It was a quiet day for Day 3 of the grand drive.  450 miles across all of Iowa and part of Nebraska.  Starting off in Davenport, I took some time to get some things done at the hotel and around town before heading out by late morning.   Then it was straight west … like straight straight west.  This was of course I-80 across Iowa, a road so straight you can cut construction paper along it’s edge.  Outside of Council Bluffs, the road heads Southwest in a point of time when life get’s thrilling because … what else is there to do out here but make a 45 degree turn.  By 6PM, we were pulling into the stop for the night, Grand Island, Nebraska – like an Oasis in the middle of corn fields.

Weather was generally good.  Cold, in the mid-teens for most of the trip, and windy.  Easter Iowa had a head wind that made for the worst fuel milage for the trip – I was getting nearly 30 mph in Ohio, and yesterday I couldn’t break 21 mph for most the morning.

Downside of a late start like that is that the coffee starts wearing out earlier.  I had lunch in Des Moines (drive thru so the pup didn’t have to sit in a cold car), and by the time it settled into my stomach I was getting sleepy.  No Starbucks out that way because it hasn’t reached western Iowa (same thing with internet, same thing with talking pictures), so I just grew tired enough that I had to nap.  An hour later and I was on the road again, but stopped forty minutes later for another nap.  Nearly took me 3 hours to cover the last 110 miles in Iowa.  But refreshed enough to drive, we pushed on through to the end.

Day 4 could be one of the easiest legs of the trip, and one of the trickiest as well. Tonight, we are stopping off in Denver, where I get to have some time trying to talk my opponent in Fantasy Football playoffs (Jason Lindgren) into dropping some of his good players.  It’s just over 400 miles to get there, which if you crank through means you could get done in just over 6 hours.  But there was a surprise band of snow that picked up over night close to Kearney and North Platte, even though WU says it is currently dry as a bone there.  Not to mention my gas light 50 miles west of Grand Island reminded me that good gas stations get further and further apart out this way – so stopping may be the norm.  Taking it easy will be key, Day 5, with 600 miles through mountains, will be the tough one – so rest is important.

That’s the boring news from the road.