Colorful map
Easy to read
Historical landscapes
Guided by Cable and Maley, the historical landscapes of I-70 come back to life, recalling landmarks and legacies relating to pioneer movements and Indian dispossession, army outposts and great bison hunts, cowboys and cattle trails, the struggles over slavery and womens rights, and the emergence of major wheat, beef, oil, and water industries.
Their guide parcels out information, mile-marker by mile-marker, in a way thats equally accessible to westbound and eastbound users alike. For example:
85 Grinnell - In 1872, Grinnell had two large sod buildings for drying buffalo meat. The air was so dry here that meat could be stripped off in layers and hung to dry. The dried meat would be preserved and not spoil. This was critical in the days before coolers and refrigerators. People called this meat jerked meat because of the way it was torn from the buffalos carcass. Today at gas stations or convenience stores along I-70 you have the opportunity to buy similar jerked meat in the form of beef jerky.
117 Capturing an Iron Horse - In this area, along the railroad track paralleling I-70 to the north, Indians tried in 1868 to capture a locomotive alive by taking telegraph wire, doubling it back and forth several times, and stretching it across the track with an Indian or two holding each end. Needless to say, the iron horse running at full steam, tore through the snare like a rampaging buffalo through a spider web.
