Driving Over the Fly-Over States

[Martin Hash]

Of course I've flown over the Fly-over States but I haven't been to very many of them in person, even though I have been to 100+ foreign countries. This neglect has embarrassed me for years and I was determined to remedy it but first I had to have a plan. A lot of people have been to a lot of States by going to the various baseball stadiums but I hate baseball; however, the idea of having a State-by-State goal is an intriguing one, and several things came to mind: State Capitols, National Parks, roadside attractions, zoos; but we couldn't narrow it down, so my wife, Gwynne, and I decided to do everything, and we decided to go on Route 66 by way of McDonald’s; they’re everywhere and that’s where we wanted to be.

McDonald's.JPG

I didn't know where Route 66 started, exactly; somewhere back East; turned out to be Chicago to Los Angeles, across 8 States, but it would take 10 States for us just to get there and a couple more to get back home in a giant 4000 mile loop. It was such a daunting endeavor, we bought a new car just for the trip, for lots of the reasons but mostly because Gwynne wanted one. We started from our home in Vancouver, Washington, quickly going South into Oregon, then Idaho where I had to stop and gawk at the infamous “Fairly Reliable Bob's” used car lot with all the corvettes and Old School Muscle cars. The sign at that place will always have a place in my heart: “Life is too short to drive boring cars.”

Fairly Reliable Bob's, Boise, ID.JPG

From there, we went East for days, across the Cascades into the dry, desolate expanse of the mythical Fly-over States. My younger brother was born in Wyoming, so presumably I'd been there before, but this was the first time with an adult brain. The 80-mile an hour speed limit took some getting used to, especially with cars passing us at what had to be 100! I felt guilty setting my Speed Control to 9 miles over the Speed Limit but otherwise we were holding up traffic. There were information signs across the 2-lane highway that warned, “45-mile per hour winds.”

I'd never seen so many semi-trucks; Gwynne & I talked about “Smokey & the Bandit,” and convoys; the rest stops were packed with them. Everybody else drove big trucks with 4-doors, extended-beds, big tires and diesel-sounding engines. It was interesting that the McDonald’s parking lots only had big spaces, and the rest stops were surrounded by endless miles of scrubland.

Wyoming Scrubland.JPG

We didn't miss a thing but the long 12-hour drive days were taking a toll on Gwynne; for example, one day we visited a National Park, and two State Capitol buildings, while crossing 3 States. We had Google Maps going the whole time, and I was surprised the first time when my iPhone said, “Welcome to Colorado,” and I was surprised that there was such good data service the whole way, but we were a little concerned when it beeped an alarm, and there was an Emergency Alert on the screen saying a tornado was in our path!

Emergency Alert.jpg

[C-Mag]

I'd love for you to make a post a day on your trip, like a journal

[Smitty-48]

When I was growing up I was fascinated by New York and Los Angeles.

They were the places where I spent the most time in America.

But then the cities were sanitized and became part of the monoculture.

So now the only part of America which is interesting is fly over country.

That's where the counterculture is now.

[pineapplemike]

speaking of wyoming, looks a lot better in this video than you described

[Smitty-48]

speaking of wyoming, looks a lot better in this video than you described

Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton. That's the scenic part.

You can put that in the pantheon with the Grand Canyon & Yosemite.

That's where the Federal Reserve meets every year, Jackson Hole Symposium.

It's definitely on my bucket list. Hit Yellowstone, then down to Teton.

Fun Fact; 'Grand Teton' is French for 'Big Tits'.

[C-Mag]

Local bars are a great way to experience flyover country.
Lots of great people, generally working class. Generally friendly, maybe a little xenophobic; especially if you show up in a Prius But all in all pretty good folks.

[Smitty-48]

Local bars are a great way to experience flyover country.
Lots of great people, generally working class. Generally friendly, maybe a little xenophobic; especially if you show up in a Prius But all in all pretty good folks.

Yeah, those are the best Americans, salt o' the earth. Pretty sure I could fit in.

It's not even about being overly friendly, you just follow the Americans religion, to each his own.

You can strike up a conversation, or you can just sit at the bar and sip your whiskey, watch sports on the tv.

Football, baseball, trucks, cars and guns. The lingua franca.

East of the Mississippi headdress is baseball cap, west of the Mississippi headdress is cowboy hat.

I got a nice Australian rabbit skin cowboy hat, ready to go for Jackson Hole. Aussies call them an 'Akubra'.

Jenny Lake Lodge, check this out;



This is really what my wife means when she says "glamping". She's always up for this kind of camping trip.