Sunday, May 14, 2006

Go West: Part 2 of the Big Summer Roadtrip

The wedding was the only real obligation of our big summer roadtrip. While I am really enjoying the time with my folks, my little hometown of McGraw New York doesn't have much to offer in terms of excitement. Check that map, it's a tiny village, people!

Now, our only time constraint is to leave Monday and arrive in Las Vegas on Friday to start the weekend with friends. My parents have always planned months in advance for trips and are befuddled that we haven't yet chosen our route out west yet. It mainly comes down to me picking a couple of places to visit while on the road.



My choices are the Recreational Vehicle Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana and the Ames Brothers Pyramid near Laramie, Wyoming. Both are off the I-80.

The RV Hall of Fame is a large collection of travel trailers, and since I love such things a large collection of travel trailers will make me very happy.

Further west is the Ames Pyramid. "Oliver and Oakes Ames were 19th century industrialists (Oakes was known as the "King of Frauds") who, when they weren't producing shovels, were bribing Congress to finance the Union Pacific Railroad."* And so a pyramid was built in their honor near the railroad track. Now the trains and track are gone, the pyramid stands alone in a field, and few people know or care about the corrupt brothers.

Thanks to the Google Earth program and the people who post the locations of various attractions, no mater where I am I know that something strange and unusual is just a short drive away. Makes me wish I had unlimited funds, all the time in the world and a silver 16' Bambi of my very own.

2 comments:

Reluctant Kerry said...

Ahhhh . . . Laramie Wyoming, my old stomping grounds! Grew quite fond of the area while attending school there for seven years (dear God that’s depressing). I make the following recommendations (I-80 friendly):

* check out the Vedawoo recreational area (about 1/2 way between Cheyenne and Laramie)

* from Laramie, take Highway 130 west across the Snowy Range (only about a 20 min detour from 180)

*if you stop in a crappy little town called Rawlins Wyoming, you will find the Carbon County Museum. Contained therein is a pair of 2-toned wingtip shoes made from the skin of the Outlaw Big Nose George Parrot.

That's all I got. I'm all out of unsolicited sightseeing advice.

Anonymous said...

That pyramid looks more like a cross breed of an obelisk and a pyramid to me.

-manda in vegas