It’s been about a year since my last road trip and more than five since my last technology trade show. I rolled out of Saint Paul at about 5:00 PM and took I-35 south straight to Des Moines. I was checked into the hotel by 9:30. It’s only about a 3.5 hour drive, but I like to stop and look at stuff. I normally don’t like taking the interstate; I’d much rather putt around on the blue highways—the roads that show up as blue lines on the map. But our car is old and starting to get a little cranky and it’s a straight shot through nothing but flat prairie farmland all the way to Des Moines.
The only thing interesting on the way down was a wind farm near the Iowa border. I got off the interstate at the closest exit as soon as I spotted the towers. The prairie is like Las Vegas: everything looks a lot closer than it is, but it’s incredibly easy to navigate because the country roads only go east-west or north-south, like a checkerboard, and you have unobstructed views in any direction. The thing that struck me the most about the wind chargers was the immensity of them; they’re huge, and even on a still day they were grinding away.
I got back on the interstate and headed south, passing on the authentic blacksmith shop and authentic prairie overlook. The latter was all of maybe five feet above the span of seemingly infinite farmland in all directions. When I got to Des Moines, I was shocked. Just before 9:00 in the evening, and the downtown was deserted. Saint Paul isn’t exactly known for its vibrant night life, but the silence of downtown Des Moines was startling and then, mysteriously, almost narcotic. I pulled over, turned the car off, and just listened. I could actually hear the stoplight change colors.
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