Through the Arch and Into the Plains

On Tuesday, we crossed into Missouri and decided to stop at the Arch. I have to admit, it was larger and much more interesting than I thought. We searched for a parking space and decided to take a break, walk over to it, and ride to the top.

Approaching the St. Louis Arch.

For the record, if you are the least bit claustrophobic do not even think about riding the trams to the top of the arch. Imagine being stuffed into a coffin with four other people and making a slow ascent 600 feet up a metal arch. It was pretty cool but maybe a little unsettling.

Dad about to get into the tiny coffin-sized tram to the top.

After leaving St. Louis, we headed up to Lincoln, Nebraska to visit with my dad's first cousin. It was pretty nice to meet him and the rest of the Nebraska family and to see my pop so excited to just hang out with someone.

Corn is King
Driving west through Nebraska, one thing becomes readily apparent: corn is king. Unless you live in the heartland, you really have no idea about the scale of the farms in this country. By the way, I don't pretend to have a great idea from only driving through a few states but I will say that it's staggering. In western Nebraska, corn seemed to give way to wheat. Amber waves, indeed.

Wyoming is Big
We were pretty amazed at how the topography changes pretty quickly after entering Wyoming. Plains change to rocky, rolling hills. You climb some hills and descend into an enormous plateau. Hell, at one point, we drove absolutely straight for about 10 miles before a tiny curve in the road. Our country is enormous. The terrain is pretty cool and you eventually tire of seeing so damned many antelope just grazing, grazing by the highway.

A monument to Lincoln on the Wyoming Roadside.

The plains of Wyoming.

Storm cloud and the setting sun.

Dad shooting the sunset.

The Green Initiative
In addition to being awed by the vast emptiness of the state, we marveled at the wind farms that we crossed. On television, the turbines look big but that pales to being near them. The photos don't do justice because there isn't really anything to determine the scale or the distance and I didn't have a lens wide enough to get the hundred or so into a single shot. They're pretty damned cool.

Wyoming wind farm.

Another view.

The Gas Miracle
Our fuel was running low as we neared Laramie. Somehow, we didn't exit the freeway because we thought there was one more exit for the town. With fuel dwindling, we hit the Garmin for info on the nearest fuel station and headed west toward it. The fuel light came on as we approached the abandoned gas station. Luckily, there were a couple of guys there working.

"How far to the nearest fuel?," Dad asked.

"Which direction?," the weathered guy replied.

"West."

"80 miles," he said with almost no expression.

"How about east?"

"20 miles."

"Okay, thanks."

Dad and I looked at each other uneasily and headed back toward Laramie.

"Hope there are three gallons in the tank," dad said.

"Me, too."

On the ride back, we drafted an semi to conserve fuel and lamented that it was uphill most of the way. Personally, I used my Jedi mind trick to keep that damned truck moving. The twenty minutes back was silent and tense. Inside 10K, I knew that I could run back to the station for fuel and began to rest. After an eternity, we coasted down the hill into the gas station, sighed with relief, and laughed a bunch.

We put 32.1 gallons of fuel into a 32-gallon tank. Close one.

States Covered
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming