I drove from Hartford to Silicon Valley in 1995. Had a rental truck and towed my car. Got on the road just before sunrise and drove until about 45 min before sunset. Picked a destination and made a reservation for that evening.
Wyoming has a lot of exits on 80, but most are just two dirt roads going north and south to the horizon.
Ended up staying in Buffalo (mom's house), middle of Illinois (locked the keys in the truck), Omaha, Laramie, Salt Lake City, and Reno.