Ah, what a great and wonderful country we live in. Ann and I covered 1500 miles each way on our trip to Merced, Calif., and I enjoyed mile after mile. We drove mainly I-80. Yeah I know truck drivers do it daily, but it has been awhile since I've driven a comparable trek.

Ann commented several times out across the plains of Wyoming and Utah and Nevada that it looks like a "Whole lot of nothing." She is right in that there isn't a lot of man-made influence to see but really that isn't true, either. Of course the road we were on, the fences along both sides, occasionally accompanying power or telephone lines are all man-made.

But also along that great road one can spot the distinctive brick buildings built to Bell Telephone specifications that mark an underground transcontinental telephone line. And now there are the widely spaced low buildings that mark coast-to-coast underground fiber optic lines, two in fact. Also notices long lines of plastic post markers warning of buried lines of some sort whether they be wire, glass or pipes filled with natural gas or petroleum products.

Yes the road exemplifies the theme that Gov. Frank Morrison was trying to get across when they build the Arch at Kearney, transcontinental transportation and communication. It is a vital dynamic part of what makes our country great.

Ann says "nothing" but not really, just no trees, so one can take in the ever-changing giant vista passing by at 75 miles per hour. And the herds of antelope and cattle and horses and even sheep and now a few goats. Some of that vegetation is so sparse that a cow would have to graze at 10 mph just to keep from starving but cattle there are! I noted many more horses than I remembered, and wonder why ranchers let them multiply because to my mind, they are rather useless animals to waste feed on; at least we eat cattle. But then people think I waste money on airplanes, so to each his own.

The trip evokes memories like the night we reached Little America in a heavy snow storm and were grateful for its shelter realizing that is why it is there in the first place. Another night years ago, our children were babies, we stayed in a motel in Fort Bridger. The room arrangement was a little unusual and I investigated to find the building was built with adobe about 18 inches thick sided with boards on the outside and plaster inside.

It made for wonderful sleep, absolutely quiet. And then one evening, with kids a little older, we took the Green River, Wyo., exit and found a wonderful authentic Mexican Restaurant serving green chile without equal.

When I let down the mountainside into the Salt Lake basin I always marvel at the men who built the tunnels and the grade to lay track when they first constructed the continental railroad. I also wonder how the pioneers threaded their way through the canyons on unimproved trails behind a yoke of oxen. Our modern road is a piece of cake to drive.

I enjoy the drive along the shore of the Great Salt Lake and remember my folks letting us swim in its buoyant waters when I was a kid about eight. My own children always thought it smelled bad and declined to even wade in it. This time we took the detour to look at the Bonneville Salt Flats where the theme is speed. Maybe that little side trip was motivated by the movie we recently watched called "The World's Fastest Indian" and dealt with one Australian bloke's efforts to set the world record on his old motorcycle out across that very same stretch of absolutely flat track -- he did it too.

We passed by Reno the weekend of "Street Vibration" akin to Sturgis. That day we shared the highway with motorcycles by the hundreds and every small town along the way had more bikers talking and evidently enjoying themselves.

Returning from Merced we took the back way and climbed over the Sierra's south of Lake Tahoe and down into Minden, Nevada. Near Minden is where Steve Faucett departed on his final flight and I wanted to look at the country they were searching. For sure, there is lots of high country with blind canyons where one could get trapped and big trees to hide a wrecked airplane so it can't be discovered by air. I understand that his wife has asked the search be suspended so Steve may never be found. That foray made me think of searching for bin Laden, and he doesn't want to be found.

But now it is also good to be home. We have so much to celebrate this weekend. This big beautiful country that we live in and our way of life all given us by forefathers who created all that we enjoy today. It is indeed a wonderful gift, our heritage.

That is the way I see it.