Westward to the Rockies & Back
I headed out to Omaha this past weekend to work on the house, with an eventual destination of Denver. This took me through Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. With the exception of Colorado, those are all states that have been hit by floods.
Iowa
The state of Iowa smells like a marsh. I know too well what marsh smells like and that tea tree oil can help remove it from dogs, but I don’t think there is enough tea tree oil to wash the state. You can only imagine the mold, mildew, and fungus that is growing and causing the smell.
Interstate 80 crosses the entire state and had been closed for several days. The area near Iowa City and Cedar Rapids was the hardest hit. Crops are devastated and I imagine the health impact from disease, mosquitos, respiratory ailments will only now begin.
The people of Iowa face unbelievable devastation, and it keeps raining. It doesn’t seem like it is going to stop enough to dry out.
What amazes me about the spirit of people on the Plains is that, even with this devastation there is little resentment. There is a pervasive good work ethic here. They don’t want handouts. They truly appreciate both the consideration and assistance of people, and just want to get back working on their feet. I expect the state of Iowa, which faces complete devastation across hundreds of miles, will recover and contribute more quickly than the city of New Orleans.
Nebraska
I stopped home in Nebraska to work on the house. I’m very lucky to have friends and family that have watched out for my house. I had major tree limbs down, but they pulled them out into the street and encouraged the city of Omaha to pick them up. I can’t get the city to pick up a trash can if it has a handful of grass clippings on it. My grandmotherly mom is able to get a city front loader to pick up limbs from my driveway. Go figure.
I dropped off MSH with his cousin and headed out to Denver. I ran into more storms along the way and took some pictures of this amazing cloud formation near Ogallala. You know a storm is significant when people in that part of Nebraska take notice. The starkness of the land only increases the contrast of storms out there, and highlights how much at risk you can be. I imagine settlers in those storms, where they were quite literally the tallest object for miles. Takes a different breed.
Colorado
I continued through Eastern Colorado. If you’ve never driven it, the most remote part of the country is from Amarillo straight north until the Black Hills. As if to add insult to injury, Colorado has placed a state prison out in this area! Don’t violate the law in Colorado.
I spent a little time meeting people in Golden, had dinner, and stopped by Uncle Bill’s grave. Gotta hand it to the guy; in the past year I’ve travelled to Cody (WY), Golden, all along I-80 in Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado, and he has major interest points in all the areas. It’s well over 100 years ago, but he’s still a draw.
He has a tremendous view from his gravesite.
Illinois
I’m starting to take a few more side-trips on long distance drives. I stopped in Dixon, IL on the way back. Dixon is the childhood home of Ronald Reagan, but more importantly is near the original home and shop of John Deere. It’s a neat home, and not more than 200 yards from a river that was one of the only ferry stops in Illinois. He lived there in 1838, so imagine Tom Sawyer’s home growing up (or look here).
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