12:30 Left Chicago
1:15 Stopped for McDonald�s fries
1:40 Checked into DeKalb Super 8. (DeKalb is the city in which Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1876.)
9:50 Checked out, hit the road
10:55 pulled off the highway to go to Wal-Mart for water & painkillers and McDonald�s for coffee. Believe it or not, the Rock Falls, Illinois, McDonald�s has good coffee.
11:26 switched the truck clock to California time for morale purposes.
9:51 Began the long trek on route 80.
9:54 Entered Iowa and crossed the Mighty Mississippi. (There is no sign to mark it � I had to check on the map to find out what river we were crossing.)
12:30 Gassed up at Citgo. The smell of manure was overwhelming, and prompted a few bomb jokes from me. There was a sign for the Wrestling Museum.
1:00 Subway food break.
2:09 Entered Madison County. Closed our eyes because, �If we can�t see the bridges, they aren�t there.� Rain started.
3:18 Passed the Western Historical Trails Society.
3:30 Bought coffee from a rest area vending machine. It didn�t contain any coffee, just water and �lightener,� so we mixed it with my hot �chocolate.�
3:36 Tornado watch announced. Oslowe: �Great! We�re going to Oz, and I have to be at work on Tuesday.�
3:49 Crossed the Missouri into Nebraska. Sun came out.
4:39 Awoke disoriented. Missed the Platte River and Lincoln.
5:30 Fuelled truck and selves at Black Bart�s Texaco and KFC/Taco Bell. Back on the road by 5:57.
6:05 Rainbows appeared fairly due west, on either side of the sun.
6:32 Passed Museum of Prairie Pioneer.
6:34 Crossed the Platte River to much confusion.
7:15 Passed sign for Pony Express Station. Sighed in unison.
7:33 Passed the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.
8:08 Passed Buffalo Bill�s Ranch.
8:33 Saw a sign that read Cowboy Capitol - Boot Hill --- Ogallala 50 miles.
50 miles later After a brief catnap, Oslowe woke me up in Ogallala. Checked into the Ramada, where Tim gave me a military discount for my dog tags, even though I told him they were fake. He also told us where to get beer, and coffee the next day.
7/27/02
10:00 After very brief sight-seeing tour that we couldn�t resist, we got coffee at the Prairie Theater and hit the road.
10:22 Crossed South Platte �River� (which is just a riverbed).
10:40 Saw a teensy tumbleweed (my first).
11:45 Saw a dust devil (also my first).
11:52 Saw buffalo, cried.
11:56 Entered Wyoming. Passed Texas Trail Museum. Town of Pine Bluffs is actually pine bluffs.
12:22 Entered Cheyenne.
12:24 Saw a sign for the Hereford Ranch.
12:26 Passed a building with 40 satellites in front of it.
12:29 Passed the Frontier Prairie Grounds and Old West Museum.
1:22 Stopped off in Laramie for fuel and lunch at Wingers.
2:00 Came into view of the Rocky Mountains. Holy Crap.
3:30 I took the wheel. (Yes, he�d been driving all this time.)
4:31 Crossed the Continental Divide.
4:45 stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs and saw prairie dogs. I begged to bring one home, but he refused.
5:14 Passed a sign for the Outlaw Inn, complete with �Pool, Restaurant, and Saloon.�
5:41 Went through our first (and only) tunnel.
6:10 He took the wheel again, because I couldn�t find my sunglasses.
6:23 Entered Lyman, sang the song �Lyman.�
7:15 Stopped for fast food. Wendy�s was out of baked potatoes, and actually lost a vegetarian customer to McDonald�s, if you can believe it.
7:28 Entered Utah with a gorgeous sunset on the horizon. I can see why they believe in god out here.
7:45 Passed horseback riders on a road next to the highway: A man with a little girl behind him, another young girl on her own horse, and two adult pedestrians.
7:56 Passed a [I]large[/I] dam in Echo � I believe it was the Echo Reservoir.
8:30 Found out how steep a 6% grade is, going downhill in 2nd gear.
8:45 Entered Salt Lake City � that is one big city.
9:10 Phoned P@ for approximately 22 miles.
9:40 Stairway To Heaven came on the radio. Oslowe made a Wayne�s World reference, while I took out my Zippo and waved it back and forth over my head.
10:00 De ja vu: On a different station, Stairway came on � this time a live version.
10:30-11:00 Checked into a Super 8 motel somewhere in Utah. Oslowe iced down his calves, which had swollen to double their size from all of the stairs, heavy lifting, and driving.
one day more!