Nebraska is Big

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Ah! Finally! Internet access!

But it's difficult for me to concentrate, 'cause access to a TV is also a novelty, and the AKC Dog Show is on. I'm not a dog lover, but I like to watch all the breeds. You know: why would anyone have a pet that can't see and that has no visible feet? In fact, I have two TVs. I guess that, if I'm going to show up at a hotel without a reservation, they are going to foist their most expensive available room off on me. It's a suite. Practically an apartment. I could argue the point, but I'm too tired. And at Day's Inn, even the pricey rooms aren't too bad. The desk clerk was pointing out the pool and jacuzzi as well, but I sure didn't bring a suit. I didn't even bring a change of clothes, except for my funereal fashion selections. I will be glad to take off this shirt when I get home today. We're going on day...six.

It has been a long trip, topping off a long week: journey, visitation, funeral, packing, cleaning, moving, long drive home. So much to tell, it's overwhelming. Later, in pits and pieces.

Today was all about driving. Des Moines to Cheyenne. Nebraska goes on for-e-ver. I remember the first time I saw southern Utah, I thought, "My God, look at all this barren wasteland." Now I love it all. Not just the parks and monuments, but the BLM land and everything else except that God-forsaken stretch between Price and Green River. If I lived in Nebraska, would I grow to love it? To see the hidden beauty of the endless prairie? I tried to see it with an open mind today. After all, what else is there to pass the time? Oh, look at that beautiful clump of willow!

[This is mean, but WHY are so many of the handlers in the dog show overweight? The dog trots along and the handler waddles alongside.]

I amused myself as I drove along by playing a little game. It's a pathetic game; but aside from shouting things like, "Hi, Maria!" when I drove through Omaha, and "Whoo-hoo sunset! Go, sun!" later in the evening, there was not a lot to entertain me. I would hit "Seek" on the radio, and the first station I landed on, I had to stay with until it died. I got to listen to a lot of Country, of course. Glen Beck, as I was driving through Lincoln. Oooooh! I've heard so much about this guy! I was ready for controversy and anger, not boredom. He's DULL. Glen Beck says the same things over and over, with long, dead-air pauses in between. "So, Barack Obama says.................... Barack....... Obama.........claims.........He claims that.........It is his assertion that........" I was glad that the signal for that station was pretty weak. NPR came to the rescue as I was at the dullest part of the dull drive; kept me awake. Finally, as I was driving into Cheyenne, I got a sermon about the nature of demons and how they possess humans or animals.

Tomorrow, I just need to get across Wyoming and make it down Parley's Canyon. Watch: I'll make it all the way across the Great Plains, only to die 20 miles from home on that crazy race track. I wish I could drive it when it's off-peak: like 3 AM.