Nebraska. Nebraska.

Day 2 Update:
There was a shooting outside our original hotel in St. Louis during the parade that blocked us from our hotel. I'm convinced that I heard the gunshots. Oh dear...

Day 3: St. Louis to Cheyenne, WY
St. Louis was fun to navigate in the morning, even at 6:30 am. We got on the road right at 6:00 local time. We lost another hour today, so now we're two hours behind the east coast. We crossed the entire state of Missouri. Looks like Illinois. Farms. Lots of farms. Our maps sent us on a loop of Kansas City (we didn't ever actually enter Kansas) that was like a bajillion miles long. Really. The loop doesn't loop. It heads straight north, then hangs a left and heads west. Look at a map some time. While we're on Kansas City, I should mention my commentary that all the major cities in states around here seem to be on the border. Here's how we figure it: borders are along rivers, rivers equal commerce, commerce builds cities. Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis...think about how many cities you know on some sort of major waterway. Moving on now...
We headed north from Kansas City and ended up entering Iowa for like 10 miles before we took a left and headed toward Nebraska. Before leaving the lovely state of Iowa (looks just like Missouri), we stopped at a "welcome center" that was a small museum, some maps, and a dude behind a desk. The dude was rather old. Had been to Myrtle Beach, so that was his impression of South Carolina. At least he enjoyed himself there. We made lunch on the back of the car in Iowa, then hit the road for Nebraska. Which was two miles down the road. Counting lunch, we were in the state of Iowa for like 25 minutes. Oh Nebraska. Nebraska is really really big. Like REALLY big. Lots of farms. I have so many pictures of farms. Lots of flat. I now know all sorts of things about crop irrigation systems. If you ever see an overhead view of Nebraska, look at the circles. They're due to the center pivot irrigation system. Look it up, it's very cool. North Platte had a Starbucks. We stopped there and were caught in a sudden rainstorm that lasted only a few minutes. The flat nature of the state causes weather to change very quickly there. Think "Little House on the Prairie" and the storms they had then. There was a constant wind while we were driving. It made staying on the road a challenge for mom. As we entered the panhandle region of the state, there was a change in terrain as more hills appeared and more rocks. There was also a significant increase in elevation. We decided that we have all the respect in the world for the people of Nebraska. Not only do they provide a significant amount of the country's food, they also survive through some very extreme seasons. It was 82 there today. I imagine the summers there are brutal as are the winters. Very unpredictable weather. Last Nebraska bit: the state is not only the cornhusker state, it is a source of oil, coal, wheat, grain, and cattle. Large beef farms around the state. More varied terrain than you'd imagine. All in all, very interesting, yet very boring.
We are now in the state capitol of Wyoming. Cheyenne is a town of only 56,000. About a third the size of Greenville. We came over a hill and could see mountains in the distance. The first thing we've seen on the horizon in a while. This is a very quiet town. Not at all touristy. Has a big plant (Pioneer something) and an old-fashioned downtown area.
The deer count: We've been counting dead deer. We are up to 11. Until the very edge of Nebraska, the dead deer outnumbered the live ones. This leads to the conclusion by majority rule that deer are, in fact, alive. We have been tallying all sorts of dead animals and are hoping for some more interesting ones tomorrow. I'm still looking for a bison and a moose for amy.
Tomorrow, we literally cross the state diagonally. We will see the Tetons as well as Yellowstone. We should be getting there early enough to look around.
Enjoy the pictures!!