We started in the rain in Des Moines, which was bad because we could tell through the fog and the rain that western Iowa was gorgeous rolling hills of farmland. Through the gray I saw fantastic colors in the land; fall colors were starting. Yellows and greens. Nice. Once the skies opened up, however, this is how it looked:
Nebraska was amazing. It was cattle ranches and big sky and the occasional reminder that you are on the prairie. Everything felt big and beautiful in Nebraska: big cattle ranches, big haystacks, big fences, big cows, big big big sky. It was green and yellow and blue and gorgeous. The people we met in Nebraska, including Debbie's favorite barkeep, were so nice and accommodating to us. It was truly America's heartland.
Nebraska was where I really found myself craving red meat. Huh. I wonder why.
And then the rug was ripped out from under us. We crossed into Wyoming and the landscape changed dramatically. It was America's heartland one minute and the Wild, Wild West the next. Hell, we crossed in and stopped in Cheyenne for gas and it was so windy that my written directions blew away in a second from inside the car door. Shawn told me that I would feel like I should trade in my car for a horse in Wyoming, and he couldn't have been more right. Wyoming's motto on the welcome sign is Forever West. Hell yeah.
We stayed in Laramie. It was lovely, right down the road from the University of Wyoming. I worried about staying in Laramie because I wondered if it would feel sad because of Matthew Shepard. As it turns out, this town has become a very accommodating and accepting town...maybe occasionally something good comes out of something terrible.
Next stop: Boise.
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