Are You Sure They Did It This Away?

It was raining when we left Kearney and the weather channel was predicting thunder storms along our route. Fortunately we only ran into some light rain within the first 40 miles and then a sprinkle or two near Cheyenne.  I had a couple of cups of coffee, a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal with milk before leaving the motel.  After about an hour highway construction caused the road to feel like a washboard and every bumpty, bump, bump reminded my bladder of every ounce of liquid I had drank.  In the west rest areas are not just a few miles apart, they are separated by a 100 miles or so.  By the time we stopped I was throwing old ladies and children aside in my mad dash for the bathroom. Oh yeah, I was ready to get out of that car.

We passed a pony express station and read a plaque about the men that rode from St. Joseph, Missouri to San Francisco.  I cannot imagine how they did it. And then you see the wagons that were pulled over a thousand miles by oxen.  No seats on most of the freight wagons, the men walked beside the animals with whips.  Depending on the load carried, it took from two to twenty oxen to pull the wagons, some carrying up to six thousand pounds. Here I am complaining about a rough highway, sitting in air conditioning and these guys walked from St. Louis to Oregon. Amazing, just amazing. 

Today we saw the Rocky Mountains on the horizion, 14,000 feet of granite, snow and ice.  I can hear the pioneers asking "Did the walk across the prarie tire you? OK here are the mountains, you have to get the wagons, animals and children over them to reach California." No wonder so many said, on second thought, I think Denver would be a great place to live.

Tomorrow we start the final leg to Flathead Lake.  We are near the Montana/Wyoming border and will cross into "Big Sky Country" early in the day.  I plan on stopping at Pompeii's Peak near Billings.  History records that William Clark (Lewis and Clark Expedition) carved his initials into the rock there.  The Yellowstone River flows by the site and if I drink too much liquid again tomorrow,,,,well you get the idea.

We hope to arrive at the house on Flathead Lake in late afternoon.  Our friends, Dr. Dave Sikes and Janine should arrive around the same time.  They are flying into Spokane, renting a SUV and driving over.  I think it is a mere 300 miles.  We will have been 2,650 miles when we pull in the driveway.  I am sure Dave will tell me how tough his drive has been. As for me, I intend to sound as if I have walked by those oxen and wagons all the way fronm Gainesville.