July 30 - August 17, 1979
The Trip West
The trip first went along Interstate Highway 80 from Chicago to the western state line of Nebraska. Driving after 10 years again through Iowa and Nebraska, it is striking to see how fast modern development has progressed. Especially striking is the metropolitan expansion of Omaha, Nebraska. While 10 years ago, the city hardly stretched beyond the western bank of the Missouri River, satellite communities and modern industries now extend far out into the countryside to Lincoln, the capitol of Nebraska. The Strategic Air Command (SAC), situated in Bellevue, has contributed a great deal to this development.
A Museum of a Special Kind
In Bellevue, at the southern edge of Omaha, the Strategic Air Command Museum was established. It is an open air museum of a special kind, whose unrestricted freedom is only possible in America. Next to used aircrafts of the Air Force, also older models of intercontinental rockets and missiles like ATLAS, CBM and Minute Man are on exhibition. Graphic charts illustrate the devastating destructive force of these weapons, which have just been the topic of discussion in the SALT II negotiations. This exhibition makes one think: While in most other countries the age of missiles has not even started, here outdated models are already on display.
The Cattle Kingdom
After North Platte, Nebraska, we left Interstate 80 and continued our journey on Interstate 76 to Denver, Colorado. While 10 years ago, the open country from Omaha to Denver was for the most part uninhabited, it now makes a settled impression. At least a gas filling station with a coffee shop shows up every 50 miles. After North Platte, the Great Plains with their wide pastures do not look as deserted anymore. Only now, the enormous size of the “Cattle Kingdom” has come to my attention. It stretches about 1, 500 miles from West Texas over New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming as far up as Montana.
In the Vacationland of Colorado
From Denver we drove west on Interstate 70. The first stage led over the 10,000 feet high Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel to Vail, Colorado. The Eisenhower Tunnel lies on the Continental Divide. Beyond it, the wonderful vacationland of Colorado begins. About 100 miles around, there are the 12 - 14,000 feet high mountains in a number of National Parks and Forests, which together form one of the most beautiful vacation areas in the United States. Here, also the famous winter resorts - Keystone, Brackenridge, Vail and Aspen - have been created. Vail is situated just below the Eisenhower Tunnel in a valley basin. It was built in the style of an Alpine village, most likely comparable to a small Kitzbühel. The Gasthof “Pepi Gramshammer” stands in the center of the elegant resort town. There, we could feel at home and rest after a long day’s ride,
The next morning we drove through the narrow canyon of the still young Colorado River near Glenwood Springs. The Colorado River remained our companion until we reached the desert in southeastern Utah. The difference in altitude and the quick change in temperature from 40 to 117 degrees F caused a flat tire. Fortunately, a young couple came along the empty highway. They stopped immediately in the desert heat, took us into their air-conditioned station wagon so that we could cool off and refresh ourselves. The young gentleman still helped me to mount the reserve. After Green River, Utah, we traveled north on the picturesque highway that passes through Price Canyon, arriving in Provo and Salt Lake City in the evening.
The Ride through the Desert
The 500 miles on Interstate 80 from Salt Lake City to Reno, Nevada, are a ride through the desert. One should be equipped as if going on an expedition. At first, one drives along the wide, dried-up flats of the Great Salt Lake. The concrete-hard salt flats are especially suitable for the car racing of the Bonneville Speedway. This is a testing ground where various automobile models are tested for the highest speed they can achieve. Heading west, one drives on Interstate 80 for hours on end along the Humboldt River. The shimmering horizon in the heat has the effect of a mirage. Rarely, a green spot with a ranch can be seen on the River. Crossing the desert of Utah and Nevada, one may involuntarily be overcome by fear of the immense and empty space one has to conquer. At Humboldt Sink the River finally trickles away into a swamp, as all running waters evaporate in this alkaline saturated desert. Arriving in the evening in Reno, one draws a deep breath to have made it.
Virginia City, Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass
From Reno we took a short side-trip to nearby Virginia City. A winding mountain road leads to the legendary silver mining town, situated on a mountain range adjacent to the Sierra Nevada. Here, the Comstock Lode, one of the richest silver veins of the Far West, was discovered. Additional gold finds made it an instant boom town which attracted a motley array of people. At its peak from 1860-70, the city had 20,000 inhabitants. Virginia City became the quintessential gold rush city of the American West. It also has its significance for American literature. Samuel Clemens started here from 1861-64 his career as a newspaper reporter. It is here, where he used his pen name Mark Twain for the first time. In the autobiographical story, Roughing It (1872), he narrates in a humorous way his experiences as a newspaperman in Virginia City. The years in Virginia City had a considerable influence on the development of Mark Twain’s burlesque style. The printing press he had used and a few of his early articles are exhibited there. Virginia City has been rescued from decay by turning it in good time into a tourist attraction. It also served as scenery for a number of Western films.
From Virginia City we drove via Carson City, the capital of Nevada, to Lake Tahoe. The size of this dark-blue mountain lake came as a surprise. [Lake Tahoe is situated at an altitude of 6,225 feet in the Sierra Nevada; the shoreline of the lake has a length of 72 miles. The name is most likely of Indian origin and could mean “big water.”] We drove along the North shore of Lake Tahoe from Nevada to the California border, which was only marked by a sign with the inscription “Welcome to California.” From there the road led us to Squaw Valley and then on to the Donner Pass. The interesting visit to Virginia City and the scenic beauty of Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley have made the by-pass from Interstate 80 worthwhile taking.
Having just driven through the Utah and Nevada desert by car, it is almost impossible to imagine how, before the railroad was built, the pioneers had been able to cross this stretch by oxen-driven covered wagons. But there were, indeed, enough accidents and catastrophes. Best known is the ill-fate that met the Donner Party in the winter of 1846-47. The wagon train led by George and Jacob Donner had reached the pass which now bears their name. But they were surprised by an early winter in the Sierra Nevada in late October 1846 so that they remained shut in over the long winter on the pass. Half of the Donner Party, among them families with women and children, died of starvation, freezing temperatures, and exhaustion. Only in spring, the survivors could be saved. A State Park was established on the pass as a memorial for the Donner Party. An impressive monument reminds visitors of the first pioneers who had come to California overland. The Donner Pass lies on the divide of the Sierra Nevada. From there, Interstate 80 rolls gently down the 100 miles to Sacramento. Ninety miles farther on through the fertile plain of the San Joaquin Valley, Interstate 80 reaches Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. [With a length of 2,148 miles, interstate 80 is the main connection between Chicago and San Francisco.]
Palo Alto, August 9, 1979
Palo Alto is situated on the Peninsula 50 miles south of San Francisco at the lower end of the San Francisco Bay. The Spanish name refers to an old, high sequoia, which had originally served the Indians as a reference point and later the Spaniards as a place to rest. The large redwood tree has been preserved as a landmark of the city. Today, Palo Alto is regarded as one of the most exclusive residential areas in the United States. Stanford University has contributed its share to it. The city combines the leisure of a resort with the newest electronic industry and space technology. At the edge of Stanford University on Page Mill Road, a clean industrial zone has originated that looks like an extension of the Stanford Campus. The revolutionary innovations in computer technology and data processing started here, changing information technologies worldwide. Santa Clara Valley, which stretches from San Jose north beyond Palo Alto, has been nicknamed “Silicon Valley,” as it is known now all over the world. This area has the strongest concentration of the brain trust I have ever encountered. Also, an international atmosphere prevails here in the broadest sense of the word. The lifestyle is cultivated and liberal, but more devoted to the natural sciences than the humanities. The society is very mobile: who lives on the same address for a year is already considered a permanent resident.
August 14, 1979
Yellowstone National Park
On our journey back east, we turned north in Nevada and drove through Idaho as far as Twin Falls where we stayed overnight after a long day on the road. There, at the upper course of the Snake River one could notice a change in mentality, which was more oriented toward the Northwest to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. The next morning, we continued our journey on Interstate 20 up to the plain of the Teton Range. The snow-covered peaks of the Grand Teton’s (13,766 feet high) could be seen from a distance. We entered the Yellowstone National Park at the West Gate and moved right on to Old Faithful. Yellowstone National Park offers a natural spectacle without equal. The Old Faithful geyser, which regularly shoots every hour 150 feet into the air, is a rarity. But there are hundreds of geysers and thousands of hot springs in the Park. It simmers, sizzles, and bubbles everywhere. 3,468 square miles of the Yellowstone River area were decreed a National Park by the U.S. Congress in 1872. It was the first nature reservation in the world, becoming a model for future nature conservancy parks. Yellowstone National Park lies on the Continental Divide at an altitude of 7,731 feet. The Park is also known as a wildlife sanctuary. Elk, moose, and buffalo roam near the highway undisturbed. Occasionally also a grizzly bear shows up. Especially impressive is the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River that plunges into the yellow shimmering Canyon. We passed the terraced Mammoth Hot Springs and then left the Park at the North Gate in the direction of Bozeman, Montana. From there, we drove on Interstate 94 east through North Dakota and Minnesota, back to the Great Lakes and home to Indiana. We covered 10,000 miles on this three-week trip through the American West.