As we drove across America I was struck by some thoughts about what we were seeing. Beside flooding in Iowa, which by the way Deb said I-80 was closed in sections due to flooding, so timing is everything when you go cross country.
Green: everything is so Green. Which isn't a big deal to you all back East but out West it is a rare sight which perishes very quickly. It will be brown in about 3-4 weeks but for now the desert is green and spectacular.
Goats: Slang for speed goats which is slang for Antelope or Pronghorn, whichever you're partial to. Now Marjie, you may have a post which has a more correct description. There were more Speed Goats along the highway then I can ever remember and I've been running I-80 since 1973. It was great to see the critters. Yes we're out west when you start seeing speed goats.
Snow: Yes fresh on the Snowy Mountains southwest of Laramie WY. I couldn't take my eyes off of the mountains. Story about the Snowy's. After Deb and I were married in Logan Utah in 1975 we drove her 1978 Jeep CJ5 soft top across America in December. We had to stop off in Saratoga WY to drop something off at our best man's place. Well we cut across the Snowy's on a road that is closed in winter (WY 130) but we're in a jeep right. It's dark on a mountain road and I'm driving. I wanted to demonstrate just how dark it was so I shut off the lights as we were driving.
Scared us both to death and we still talk about how dark it really is and gauge everything dark against that night on WY 130. We arrived in Logan on Tuesday night 6/10 and it snowed that night in Logan. The mountains surrounding Logan were beautiful all snow covered with the green bases.
Smell: It just smells different out west. Fresh air mixed with ag gas, anybody who's been around cows knows ag gas. The grasses smell different. And then there's the smell of pine that's been standing in the sun, mmm.
Wind: This isn't a sermon, I don't have to have all my thoughts begin with an "S". It's windy in Wyoming. And something I wouldn't have thought of in 1973. Wind generating wind mills, huge windmills and by the hundreds generating clean energy, As long as I don't have to look at them right? Actually, I stare at them with fascination. It's their size I think or maybe it's the airfoil.
Oil Wells: Energy business is booming. And with the price of crude at records they can't get it out of the ground fast enough to sell. Almost without exception, every pump was in operation sucking the dead speed goats or the stuff they ate that lived 20MM years ago from beneath the arid landscape. Petro business is big out here. I noticed also that they've actually tried to paint the pumps and storage tanks to blend into the landscapes, using browns and subdued shades of greens. They probably have a special color called With-In Sight of the Interstate : WISOTI for short.
Vermin: Prairie dogs, sub-terrainian rats but cute and we looked forward to another encounter with them this trip. This is the same rest area where we were chased back to our car by hungry organized packs of land locusts. Actually they're very cute and very bold as you can see from the picture. Probably not a good idea to feed them cheese crackers but these are the interstate variety and used to a mixed palette of snack and healthy foods.
We're settling into life in Logan again. Sun screen at all times and a sweat shirt handy for the cool weather. Sun glasses on and we're ready.
Thanks for reading
Rob
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