Wyoming to South Carolina

WYOMING

We crossed the great state of Wyoming on I-80 from west to east, from rocky peaks to rolling hills decorated with wind farms and snow fences, to high prairie grassland with distant views of snow-capped Rockies.  It’s a dramatic change in a few hours.

 

The Lincoln Highway Memorial commemorates the Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcontinental automobile road.  This hill was the historic summit, the highest point (8640 feet) on the original highways 3500-mile route from New York to San Francisco.  Dedicated in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, predating the 1922 dedication of the Lincoln Memorial by 9 years.  It’s an impressive sight, standing high above the interstate – even has its own prairie dog village.

 

Wyoming Territory was created in July 1869.  Outlaws, violent and desperate men plagued the territory, and as more settlers moved into the area, they demanded law and order.  In 1872, the Wyoming Territorial Prison opened for business.

It operated under the rules of the Auburn Prison System: convicts required to be silent at all times, wear black and white striped uniforms, replace names with numbers and move about the prison in lockstep. Work for the convicts was mandatory. 

For some convicts, prison work was the beginning of a new career.  Not so for prisoner #187 – none other than Butch Cassidy.  Cassidy stole some horses, was found guilty of grand larceny, and served his only prison time at the Wyoming Territorial Prison.  Butch had friends in high places and the Governor pardoned him after a year in jail.  From here, Butch Cassidy went on to greater fame with the Wild Bunch and the Sundance Kid.

NEBRASKA

Another day along I-80 took us across Nebraska.  The early pioneers were overwhelmed by Nebraska’s endless, wide, rolling prairie.  Settlers eventually discovered rich soil beneath the waving grass and with time, crops and livestock replaced the tall grasses and wildflowers.  Today’s travelers are still overwhelmed by Nebraska’s landscape, but now it is endless fields of wheat and corn, punctuated by feedlots.  Ninety-six percent of the state’s land area is in agriculture and it seemed like we saw most of it.

The Great Platte River Road Archway spans I-80 near Kearney, Nebraska.  The arch pays tribute to the pioneers who passed through Nebraska on their way west (i.e., to somewhere else).  Many passed this way – the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails converged near here at Fort Kearny.  Beyond this point, they were truly in the wilderness.

Lincoln is the capitol of Nebraska, and its State House, completed in 1932, was the nation’s first designed as an office tower.  The ornamental interior features numerous marble-columned chambers with colorful vaulted ceilings, marble mosaic floors and murals depicting the natural and social history of Nebraska.

Nebraska has the only unicameral, non-partisan legislature in the U.S. – a system said to save time, talk and money.  As one Governor noted:  All legislators are evil, but a single-house legislature is only half as evil.

MISSOURI

We swung back through the ‘Show Me’ state for a visit to Branson, the self-proclaimed Music Capitol of the World.  Branson’s popularity as a vacation destination is an unlikely success story.  That a small southwestern Missouri town (population <10,000) would be visited by millions of people is unlikely enough.  That it is tucked deep in the hills and hollows of the Ozark Mountains only makes it more unlikely.  But somehow it works, and performances have expanded from country/bluegrass to include Broadway-style productions, heartthrob magicians, Vegas-inspired spectaculars, baby boomer favorites and concert appearances by rock and pop stars.  There are over 40 theater venues in Branson, with shows running morning, noon and night.  There just might be something for everybody.

On our first night in town, we were entertained during dinner by Kenny Parrott, a singer/guitarist who has been performing in Branson for 25 years.  He took requests, singing anything and everything.

The Brett Family of five (mom, dad, 3kids) started out as an amateur act in Dallas, Texas.  They started their Branson career as contract artists, and now own and operate their own show.  They sing a little bit of everything and bill themselves as the best morning show in Branson.  It was a different (and fun) way to start the day. 

At Mel’s Hard Luck Diner, lunch wasn’t a “show” per se, but all the servers at this funky café are singers who entertain the crowd in between waiting tables.  They have to audition to get a job here and many of them have been here for ten or more years.  They don’t get rich waiting tables, but the gift shops sells lots of CDs.

The Presley Family claims to have built the first music theater in Branson in 1967, laying the foundation for all that followed.  The Presleys were an Ozark family that played the underground stages of the Missouri hills – when the caverns couldn’t contain the crowds anymore, the Presley’s built Branson’s original country music theater.  Today their blend of country, gospel, bluegrass and comedy is still packing them in.  It’s a toe-tapping good time.

On the way home, and made a lunch stop at Lambert’s Café in Sikeston, Missouri.  Lambert’s has been around since 1941, serving up generous portions of serious Southern food.    Lambert’s is the home of ‘throwed rolls’ – a server wanders around with a cart full of hot yeast rolls and tosses one to anyone who waves a hand.  An unusual experience, to say the least.

TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA

We were back in familiar territory for the last couple of days of the trip.  We stopped overnight in Nashville, but otherwise we were mostly retracing our earlier route – admiring farms along the way.   Safe to say that a grand time was had by all; equally safe to say that we all were mighty glad to get home again (at least for a little while).