for a while to experience “the back roads.” As this is farming country, that means lots of farm equipment on the road. We realized that we wanted to reach the mountains while the weather looks good, so returned to I-80 and found…… some interesting sculptures at the rest stops. These were created by various artists to recognize the nation’s bicentennial.No, we don’t know what they “mean”… they weren’t explained. Which is cool, because each viewer can come up with his/her own interpretation.We followed the Platte River Valley — originally the Oregon Trail in the time of pioneers — for a long, long time. It’s a very shallow river, and this sign at a rest stop seemed a little overdone.Into Nebraska, for lots of brown, punctuated by silos…… and hay bales. I found a campground near I-80 which drew me because it was named for Buffalo Bill. He should be called Bison Bill, since we now know that we have bison (not buffalo) in North America.The “Bison Bill” campground was in a State Recreation Area near North Platte, Nebraska. In November, it’s rather colorless……but the sunset was colorful. During this nearly-dark walk, I heard animals in the tall grass both to my left and my right. Not knowing what kinds of animals live here, I walked faster.Boo got a nighttime walk on her leash. I’m taking her out each evening to get used to what the truck camper and trailer looks like…so she can find her way back just in case she gets out.This morning at “Bison Bill” was…more brown, but with a picturesque river. It gets dark so early that there isn’t much time to explore upon arrival. So I like to do it in the morning. But on this day, we got underway quickly. We realized we were eager to reach the mountains, even if it means longer driving days.Today’s drive, continuing through wide Nebraska, passed by lots of cows…thousands of them. It does bring home where the meat on our grocery shelves comes from. Rather sobering to this animal lover.Signs of farming at an industrial level prompted me to look up how much agricultural products we export to other countries: 20%, or $170 billion worth. A reminder why trade agreements are so important. As we entered Colorado, we began to see scrub on the landscape. Nearly green! ,)And finally, our first glimpse of the mountains. We chose a route north of Denver and drove an hour or two through flat eastern Colorado, until……mountains! Finally! And yellow aspen!After days of driving through flat, this was a bit of a shock…a pleasant one. It’s his first visit to the mountains and I enjoyed his excitement. (I’ve been here many times, mostly for skiing.)The road followed a small river.The diesel truck handled the curvy hills just fine. (It will get a bigger workout in days to come.) It felt so good to get to today’s destination campsite in…Rocky Mountain National Park. I chose this as our first stop in the mountains because it’s easy to get to, has winter camping, and I’ve been here. (I came to cross country ski, by myself, while taking a course in nearby Denver. Which was a bit foolish. I was over my head on the steep trails.)Enjoying another small campfire while looking at the stars overhead and looking forward to even more spectacular mountain views in the days ahead.
Enjoying another little fire on the rocket stove. While looking at the voluminous stars overhead and looking forward to even more spectacular mountain views in the few days ahead.
