The Midwest -
USA from coast to coast

Was a great Motel where we stayed going into the Midwest at our stop near the town which the french explores named "Riviere des Moingouenas" or what it has become now "Des Moines". We found Ramada Inn cheaper than the other Motel chains, and very nice. We found a printed overview of all the Ramada Inn's in US in book form and brought (stole) it with us. Then we could call in advance to the Ramada at our destination and reserve their cheapest room (70$US).

We calculated that we could reach Denver today, but then it would be yet a full day behind the wheel. A thousand Miles to drive. It was still windy but we were not the last to leave because we had saved an hour. No wonder we could'nt make sense of the TV Guide last night. We had moved ourselves out of the Eastern timezone and into the Midwestern, time to adjust the watches.

Shehab liked to take the first turn and we would swap at each stop, that be petrol/food/call-of-nature etc.

We croossed the state border into Nebraska, heart of the Great Plains, and drove across the Missouri, this was Cowboy country but something was missing, the characteristic Table-mountains, but they are down in the Arizona/New Mexico corner of the prairie. This was as flat as a flap-jack. The sky is so dominant out here, there is no spot to fix the eye on in the horizon, so you catch yourself stareing at the sky. No trees or other obstacles to block the view and the clouds are fantastic, especially at dusk where the sky and everything turns pink/purple/mauve.

Near Omaha we got lunch, petrol, swithed places and Shehab got his noon-rest, somewhere out here there was a sign for the birthplace of Ronald Regan, the old Cowboy and ex-president. But we went full throttle across the plains, following the South Platte river going West into Colorado. Shehab didn't see much of Nebraska then again it looked pretty much like Colorado.

Out with the Ramada-book and follow the directions, Denver was coming up and there were a lot of Expressways and exit-numbers to keep track of. We missed the exit but could see the motel from the Expressway so after a short detour we were there and got our 70$US room with a view to the - staircase. There was a washing machine in the motel so we did some laundry. Then off to the local Mart to get some more food for our long drives. We would get some fruit but it was horrendusly expensive so we bought some more crackers and some carrots, all peeled, washed and ready to use or eat.

Next to the motel was Applebee's and why drive anywhere when we didn't have any idea where to eat. I got the Cowboy

Tuesday, July 25'th

Up too late we thought, breakfast was included in the room but had to be completed before 10AM, and we checked out five minutes past. But again we had changed Timezone and in Mountain time, breakfast was served - Dougnuts, Serial, Coffee, O.J. Our first plan for the day was to find the Mile High Comicbook Shop. Shehab had brought old European comic papers with him that he wanted to trade so we began our quest.

Our only clue was a old address near Denver downtown, but that was vacant. It still had the signs but it had closed some time ago. We asked in the neighbouring shops and got the address of the store-building, out in one of the roads the go all the way around Denver. But the street numbering system is not that trivial in Denver. We found the road but could not figure out where the numbers went, there seemed to be gabs and the street ended all of a sudden in a park.

We bought a city-map at a gas-station and managed to locate the isolated part of the road where the store was located. It ws almost noon by now when we found it and then we got a new address with the shop, just a few miles further. Finally there and shehab did sell his books but no money came out of the deal, instead he had new ones, wery rare (and expensive) in Europe with him to bring back home.

Time to get some lunch, there was a Wendy's next to the Highway so again fast-food. And then we had to make a telephone call to my colleague, Ken, from IBM. When he was in Denmark on a business trip and heard we were going coast to coast he offered that we could

I tried twice to call him at the office but it ws the telephone answering machine every time. We took the chance and went the 30 miles north to Boulder in hope that he would be home when we turned up at his doorstep. We found the house but no one home so we returned to the car to write him a slip to tell that we had been there but had gone again. While we searched for pen and paper a car drove up to the house, it was Ken and he ws in a hurry - he had a SoftBall match to play. Five minutes earlier or later and we would have missed him.

A quick tour of the house, dropping our luggage off at the guest-room and changeing into shorts and T-shirts and we were off to cheer on Kens team. On the way to the field we bought a basket full of Miller's draught and ice-cubes to keep them cool. The weather in Colorado is very dry and even though the temperature was high it wan't uncomfortably hot, but you get rather thirsty. By the time the game ended the sun was low in the horizon and I was rather scorched, both from the sun and the beers.

Ken and his team won the game and most of the team-players went celebrating, one of them had sports-bar and we all went there. Ken being the pitcher of the team thought it was in place with a can-of-beer for the table. "A Pitcher for the Pitcher" as he said and so it was. It was now late in the day and the owner asked if we wanted something to eat beside the beer-nuts that we had shovel in, he ordered for us while telling the tale of a collegue of mine that had been to this place, 6 feet 7 Morten and he couldn't even finish off the Club-Sandwich-De'luxe he was served. Now we were put to the same test and we each got two humongous Sandwiches, but we hadn't eaten all day so no problem, down the hatch.

The guys were impressed and we felt being part of the team. This is a great place, behind the bar was a strange painting that we thaught looked familiar, a picture of "Cosmo Cramer" from Seinfeld. In one of the shows a picture is painted of Cosmo, and this was the real prop from that show, kind of a Cult-artifact, obtained from a charity-auction. The players trickled home little by little and we went for an ice-cream at Baskin' Robbins before we called it a day.

Back home we talked with Ken untill midnight about our journey so far and what to do and see in Boulder. We made an appointment to have lunch at the IBM-Plant the next day and we could write an Email to the folks at home. He showed us his TV and all the channels available, one of them showed a rerun of the latest in ultimate fighting; "Superfight". Everything is allowed except for biting and chocking. Most of the competitors are plain rowdies but those who master martial arts usualy advance. Before the end there had been a heart-attack and several unconscious competitors, the Russian Speznas guy is the new (VIII) World Champ. Extremely violent and extreeme, I can't see this as a public succes, but who knows.

Wednesday, July 26'th

The next day we get up late, Ken has given us a spare key for the house and we take off to find IBM outside Boulder, no problem and we get a guest identification from the reception. Ken pick us up and show us to a spare office where we can write our Emails. In the staff-restaurant all the major fastfood chains are represented, I settle for a SubWay sandwich and Ken direct us on how to get to Estes park, a good destination for the afternoon.

Driving one hour north into the Rocky Mountains you find Estes park, named by the French fur traders Joel and Milton Estes. Together with the Grand Lake this is a fantastic view of the mountains. The drive through the National Park takes a few hours, but there is a lot of traffic and the sun is setting so we drive back. Despite the hot sun there is still snow in the ditch of the road. Back at Boulder we find Ken on the porch with a beer, the only place with some shade and a cool breeze.

In the evening we go out to have Chinese at a nice restaurant - our treat, Shehab would like some seafood but since there is several thousand miles to the ocean the prawns are not a big success.

We get ready to go in the morning and arrange to drop the key off when we leave. We discuss where to drive from Boulder, the direct route to California will take us there in two days and we will be there too early, the trip have been going fast so far. Instead we decide to go up North, into Wyoming and follow one of the tours from the Guide Book.