Not So Hard Travelin' on The Lincoln Highway

Needing to drive from Jackson Hole to Austin at the end of this summer, we gave ourselves enough time to take back roads and to stop at some sights along the way.

Barely beyond the valley that is Jackson Hole, we stopped in Dubois so that I could nip into Wyoming Wool Works, a gem of a shop housed in the old Masons building, just behind The Opportunity Shop. Actually there are several shops in the building, but my favorite is Anita Thatcher's, which always has interesting local yarns and knits. Anita has a terrific eye and this time was selling trimmings from Pendleton blankets. I picked up this roll from the Glacier National Park blanket, one of their earliest patterns.

I've already used most of it up for this crocheted cat bed.

I like how it turned out but Sarah is still trying to decide if it suits her.

Back on the road we drove southeast to Independence Rock, so called because pioneers along the Oregon Trail hoped to arrive here by Independence Day, ensuring they would have enough time left to cross the Rockies before winter snows arrived.

From there we pushed on towards Laramie for the night, across miles and miles of open plains, seemingly empty except for wind turbines.

In Laramie we hopped onto I - 80 and headed east, but quickly tired of the heavy traffic and 18-wheelers and looked for an alternate route. And there, a mile or so to the north and running parallel to I-80, was US 30. Dedicated in 1913 and also known as the Lincoln Highway, US 30 was the first auto road to cross the continent, running between Lincoln Park in San Francisco and Times Square in New York.

Perhaps you are familiar with it from Wo0dy Guthrie's song Hard Travelin':

"And I've been hittin' some hard travelin', Lord

I've been walking that Lincoln highway, I thought you knowed,"

We drove most of the way across Nebraska along the Lincoln Highway, but fortunately it was not a bit hard for us in our comfortable, modern vehicle. Though I could imagine how hard and brown it might have been like back in the depression and dust bowl years, I found it quite beautiful, as much for the dense rows of nearly ripe corn marching across the undulating hills as for the sense of freedom that comes with seeing a wide open road stretching all the way to the horizon.

We did stop in several of the many towns along the way. They are spaced about ten miles apart along this section of the Lincoln Highway, and if our tour guide in the capitol in Lincoln was correct, it is because they were established along the rail line to service trains, which needed fuel and water every ten miles. They are all pretty quiet these days, but have a certain charm that elicits feelings of nostalgia for simpler days. 

Every town has its grain elevator, each unique in design, but all standing testament to a shared agrarian history.

In Gothenburg we stopped at this cabin which was once used as a Pony Express station. Sadly it is not open for visitors and information about it is limited to the plaques on the front.

Beyond exploring new places, road trips appeal to me for the quiet time I get when I'm in the passenger seat. I finished this pair of knee socks. And now that the weather is getting cooler in Austin, I may even have a chance to wear them soon. Just not for hard walking on the Lincoln Highway.

Road Trip!

When my daughter invited me to drive with her from Ithaca, New York, to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I jumped at the chance. It gave me a rare opportunity to spend time with her, and a chance to enjoy a quintessential American experience: the road trip.

We covered over 2,200 miles in three and a half days so she would arrive in time to start her summer job with the National Park Service. It made for a tight schedule, but we still fit in visits to two friends and a couple of sightseeing stops along the way.

Our longest stop was at Badlands National Park, just a few miles south of Interstate 90 in the southwestern part of South Dakota. Eager to stretch our legs after hours in the car, we jumped out at the first parking lot and hiked the Door Trail into the beautiful, but forbidding landscape.

Having only visited the Badlands once before, briefly and on a grey morning, I was surprised at how colorful it is, and how lushly green the surrounding plains are.

We were delighted to see quite a few big horn sheep, none of which seemed bothered by gawking people or cars rolling past.

Since it was so late in the day we drove the Badlands Loop Road, then headed back to I-90 and Wall Drug for dinner.

Wall Drug is an unabashedly touristy spot, but the only option for many miles around, and worth a visit for the sheer spectacle of it. If you want a momento of your travels, you can certainly find one here. 

On our last day we crossed Wyoming, watching the prairies give way to mountains.

Our final stop before reaching Jackson Hole was in the tiny but colorful town of Dubois. The barista at Perch Coffee House kindly pointed us down the street to the local yarn shop, Wyoming Wookworks. I knew it existed because I had seen a lovely blog post about it, and it is definitely worth a visit. Anita Thatcher, the proprietor, gave us a complete tour.

It is crammed full of all kinds of wool and crafty items. You can buy yarn, much of it locally sourced,

and all kinds of finished items, from handmade saddle blankets

to small gifts.

And then it was over the Togwotee Pass to Jackson Hole and the really big mountains! I've flown in to Jackson Hole many times, but I have to say that there is something special about driving in and watching the landscape slowly unfold in front of you.

One other important benefit of a road trip in which you share the driving with someone else: time for knitting! On my flight from Austin to New York I cast on a new sweater, the cropped cardigan from Vogue Knitting's early fall 2014 issue. I have already finished the back and am halfway through both front pieces.

Wishing everyone safe travels on their summer adventures!