A Monologue with the Æther

The thing that most stands out in my memory of riding across the Continental United States is that riding east to west settlements become fewer and farther apart, and everything gets drier and drier.

My knee feels much better. I get an early start and head west on Interstate 80. Once I get past Green River, Wyoming, there are no public facilities between it and my destination Kemmerer, Wyoming, except, Little America which at the time was a somewhat kitschy truck stop at the intersection of Interstate 80 and US 30. Looking at the Little America website, it seems to have upgraded its image. Mind you, it was never a South of the Border; it was much more low-key, more out-of-time than gaudy.

I reached Kemmerer in the late afternoon and found a cheap, clean motel across the street from shopping, a K-mart (if I recall correctly) and some fast food places. Technically, I stayed in Diamondville, Wyoming which abuts Kemmerer. Kemmerer’s claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of the J.C. Penney chain.