Duct Tape Van and Freaky Hotels {Day 9: Iowa to Wyoming}

Creative use of the hotel bedspread; hopefully it's not one that goes back on the bed!

After a full day with friends in Chicago, our evening's four hour drive (with a fast food stop for dinner) brought us safely home for the night near Davenport, Iowa.  A dinky hotel room with a violent toilet sufficed for a fair night's sleep before another sub-par hotel breakfast and hot drinks that looked and smelled like coffee, taste not withstanding. 

Too many drought-distressed corn fields to count; alongside I 80 in Nebraska

Entering, crossing, and exiting Nebraska ranked #1 on the to-do list for day 9; our sights set on finding lodging in Cheyenne come nightfall.  Endless miles of suffering corn fields made for a monotonous drive, until a strange flapping sound (picked up by Peter) alerted us to the fact that part of our bumper had detached from the vehicle and threatened to fly into traffic on I 80.  An unplanned, but entirely necessary vehicle maintenance stop ensued, and after duct tape repairs were completed, we carried on and put Nebraska behind us, entering Wyoming at dusk having enjoyed a pizza pizza in the car for dinner.

Duct tape to the rescue

An item for my wish list

Surprised to discover that nearly every hotel room in Cheyenne was already booked, we were directed to the one place where vacancies could be found.  A quick Internet search conducted en route, revealed a disturbing pattern of customer comments for that place, predominantly falling into the category labeled "terrible."  I read the following customer review aloud to Tim as he pulled into the parking lot:

No security anywhere, a drunk tried to pick a fight with my husband at the ice machine. No ice anyway... drunks in the parking lot and totally out of control. Oh well, went to sleep despite the noise and the stained sheets. No A/C to speak of, enjoyed the ice cold shower in the morning and the breakfast with cold foods that were warm and warm foods that were cold. Especially liked that when we used the sink in the am, that it clogged again with the previous guests puke.

Needless to say, we did not spend the night in Cheyenne.  844 miles and over 13 hours of driving later, we put an end to day 9 in Laramie.  After narrowly avoiding a close call with the house of horrors in Cheyenne, the AmericInn in Laramie proved to be quite a palace. 

Another night, another hotel room; on our journey home from Notre Dame