Westward Ho! - Day 5

Ciao from North Platte, Nebraska! We are in big sky prairie country - it's flat and windy and smells spring-grass fresh. When I pulled into La Quinta, a treat on our last night on the road (and quite a step up from last night's Super 8), all I could see in any direction was the gas station next door.

View from my hotel window. What is it with these gas stations? Kum & Go, Pump & Panty Pantry - what next? Phillips 69?

I made only two fast stops today, so I'm pretty fried now - still feeling the rhythm of those concrete road sections. When I covered the Tweets tonight, they immediately jumped onto their "bed," a swinging perch they sleep on at the top of the cage, and quieted down, instead of jockeying for position like they usually do.

Marley (left) and Pink are tuckered out, too.

As we've moved west, the lush greenery has ceded to browner, scrubblier vegetation. The speed limit also increased to 75 - woohoo! Unfortunately, many Nebraskans believe that the left lane is for travelin', no matter what speed you're going, so I had to do a lot of passing on the right to maintain speed. I also discovered that 80+ mph is not economical; I only got 26.7 mpg at that speed, as opposed to a record high of 32 mpg at 65-70.

Just outside Omaha, we passed (on the left) Rascal Flatts' tour trailer.

Last night watched a Jon Stewart piece showing the screaming heads calling Warren Buffett a socialist (and worse) for suggesting that the super rich should be taxed more. Wanted to stop in and tell him how much I agree with his taxing sentiments.

But Omaha doesn't offer the traveler a friendly welcome. Entering the city, we were greeted by a ... sculpture is really too generous a term ... monstrosity framing a bridge over the highway. It looks like Godzilla threw up a giant erector set at either end. All pointy and violent and fierce. Not, IMHO, aesthetically pleasing at all.

In contrast, I-80 was framed much of the way by wild yellow daisies, what us Marylanders would call Black-Eyed Susans. They grow in profusion, all tangly and cheerful in the windy sunshine.

The wind is obviously a different entity out here than we are used to back east. Before bridges there are wind warning signs, followed by large wind socks, happily not completely inflated. I saw my first wind turbine up close and personal in IL yesterday. Wow, are those things HUGE! I'd written a website on wind power, so I knew the dimensions (90 ft tall, e.g.), but it's very different actually being right under one. Today I drove through several wind farms. I thought I would hate the sight of the turbines, but actually they look very appealing - silent, graceful, gleaming white sentries stationed across the horizon.

Although I started seeing cows in IL, in NE I've seen many more, and a few horses, all free range, scattered about in the fields. I also saw a huge kettle of hawks - maybe 20 or 30 - circling and swooping over a group of fields. My animals have been more noticeable, too: for the first time since we left home, the Tweets actually tweeted part of the way today (maybe that's why they're so tired).

And because I forgot to show you early on, here's what we look like going down the road...

Packing out of the Super 8.

The Tweets have their own seat right behind mine.

Tomorrow we land in Boulder - hooray! Can't wait to see everyone, to get settled in and to eat a meal that isn't 95% salt. Stay tuned for that report, and, if you're interested, the continuing saga of a middle-aged career changer getting in the academic ring with the twenty-somethings. My first challenge: what to WEAR? Arrrgggggghhhhhhhh