Most of the photos of the plains have disappeared somewhere. Just like the memories of those 3 days. We were just driving..

After Blue Ridge, the road leads us for a while through the remnants of the Great Smokies, and then rolls out onto the Kentucky plains. To be honest, you only realize this because of the "Welcome to Kentucky" signs and Kentucky license plates. Otherwise, it's just like the Saratov region))

There is one cool place here - the longest cave in the world, Mammoth Cave. We haven't been there ourselves, but after visiting another cave (more on that later) and talking to a guide, we realized it must be very cool. Judging by the photos, it really seems so..

And we are eating at a local KFC (how could it be otherwise)) and driving on. Then Illinois with the unchanging view outside the window and a stupid speed limit on the highways (we, of course, are not driving slower than usual, but it's unpleasant to drive so fast relative to others=)). Ahead is Missouri at the confluence with the Mississippi and St. Louis. Oh, we think, the great river...

Right there we find out the minimum requirements in America to be considered one. It turns out that a great river here is considered a river with a width of at most half of the Neva at its mouth into the Gulf of Finland or the Volga at its very source. St. Louis is cool, but the embankment is industrial, and the city itself is dirty, but otherwise it's okay, there's some kind of atmosphere. However, we are in a hurry, so we don't really catch what exactly it is)

Then we head onto a straight road leading exactly west. The navigator asks us to turn left in 1000 km, so we turn off the device and continue driving. It's about 5 PM, the sun is getting closer and closer in the sky on the left, until it finally hangs right in front of us at the very edge of the horizon. The car is flooded with gold, people in the back seats are squinting happily. The chase for the star continues for about 45 minutes until it disappears somewhere 50 km further away). Then we drive through night Kansas City (by the way, it's not bad) and sleep again.

In the morning we are on the road again. Around us is hilly terrain again, just like the whole way before. Perfectly flat plains start later and last for 5-6 hours. Yeah, the Americans' concept of greatness is definitely lacking) Around us is corn, silos, and other charms of the 60s :) We are waiting for the mountains. We are 30 km from Denver, and they are still not there. Suddenly, we climb another hill - and in front of us is just a wall. Not peaks in the distance. Not hills. Just a wall of mountains about 2 km high. Right there is a mark that we are already 1.5 km above sea level. Not bad.

Denver is so-so. Nothing remarkable, except for the absence of Bank of America. It's forbidden here for some reason. So we are left without cash. We sleep and drive to the Rocky Mountains the next day.