12 days before the election
Population (Estimated): 12,000
2004 Election: Bush 70%, Kerry 28%, Other 2%
2008 Election: McCain 67%, Obama 32%, Other 1%
(map)

This is madness.

18 Episodes. 18 Days. 18 Hours of Sleep.

Total.

And then there was Nebraska. Perhaps annoyed that she is the first state we was pass through without plans to shoot or sleep, she did everything she could to keep us at bay. What can you say about a state that we crossed in 18 hours without escaping the downpours of an occluded front?

11 miles inside the border and 11 miles over the limit, flashing lights and $119 later, we made our acquaintance. No strong radio signal left me following the first World Series game played by my cherished Phillies in 15 years via text messages from my sister in California. Then the steady rain turned to tempestuous snow slowing, then halting forward progress.

Flakes ran horizontally across the highway and for the first time on the trip we indulged in a motel. But while the trip could not go on, the show must. At 6:30am, Graham wrapped the Denison episode and at 7:30am we were traversing I-80 again.

At 7:40am we were on the side of I-80 with a useless right front tire.

But that was the last and best Nebraska could muster. A kindly tow truck driver, a neighborly tire center and the flexibility to change our shoot location kept us on schedule

The appealing tale of urban Greeley, Colorado became the compelling story of rural Sterling, Colorado. Location, it is clear, does not matter. While the stories are unique at each stop, what remains the same is the plethora of engaging local issues, articulate characters, and spectacular scenery to be documented in each area.