Day 2: Enjoying solitude on the prairie

Up this morning at 7am cst to put in a couple hours of work before hitting the road. With the sun coming up the views from my room were really great. It was bright and the skies were blue ... so much deceit. It was freezing outside, but I quickly got loaded up and on my way just around 9:30am.

Breakfast consisted of some water, a granola bar, and an apple. Back on I-80 my plan was to get to Lincoln, Nebraska this afternoon. According the the GPS I should have arrived around 3:30-4pm.

Iowa is a big state - I spent most of the day driving across some beautiful landscapes of rolling hills and blue skies. Farms dot the horizon here and there surrounded by masses of warm gold colored land.Corn in various stages of being cleared from the fields - mostly by cows. The landscapes and colors mirrored a lot of the time I spent walking in Spain. In a way this drive is somewhat like that trip. The solitude is incredibly relaxing.

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great person is one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. Ralph Waldo Emerson

There were some amusing moments along the way - I saw the world's largest truck stop, and comically didn't encounter the "aroma" of pig until passing Montezuma, IA. Talk about one town's revenge on highway drivers. Also, road signs for what I can only imagine is the happiest town in America - What Cheer, IA.

Also I was delighted to see dozens of wind turbines! I'd love to know wat kind of energy they produce and what that energy goes to. Apparently Iowa is the nation's hub of enegy production - maybe they're competing with Sweden? - and also has a high number of gas stations offering E85 fuels which are a blend of ethanol (up to 85%) and gasoline. It's also around $0.20 cheaper than regular gasoline here. I knew there was a good reason for all that corn!

Crossing over into Nebraska was a complete change over. I noticed the first confiers, and expect they'll just grow thicker from here on in. Apparently PayPal has a significant operation in Omaha (with those little frozen steaks!). The Union Pacific Railroad is also headquartered and commemorated just across the state line. Arriving in Omaha it was early, and by time I got to my planned stopping point of Lincoln, I decided I would drive a bit further.

Stopping for the afternoon I find myself in Grand Island, NE. I'm a little bit thrilled yet terrified that the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant is just a stone throw away. But hey, Grand Island is a three time recipient of the National Civic League's All-American City Award. I'm just not sure where the actual island is yet! According to their Wikipedia article German settlers moved from Davenport (where I left this morning!) to locate here. Spiffy.

Tomorrow it'll be on to Wyoming!

Water has an endless horizon; there is no limitation when you look out into the water. There's nothing to interfere with the mind's eye projecting itself as far as it can possibly imagine. I suppose it's the same way people in the Midwest feel about watching amber waves of grain or endless rows of cornfields. There is something exhilarating about it. Billy Joel