This is nice and relaxing after what was a rather stressful drive. I think I beat the storm, but it sure didn't look like it in the mountain pass. The freeway was clear but wet, and there was snow everywhere. Quite a contrast from my desert drive of yesterday.
Well, it seems people have actually been reading this thing. Very good to hear from Nolan, and of course, the ever dependable Seann and Kate. Appreciate the comments and I hope you guys are having fun reading this. It actually has been fun writing it, and it's given me a good sense of planning my writing.
I think the weirdest roadside sign I saw today was Eagles on Highway. Sounds like an album name from the 1970s, except maybe that would Eagles in Hifi. The ugliest roadside sign was in Canyonlands National Park when I was driving to Moab. There's all these lovely rock formations and then you come around a bend and on one of them, in huge white letters, it says "HOLE IN THE ROCK". Apparently, this is a house that was built inside one of the rock formations and one can go gawk at it for a fee.
It felt very remote on yesterday's drive. I didn't see many cars going in my direction at all. I did take a rather convoluted route to get to Route 163, which goes through Monument Valley. What I liked about Monument Valley was that it didn't really lead you anywhere. There was no tourist mecca, just a bunch of different formations. Some had signs, some didn't, you drove to whichever one you wanted and it is all so remote that there wasn't anybody else there at all whenever I stopped to take pictures or just look. This is when I wish I had four wheel drive so I could just go almost wherever my fancy took me. There's a lot more to see in Utah and Arizona and I hope to someday return, maybe with a four wheel drive, and just do those states.
Denver's a nice town. I was here three times in 2006, once for Jake and Susan's wedding. Tomorrow morning Jake and I will watch Liverpool vs Fulham at the British Bulldog Pub. Maybe a visit to the museum after that. I just went to what has to be the largest liquor store I've ever been to. I tried seeking out some Portland beers for Jake, but all they really had was Widmer and Deschutes stuff. I'm trying some Colorado beers, drinking the Ornery Amber from the Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs.
One of the things that I somehow never did while I lived in Stillwater was go to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, which happens to be located there. I plan on going there this time around, only because John Irving is actually in that Hall of Fame. As I've probably said before, I'll be following the path of a character from a John Irving short story who goes from Vermont to Illinois. I think a visit to the Hall of Fame will tie that up nicely.
View Leg 5: Denver in a larger map
I ever tell you about my time in Denver? I was traveling across the country with my friend R. and his girlfriend. They barely spoke a word to one another the entire trip, it was pretty awkward. We stopped at R.'s aunt and uncle's house in a suburb of Denver; they're Mormons. Anyways, this was about a month after the Columbine shootings, and we sat in their basement while R.'s cousin told us stories about being chased by the "Trenchcoat Mafia" up a set of stairs, with kids being shot around her. Then we went to Casa Bonita, that restaurant where they have the cliff divers and pirate treasure and mediocre tacos. As a result of all this, I have this idea that Denver is just this totally fucked up surreal place.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I know this is YOUR travel blog and not mine, but you know me, I can't stand it when someone else hogs the limelight.
There's a good-ish independent bookstore in lower downtown, the Tattered Cover.
ReplyDeleteJohn Irving = National Wrestling Hall of Fame? I admit I'm not a big reading of John Irving but that caught be off-guard.
Here I go, being dependable again.