Pretty much in the middle of nowhere lies the town of Medicine Bow, which consists almost exclusively of a small museum and a hotel that is clearly struggling to stay in business. The attraction of both -- and of the town itself -- is that Owen Wister wrote his famous novel The Virginian based on his experiences in the area.
The Virginian is widely considered the first true western, a novel which paved the way for many more westerns by famous authors such as Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour and others. The nice ladies in the museum were ardent that the Virginian was an actual local cattleman known to Wister, but other sources suggest the character is a composite creation of Wister's, based on a type of local man he encountered. The nice young lady at the hotel bar was equally ardent that I have a cup of her tomato soup with the excellent BLT she made for me. In both cases of ardency, I acquiesced.
A bit farther west, US Hwy 30 is subsumed into I-80, though the road retains multiple designations. At various places, the original highway roadbed is visible -- seen on right in this photo -- and is generally no more than a gravel service road or sometimes even less than that.
The interstate roadway was no great treat for the 100+ miles I was on it today, made less pleasant by gusting winds and very swiftly passing trucks that often gave me my own experience of high plains drifting. I've stopped for the day in the small city of Green River and plan to take a look around tomorrow… Stay tuned!
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