Today started off cool but not quite jumper weather. The hotel was perfect and I slept like a (snoring) log. We had a lovely call with Max and Sasha who are in London today. Matt decided to shave off his beard that had been cultivated over 35 days (update from Matt: it grew of its own accord). After a light breakfast, we packed up the car and aimed it for another state line.
The journey today was fairly light, with soft round yellow hills punctuated with cattle and horses. The first part of the journey was spent listening to Night on Bald Mountain, a quite dramatic soundtrack for a gentle drive. Matt advised that this soundtrack inspired the boop boops in The Shining film.
The first pitstop was Chugwater with a population of 75. We had milkshakes and apple pie in the oldest operating soda fountain in Wyoming. It had an Elk mounted on the wall called Wendell. Wendell has been a fixture in the soda fountain since 1947, Chugwater resident Wendell Carlson shot him near the Yellowstone River in 1946, but realised the mount wouldn’t fit into his house, asked the soda fountain owner Lee Snyder if it could be hung in the store instead. A town ordinance prevents Wendell from leaving the store so he is officially here to stay.
I was also amused by Chugwater Fire Department. Now that is a good name.
On route to our next stop we saw abandoned barns and to break up the flat lands, we spotted a mini-canyon called Lone Tree Creek leading into the town of Le Grange with 375 people.
We tipped into Nebraska just after lunch. On the drive, what looked like a monster rolled across our car bonnet, and up the window screen I froze in my seat with dread (given that I now have an irrational fear of the springy crickets). This seemed a new horror to face in Nebraska…. but fear not… Matt casually mentioned it was tumbleweed. I will now add Tumbleweed to the list of things to avoid.
Later in the afternoon we booked into the hotel, then headed out again to take pictures of Car Henge. The wheels do move in the upright slabs rammed into the ground, and it is home to flocks of birds. A couple of the cars are time capsules to be opened in 2053.
