What's Tony Thinking

Report from the Road

It is Wednesday evening, the 31st of August, and we are in Topeka, Kansas.

And doing pretty well. The only SNAFU so far was that I lost the keys to the lock on our U-Haul truck.

At the hotel where we were staying in Laramie, Wyoming there were quite a few people on various work crews. Linda thought fast and asked one of them if he might happen to have a bolt-cutter. He did. He was happy to help. After he broke the hasp on the lock he said, “Now, you’ll find your key.” We got on the road half-hour later than planned, but all things considered, that was great.

Laramie, the home of the University of Wyoming, as well as the state capitol, is an attractive small town with a very big football stadium. The football “Cowboys” are a big deal for the people of Wyoming, and a new season is just around the corner. I think their opener is against Oregon State.

So, to re-cap. We left White Salmon, Washington on Monday after loading the truck. Spent that night outside Boise.

So far we have been in seven states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and now Kansas. Kansas wins hands down for best and most hospitable rest areas. They even have attendants at some eager to answer your questions and give you a cup of coffee. Wyoming is the loser on that front. Every rest area we encountered in Wyoming was closed, which when you are a man of certain age is a problem.

Lots of wind machines dotting the landscape in Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and Kansas. And truckers moving the gigantic blades for the wind machines down the freeway. That must be a little dicey if a big wind comes up while hauling those things. In Kansas there are also a fair number of those small oil rigs, pumping in fields along the way. Against the gigantic wind machines the oil rigs seemed antediluvian.

I was interested to read, on the State of Kansas website, that 90% of the land in Kansas is in agriculture production. Corn, of course, but wheat and today we saw lots of sorghum.

Topeka is also a state capitol, so maybe we’re on the “state capitol tour,” although we haven’t seen the actual edifices in either Laramie or here. Tomorrow’s destination is Lexington, Kentucky, which may be another state capitol. Not sure about that, but it sounds right. Then on Friday, God willing, we hope to drop down to Greenville, South Carolina, our big drive completed and our mission accomplished. Well, mostly, there’s still the un-loading.

While the gas mileage ain’t great in our U Haul (about 11 mpg), the seats are really quite comfortable. The further east we go the lower the gas prices. I think the lowest I’ve seen is 3.03/ gallon, but 3.49 is about the average. Long time since I’ve seen gas under $4 a gallon out in the NW.

Meanwhile . . . are there signs that the fever, political speaking, is finally breaking? Trump is looking wild and desperate. And Sarah Palin was defeated in her bid for Congress by, wait for it . . . a native woman!

Just wanted to let you know we are doing fine, chugging away. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers. T