Most of us Alaskans aren't use to traveling around "the lower 48" or as we Sourdoughs say, "Outside", but the experience can be delightful if one takes the back-roads as compared to sticking to the Interstate highways.
This week I drove from Santa Fe, New Mexico to my hometown of Grand Island, Nebraska. In an effort to avoid the confusion and heavy traffic of driving through Denver on Interstate 25, I veered off I25 at Trinidad in Southern Colorado and took two lane highways heading northeast to Nebraska.
What a surprise and what a delight. The back roads were in great shape and the scenery, while sometimes quite boring, was something totally new. Prairie grasslands, rolling hills, cattle herds and friendly drivers who waved with each passing, were common. Small towns with courthouses and bank buildings dating back to the 1800s were the norm. It was a historic adventure that was totally unexpected.
Talk about deserted, cars were few and 18 wheelers even fewer. It did take two days to cover the 750 miles, but I arrived less stressed than I would have had I taken the clogged, poorly maintained interstate route.
