Open Skies and Rawlins, WY, Part I

Between the Lincoln Monument and Utah, there was a lot of open spaces and Rawlins, WY.

And don't forget a ton of cattle, even more than in Nebraska or Colorado:


And the Rocky Mountains:


And clouds:


Wyoming has strange PSAs against secondhand smoke:


And more wind turbines than anywhere we've ever seen. There was at least 100 in one patch alone.

However, even though Wyoming has a lot of wind power, they also have some crazy fossil fuel burning going on:

After awhile we reached Rawlins, WY. A small city where there is cheap gas, buffalo burgers, and a state penitentiary.

Before checking out the jail and getting gas, we got lunch at a local diner called Sharp Shooters, where the hostess is a Rawlins native. And this diner was adorable and fit for any old time cowboy or cowgirl. They had a buffalo head on the wall:

A carved wooden cowboy and the diner rules. Wyoming actually doesn't have a Clean Air Act, so they have both a smoking and non-smoking section. Old school.



The salad buffet is a cover wagon!


And the most adorable bathroom room signage ever:

Their barbecue, buffalo burgers, and coleslaw, also were pretty darn good.

The Mysterious State of Nebraska

Compared to Iowa, Nebraska was the best thing since sliced bread. Not to mention our savior from dying of boredom. (Ironic, eh?)


For one, Nebraska has cool state route signs with covered wagons on them. From my vast experience playing the Oregon Trail computer game (anyone that knows me knows I still play this in my spare time), I know Nebraska is along the trail, and the cause for many fordings of rivers and caulking wagons (ie. oxen injury).


Secondly, Nebraska is the birthplace of Kool-aid, specifically Hastings, NE. We were going to go to the Kool-aid museum originally, but a different adventure proved more exciting (for a later post). Over the past year Kool-aid has become a more valuable part of my very low income life, so thank you Nebraska.


Third, Nebraska actually has population high enough in Omaha and Lincoln to be interesting. Lots more cars, buildings, and signs of life.

This all leads me to conclude, despite past beliefs, Nebraska is indeed a state and not a government conspiracy:



Oh, and did I mention Nebraska used wind power too!

The Dullest Place in the World: IOWA

The rest of Iowa, after Walcott, which is most of Iowa, was the most boring place ever. It is flat, covered in flat farms, and really nothing of remote interest. The constant rain didn't help matters.

Des Moines is the largest city in Iowa. One would never be able to tell:


The only thing cool in Iowa, outside of a plethora of Jesus merchandise, is their wind turbines. Clearly those blades were getting shipped to some Midwestern farm. The fact that Iowa is producing wind power and I can see it makes me happy inside.


But really the rest of Iowa was terrible. I do not recommend to anyone to go to Iowa on their own free will. At least Indiana, which was also boring, was at least a relatively short drive. Iowa lasted forever and caused me not only to nap during the ride, but also for car games between Web and I necessary to be conscious.

Iowa-80: The Biggest Truck Stop in the World

Not long into Iowa, we stopped at the largest truck stop in the WORLD, Iowa-80 in Walcott, IA. They made sure to give us a big welcome:

But before we could even explore Iowa-80, we observed a parade of super-oversized trucks transporting wind turbine blades! Being that I am a nerd about clean energy, this was thrilling to see in Iowa. Not to mention the length of the blades was impressive:

Iowa-80 had a lot of what I would have expected from the Heartland of America. There was a lot of Christian music for sale, Jesus Ts (I had to bring one home), fast food, trucker hats, confederate flags, white people, military dudes and vets, and chrome for trucks. I was def the only minority anywhere near Iowa-80.

We had brunch at the Iowa-80 diner and I indulged on some pulled pork. Yum.

But enough redneck fun, back on the road!