On the Road: Rock Springs, Wyoming to Ogallala, Nebraska

I spent most of the day today driving east on I-80, which is a fairly boring drive. Got off the highway in Laramie, lured by a sign advertising an art gallery at the University of Wyoming (Laramie Campus), but it was closed. Moved on to Cheyenne, and from there further east into Nebraska. It was more of the same, until I came to my senses and left the Interstate. I turned north on State Route 71, from Kimball to Scottsbluff, hoping to do some birding at Scottsbluff National Monument.

The scenery was immediately more interesting. Rolling farmland, vivid green, except where just mowed. Harvesters were cutting hay and making giant green rolls of it. Soon the bluffs appeared--big, eroded outcroppings of sand-colored stone. As it was late in the day, the light was very pretty. I got to the monument and took a walk of about a mile up into the bluffs. Saw a spotted towhee, hundreds of swallows, a pair of black-billed magpies--beautiful, big birds in iridescent black-green with flashes of white in flight. Also saw a mountain bluebird for the first time. I had seen the western and eastern varieties before, but not the mountain bluebird--a beautiful, all-blue bird. The other varieties have rust on the breast and sides. Then drove southeast from the bluffs to Ogallala, on highway 26.

[Update: Recently (in January 2011), I read Desperate Passage, a book about the famous Donner Party that was stranded for months in the Sierra Nevada mountains near the end of their trip across the continent. I realize in retrospect that I followed much the same route as the Donners and the families traveling with them (albeit in the opposite direction). Scottsbluff was an important landmark for wagon trains heading west.]

On the Road: Cheyenne, Wyoming

Now in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

I feel like I'm not getting anywhere very fast. Colorado turned out to be a good deal south of the road I'm on, so I think I'll try to go back home through Colorado rather than diverting now. The distances are a bit daunting. I can see now that the way to really do this would be to pick a region of the country of interest, fly into the nearest big city and then explore from a base rather than trying to fill in the spaces by car. Still, it's been interesting so far. Likely to end up in North Platte, Nebraska tonight.

Met a friendly local woman in Starbucks, who recommended a Chinese place for lunch, the Twin Dragon. She also mentioned a few interesting old buildings in town that I will try to swing by on the way out. Partly because it's Sunday, very little is going on here. I was able to stand in the street downtown for several minutes to photograph the State Capitol building--not a moving car in sight. The food at the restaurant turned out to be barely edible. I skipped the buildings and headed east.