Yep, it's really weird seeing that difference. We drove the truck from CO up through Yakima and southern WA, so we saw first hand... or we would have if there hadn't been a huge dust cloud obscuring the view and turning everything pink/brown.

As for generators, off the top of my head I know that a basic unit can cost from $300-$500 depending on wattage and how it's powered (fuel, crank, battery etc.). I believe $250 is the lower end for a good one, and they can go up from there into the thousands. The main choice factors are how much power you need it to produce, and how it makes that power. My dad, for instance, has two - one propane driven higher wattage, and the other crank driven low wattage. As far as I know, the powerful one is for the freezer and heaters, the lower for small lights and such.