In early 2007 my father passed away in his home in suburban Philadelphia. He left several items for me that would have been difficult if not impossible to bring home (Seattle) by air, so in early April my brother-in-law and I chose to fly to the east coast and rent a one-way vehicle, then drive back across the country in the space of my brother-in-law's spring break from his teaching duties. We didn't have a lot of time and by no means an unlimited budget; it was mainly a case of "get 'er done." Here are some photos taken along the way.

The route. The original plan was to connect to I-90 in Chicago and stay on that highway all the way to Seattle. However, on leaving Philly the extended forecast was for poor weather (rain/snow) along I-90 in Illinois and Wisconsin, so we chose to stay south, using I-70 across Ohio and Indiana, then angling northward somewhere west of the Mississippi. By the time we got to the Quad Cities it was clear that we should continue to stay south of I-90, as snow was forecast for much of Iowa and points north. After a snowy night in Des Moines, we chose to continue west on I-80 through Nebraska, although I wanted to show my brother-in-law the Black Hills if at all possible - I'd been there a couple of times, he never had been.

We ended up taking Nebraska Hwy 2 from Grand Island diagonally across Nebraska and through the Nebraska Sandhills. This was an inspired choice; even in the tan landscape of early spring, this is some of the most beautiful and empty country I'd experienced in the Lower 48. We did make it to the icy Black Hills, then joined I-90 near Deadwood for the remaining run across Montana, Idaho and finally home. We made the drive in 4 1/2 days, stopping in western Ohio, Des Moines, Chadron NE and Butte MT.



Shortly before we left home, my sister-in-law presented her husband with a book called Road Food, which documents unusual and worthy local eateries in all 50 states, which we strove to employ daily. Thus some of the pictures document some of the places we stopped at, recommended by the authors.

Henry's Diner, West Jefferson, Ohio. Famous for pies, everything served with gravy (not the pie.) Newspapers spread on the men's room floor to make cleanup easier. The waitress said she preferred waiting tables to her previous job, that of a matron at the nearby women's prison.



Shapiro's Deli, Indianapolis. Talk about an oasis of pastrami and chicken soup. Simply outstanding. We loaded up on bagels and corned beef/pastrami for the great bagel-free zone that lay ahead.



Signs of old times at Shapiro's



Into the Sandhills. NE 2 parallels some train tracks that bore miles-long trains carrying coal from the Wyoming mines eastward to keep the lights lit and the globe ever warmer.







Some cowboys drinking coffee at a diner, behind the curtains



The Black Hills. Clear and Icy, the Deadwood casinos empty save for the large gents at the doors waiting for the spring to bring fresh money. I wanted to visit the side-by-side graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, but the gates to the Mount Moriah cemetery were closed because of unplowed snow. But there was still plenty to see along the roads.



Crazy Horse emerging from the mountainside.



The Land of Magic. The final "Road Food" destination was the Land of Magic, a steakhouse in a tiny hamlet between Bozeman and Butte, MT. Soup, shrimp salad, 22 oz T-bone, twice baked potato, ice cream, $25 (Now around $50 but still amazing. Best restaurant steak I'd ever had. Enter under the rack, turn left past the bar. Everybody is "hon." God Bless America.

Bring yer dawg, but not inside.



Sunset outside Butte. Home the next afternoon.



Here's the rented chariot for the trip, picture taken at the Land of Magic. Dirt on vehicle courtesy of ten states or so.