Road Ramblings: Garbled Thoughts on The Great Western Adventure

“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — Winnie the Pooh

By necessity, people who live in the Rocky Mountains and plains in our country must be either more resourceful or simply better planners than those of us who live in the east.

We have passed miles…hundreds of miles…of open land with one or two houses dotting the landscapes.  Forget about rest stops, gas stations, or fast food.  Neighbors?  Who needs ‘em?  During one stint in Wyoming, I wondered not only where the people work but also where do they get their groceries?  And how long does a grocery run take?  If they forget to buy eggs during their weekly (bi-weekly?  God forbid, MONTHLY?) runs to the store, do they just forego eggs until the next run?  And what about gas?  Do they carry around gas cans at all times just in case they happen to be running low and the nearest station is 50+ miles away?

Fortunately, we have a handy book called “Next Exit.”  It’s touted as “The Most Complete Guide of USA Interstate Highway Exit Services.”  Yes, I realize that there are also APPS for this very thing, but we have gone through hours and hours and miles and miles WITHOUT CELL SERVICE.  So, the book is a good thing.  AND, it lets us know if the exits are friendly to big rigs because there is nothing worse than getting off on an exit and not being able to park anywhere while salivating over the idea of a frosty A&W root beer that you simply cannot have due to the lack of space in a parking lot.  The book does nothing for us, however, if we are not on an interstate.  Yesterday, in Wyoming, we drove for almost 200 miles on a two-lane road.  Thank goodness we carry a bathroom with us because otherwise squatting somewhere in the sagebrush would have been our only option for most of those 200 miles.  Apparently, we’ve developed enough of a self-protective sense during our time in the west to fill up our gas tanks prior to leaving civilization.

Random road thoughts:

• I would not have made a good pioneer. I’m too whiny and privileged.  I like my creature comforts and I do not like being cold, hungry, or in any way uncomfortable.  (I don’t even like myself sometimes.)
• These places must be incredibly cold and desolate in the winter. How do people get to work?  How do they not look out at all the snow and ice and frigid landscape and not want to become a bird and fly far, far away?
• Where do the people work? Where?   Every now and again I see a bunch of trucks surrounding a building.  But what’s IN THE BUILDING?  What are they DOING IN THERE?  Does everyone out here own a ranch? 
• How long does it TAKE THEM to get to work? If you live 150 miles outside the nearest town, do you drive to that town to work? (Work and its problems getting there take up a LOT of my thoughts on the road.)
• We have passed a LOT of K-12 schools. Who do these kids grow up to marry?  Do they need to leave their town/state to find a mate?  I mean, if it’s a K-12 school, that means that there are MAYBE 60-100 kids IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL.  Do they have resources they need to get good education?  Is the education EVEN BETTER in these places?  Do they have enough kids to make up a football team?  A basketball team?  A baseball team?  Also, who do they PLAY if they do have a team?  Do they get on a bus and drive 200 miles to the nearest town?  How do they get teachers to work in these schools?  Are the teachers well compensated? 
• How much snow do they really get? In Montana, some of the winter temps average well below freezing.  I know from my time in Leadville that roads stay snow-covered through the winter.  Is it the same in Montana and Wyoming?  What about this plain in Nebraska?
• There are a lot of signs and actual gates closing off interstates here. I’m assuming this is because of extreme snow.  I have three words for that: No, thank you.

All of these questions make me ever more grateful for my extremely cushy life.  I never worry about finding a gas station.  There have been plenty of times in my life when I have worried about having enough money for gas, but I have rarely worried about finding gas in the first place.  I have access to a grocery store.  I can get to work in less than half an hour.  I have wonderful neighbors right next door.

Mostly, however, the thought that runs rampant through my head on these miles and miles of open highway is this:  I am grateful for my travel partner and life’s companion.  The Husband is a fan of the Great Adventure, and he keeps me warm, and safe, and loved through it all.  He listens to all my rambling and incessant questions and probably fervently hopes for cell service to return so I can get my Google on to find answers to these nutty thoughts. 

Meanwhile, we’re hurtling through space and time toward our next stop on the Great Adventure:  seeing the Big Boy roll into Hays, KS.  

Minnie Winnie Adventure team out.