From the prairies to the mountains
A drive across the heart of America
For two days, I drove across the country. It was 1,300 miles from Columbus, Ohio to my relative’s house outside of Denver. I spent nearly 20 hours in my car over those two days. I passed through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. I crossed over both the longest (Missouri) and second-longest (Mississippi) rivers in the United States. (Yes, the Mississippi River is shorter).
For most people, this is flyover country. The part of America you would see out of your plane’s window as you are travelling to your actual destination. The prairies of Kansas? Just some old fields. Driving through Missouri? Misery.
For me, however, the drive wasn’t terrible. To me, this is America, not flyover country. I saw spacious skies, I saw amber waves of grain. I saw purple mountains, I saw fruited plains. Everything described in the patriotic songs about America I saw over these two days. (Well, except for the “oceans white with foam,” but I saw that in Maine). Of course, I couldn’t stare too long at the scenery because I needed to focus on driving, especially because the speed limit increased to 75 miles per hour, and I was cruising at 80.
I also needed to focus on my audio-books. During the first part of the drive, I finished “Moneyball” by Michael Lewis. The book follows Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane during the 2002 season as he tries to reform the team’s way of thinking. (The subtitle is “The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”) Perhaps you have seen the Oscar-nominated movie starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Chris Pratt that is based off of the book.
Lewis’s book revealed the reasons behind the Athletics success and brought data analytics into mainstream baseball knowledge. As he documents in the book, some of Beane’s ideas for a successful team had been around for decades. This was my first time re-reading “Moneyball,” though I had seen the movie quite a few times since. (Oddly enough, the first time I read the book I was in Portland, Maine). Listening to it, I realized how much different the movie is from the book, especially as it pertains to the history of the analytics movement. It was also fun to learn that most of Beane’s ideas were still being used today, including the most recent trend of looking at launch angles and exit velocities. Beane remains with the A’s as the executive vice president, and I hope to see his team (currently five games out from a playoff spot) when I go to San Francisco.
I also started listening to the sixth book in the Harry Potter franchise, Half-Blood Prince. Similar to “Moneyball,” it has been a while since I read the book, despite re-watching the movie fairly recently. It’s fun to discover whole chapters that had been changed or cut from the adaptation.
You may think of Kansas as a completely flat stretch of land, filled with farms and fields. You would be partially correct. There is an imperceptible incline driving west across Kansas. It’s almost as if the Rocky Mountains sneak up on you in Colorado. For those who like numbers, Kansas City, Kansas is located at 869 feet above sea level. Kanorado, Kansas, located on the border of the two states, is situated at 3,907 feet above sea level, a difference of just over 3,000 feet. Of course, that 3,000 feet altitude increase comes across 400 miles, with an average inclination of 0.0014 degrees. Unless you’re driving to all the way to the mountains in one day, you wouldn’t even realize you increased in elevation at all.
As I entered Colorado then, I was on the lookout for those mountains. And somehow, they still surprised me. About an hour’s drive into the state, I wondered if I could see the Rockies straight ahead of me. I couldn’t all I could see were clouds. Or so I thought. When I approached Denver, I realized some of those low, dark clouds were actually the mountains. Only when I could see more of them did the picture become much clearer.
On my first day in Colorado, I went on my first hike. It was just a few miles around my relative's property, which I might add is smack dab in the middle of the wilderness. How much in the middle of nowhere? On the drive up, I had no cell service. If I were to open the screen door in my room, I would walk right into a forest. That hike will be the first of many during my week-long stay.
Where did I go: Columbus, Ohio to Overland Park, Kansas to Morrison, Colorado
Hat of the week:
Colorado Rockies home adjustable cap
Most of my hats are from my visits to different parks. Whenever I visit a new ballpark, I buy the home team’s cap. However, I have a few caps that are from my days playing Little League baseball. This Rockies cap, I believe, is from eight years ago and has my name and jersey number written in Sharpie on the underside of the bill. Spoiler alert: I did not buy a new Rockies hat at the game.
Where to next: Staying in Morrison, Colorado until July 17. Leaving the next day for Salt Lake City, Utah. My next few posts will be about my time in Colorado, including seeing a Colorado Rockies game and more hiking adventures.
