My friend Pat, her dog Sadie and I stopped at a rest area somewhere in Nebraska, on our way to Idaho.
Like many rest areas along I-80, this one, in addition to bathrooms, vending machines and picnic tables, offers a tourist attraction. I find that odd...and oddly interesting.
While we're letting Sadie stretch her legs, I see a historical marker off in the distance. There is a walkway leading out to it, so I decide to investigate. Pat follows soon after and since we're getting farther from the road and other travelers, she drops Sadie's leash and lets her run on ahead to me.
It's a big historical marker, mounted on a slant on a concrete base. Even from a distance I can make out the headline: Cheyenne County. A few yards closer, though, and I can make out another, smaller sign:
Caution. Rattlesnakes Are Native To This Area.
We'll never know what the historical marker actually said.
I immediately turn around and head back toward rest area civilization. Since Sadie has the disadvantage of not being able to read, she frolics on.
Pat sees I've turned back and am now walking toward her and asks why.
There's a sign that says "Caution Rattlesnakes" I say.
GET MY DOG! she says.
Glad to see where her priorities are. Risk the life of one friend by sending her back into harm's way to rescue another - apparently more important - friend.
Luckily, what Sadie lacks in literacy she makes up for in obedience. We called, she came, and we hit the road again.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Notes from the Road, #3
Giant roadside things we saw between Columbus and Boise:
A giant cross, in front of a church.
A giant candle, by a candle shop.
A giant hand holding a giant wrench, God only knows where, my notes aren't that good.
A giant coffeepot, advertising Sapp Bros. gas station and diner.
A giant Virgin Mary, surrounded by smaller religious statues. Again, God only knows where, although he or she is probably more attuned to this one than to the giant wrench. I can tell you, though, there wasn't a church in sight.
A giant white tepee. It had smaller, one level wooden structures on each side. It was somebody's home. How does that happen? When you're contemplating building a new home, at what point does giant tepee seem like a good idea?
A giant Abraham Lincoln head on top of a tall stone monument at a roadside rest. I-80 is known as the Lincoln Highway. The monument was originally built to honor Henry Joy, one of the driving forces (ba dum dum) behind the Lincoln Highway. It was built on some family property, but nobody much saw it there and those who did vandalized it, so the Joy family thought it would be a good idea to move it.
To a rest stop.
I think that family perhaps lives in a giant white tepee.
I nicknamed the monument Lincoln Jesus, God only knows why.
A giant cross, in front of a church.
A giant candle, by a candle shop.
A giant hand holding a giant wrench, God only knows where, my notes aren't that good.
A giant coffeepot, advertising Sapp Bros. gas station and diner.
A giant Virgin Mary, surrounded by smaller religious statues. Again, God only knows where, although he or she is probably more attuned to this one than to the giant wrench. I can tell you, though, there wasn't a church in sight.
A giant white tepee. It had smaller, one level wooden structures on each side. It was somebody's home. How does that happen? When you're contemplating building a new home, at what point does giant tepee seem like a good idea?
A giant Abraham Lincoln head on top of a tall stone monument at a roadside rest. I-80 is known as the Lincoln Highway. The monument was originally built to honor Henry Joy, one of the driving forces (ba dum dum) behind the Lincoln Highway. It was built on some family property, but nobody much saw it there and those who did vandalized it, so the Joy family thought it would be a good idea to move it.
To a rest stop.
I think that family perhaps lives in a giant white tepee.
I nicknamed the monument Lincoln Jesus, God only knows why.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Notes from the Road, #2
Our first night on the road to Idaho was spent in Grinnell, Iowa. Home of Grinnell College. Named for Josiah Grinell, the fellow to whom Horace Greeley gave his famous advice: "Go West, young man."
Pretty impressive.
Historic downtown Grinnell features the Merchants National Bank, one of eight "jewel-box banks" built by architect Louis Sullivan, creator of the modern skyscraper and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright.
We scoped it out. Very impressive.
We did not, however, stay in historic downtown Grinnell. We stayed at a pet-friendly Best Western, just off the I-80 ramp, right next to the Kum & Go.
Seriously.
Comfortable. Convenient. No so impressive.
Pretty impressive.
Historic downtown Grinnell features the Merchants National Bank, one of eight "jewel-box banks" built by architect Louis Sullivan, creator of the modern skyscraper and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright.
We scoped it out. Very impressive.
We did not, however, stay in historic downtown Grinnell. We stayed at a pet-friendly Best Western, just off the I-80 ramp, right next to the Kum & Go.
Seriously.
Comfortable. Convenient. No so impressive.
Notes from the Road, #1
My friend Pat, her dog Sadie and I recently drove from Columbus to Garden Valley, Idaho.
Pat did almost all the driving, which gave me a lot of time to look at the scenery.
As we were zipping along Route 80 in Nebraska, that scenery was mostly farms and farmland. Until we were almost to North Platte. Then it was:
cows cows cows cows CAMEL cows cows cows cows
Yes, I saw a camel inside a fence on a farm in Nebraska. Pat did not see it. If Sadie saw it, she's not corroborating my story. But trust me, I know a camel when I see one.
Out of curiosity, I googled "camel in Nebraska." You never know what you'll find. What I found is a tourist attraction in Cairo, Nebraska called the Welcome Camel. Cairo - pronounced Kare-O, not Ky-ro - is about 150 miles from North Platte so, obviously, what I saw was not the Welcome Camel.
But it was a camel.
Coincidence? You decide. But I believe there is suspicious camel activity right here in America's heartland.
Pat did almost all the driving, which gave me a lot of time to look at the scenery.
As we were zipping along Route 80 in Nebraska, that scenery was mostly farms and farmland. Until we were almost to North Platte. Then it was:
cows cows cows cows CAMEL cows cows cows cows
Yes, I saw a camel inside a fence on a farm in Nebraska. Pat did not see it. If Sadie saw it, she's not corroborating my story. But trust me, I know a camel when I see one.
Out of curiosity, I googled "camel in Nebraska." You never know what you'll find. What I found is a tourist attraction in Cairo, Nebraska called the Welcome Camel. Cairo - pronounced Kare-O, not Ky-ro - is about 150 miles from North Platte so, obviously, what I saw was not the Welcome Camel.
But it was a camel.
Coincidence? You decide. But I believe there is suspicious camel activity right here in America's heartland.
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