Travel
J. D. Carpenter’s American Odyssey
DAY 6 – BETHANY, MISSOURI: As soon as we crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa, we stopped at Iowa 80, advertised as “The World’s Biggest Truck Stop,” where we fell into conversation with a long-haul trucker named Tim, who said that yes, it was, to his knowledge, the world’s biggest truck stop. He should know: his 1999 Volvo tractor trailer cab is just shy of the million mile mark.
We were near Prairie City, proceeding west towards Des Moines, when we saw an old Econoline van engulfed in flames in the east bound lanes. Emergency personnel were on the scene.
At Prairie Meadows Race Track in Altoona, we checked out the Clubhouse dining room where Campbell Young and Priam Harvey will have lunch in the new book. While there, we invested $8 on three thoroughbreds — Lively Thunder, Hero’s Glow, Posse Valley. Net profit? Doodleysquat.
Having decided to forego Nebraska (and Fonner Park Race Track) to spend Independence Day in Dodge City, Kansas, we headed south on Interstate 35. At some point, Karen and I agreed that we’d had enough of Interstate driving for a while (that said, the Interstates in the midwest are well maintained and picturesque), and exited onto a secondary highway which led us in short order to Osceola, Iowa, and a festival in the town square, where we watched a local band entertain their audience with old favourites like ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’ and ‘Some Kind of Wonderful.’ “We’d like to play this next tune for one of our favourite people. Where are you, Mindy? There you are. This one’s for you!” One woman was invited up on stage to sing ‘Me and Bobby McGee,’ which she did with great enthusiasm and for which she received affectionate applause from her audience of men and woman and children and grandparents (all sitting in lawn chairs brought from home) and crawling babies and dancing teenaged girls.
Off we drove into the dusk. The motel we ended up at (Family Budget Inn) provided shelter not only for us and travelers from Minnesota, New Jersey, Kansas, and Texas (as we noted during our late evening, beer-toting constitutional), but for an Amish family in town to sell baskets. I encountered one of them — a young man, maybe eighteen — at the ice machine. “After you,” I said. “Whaaah, thaink yew,” said he.
Tags: About the author
J.D. Carpenter's Campbell Young novels have been nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award, appeared on national bestseller lists (The Globe & Mail), and received critical acclaim (The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, The Edmonton Journal, Maclean's, Quill & Quire).
Discussion
2 comments for “J. D. Carpenter’s American Odyssey”
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I’m enjoying the trip. I sit down every night with my WILD TURKEY and sip while visualizing your journey.
If you come across a horse called SLIPPERY SHOES bet the farm.
Jim
Your route from Osceola to Dodge City is likely to take you 1/2 mile from the farm that Beth’s parents owned and ran from the 1940’s until they sold the place in the 1980’s. The farm was just to the east of Interstate 70, roughly halfway between Pawnee Rock and Larned Kansas. I say roughly halfway, because Beth remembers that she the family tended top get assigned to public school in Larned or Pawnee Rock depending on the enrollment of these schools and either way, she remembers being first pick up. last drop off. High school was Larned Kansas.
Beth remembers being at church when State Police arrived to get relatives of the Clutter family after the discovery of their murder, as there were Clutters in Larned.
Have a great trip.