01.24.06
Eastbound Pics
These are pictures taken during our trip east. We roughly followed Interstate 80 from California to Pennsylvania, with a few detours on US and state highways that parallel I-80. These pictures were taken in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa; we didn’t photograph much of note in the other states we passed through.
Wyoming
U. of Wyoming Geologic Museum
At the University of Wyoming we stopped to visit their Geologic Museum. We enjoyed the dinosaur skeletons and other exhibits. Here are some pictures of some of the better exhibits.
Metal statue of Tyrannasaurus Rex standing outside the museum.
Their main exhibit is this large apatosaur (formerly known as brontosaur).
This is a medium sized dinosaur whose name I also failed to get.
I can’t remember the name of this guy, and I forgot to take notes, but he sure is cute!
Tree Rock
This is a tree growing out of a rock in eastern Wyoming in the median of Interstate 80. It was found by railroad crews when the train followed that right-of-way, and the Union Pacific Railroad added cables around the rock (to keep it from being shattered by the tree) and a fence, which remain to this day. The trains used to stop to water the tree as they would pass through. When the Lincoln Highway (later US 40) was built through the area it became a stopping point for travelers, and when I-80 was built, a pull-out on the fast lane of each direction was made so that travelers could stop.
Nebraska
Generic Motel
We came across the most aptly named motel in the USA - Generic Motel - in western Nebraska.
Lightning Storm
In Nebraska, we encountered an impressive electrical storm. I stopped by the side of the highway (US 30) to photograph it. While we were stopped, the only two cars to pass stopped to see if we were having mechanical trouble. I guess there isn’t a lot of traffic on US 30… One farmer who stopped told us there had been a tornado the previous day! Anyway these pictures were taken by using the “Bulb” setting - holding the shutter open manually by means of a remote control pneumatic switch. These two are the best out of an entire roll of film of lightning.
Iowa
Elk Horn - Danish Windmill
In Elk Horn, IA, we found an authentic Danish windmill that the locals had brought over from Denmark as a tourist attraction. The windmill was disassembled and shipped over in pieces to America, where it was brought by truck to Elk Horn and assembled. This was done in 1976, though the windmill is well over a hundred years old. It is fully functional, capable of grinding grain into flour between two huge millstones.
The Little Mermaid
This statue of the Little Mermaid, from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale (not the Disney version), is found in a town near Elk Horn (whose name I have in my log but can’t remember right now). The plaque reads: “H.C. Andersen’s Fairy Tale, ‘The Little Mermaid,’ is the story of a mermaid longing for the love of a mortal prince and for an immortal human soul.”
Albert the Bull
Why anyone would find it necessary to build a monument like this is beyond me, especially several miles from the nearest major highway… but Albert is purported to be the largest statue of a bull in the world. Moo.
Panora
In Panora, IA, we found this nice little park where the town had moved all of the historic items they could find.
The log cabin shown here is the oldest building in town. It had been expanded and remodeled so much by intervening generations that nobody knew it until it was to be demolished, and they realized that at the core of this large house was an ancient log cabin. It was moved to the park and restored. The caboose was sitting in front of the old train station, also relocated to this park.