Not Playing Nice

For some reason I awoke at approximately 6am, having not slept very well at all that night.  Crawling to the bathroom, it became apparent that the lovely weather that had greeted me the previous evening was now overcome by a mild, but consistent snow storm.  After an absurdly cold shower, I wandered into the living room with the intention of taking the first of several photos of a can of fava beans that had been gifted to me by my close friend, Sahar Nouri.  Seeing how I was going to meet up with her in Baltimore, and I had no idea how to prepare them for a meal, I jokingly told her I was going to drag them across the country, cataloguing every stop with a picture so that I could give her proof that those were the most well-traveled fava beans she would ever enjoy (much like the lawn gnome in the movie, Amélie).  Of course, this first picture, supposedly including a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, was taken on a disposable film camera that would get left in Carlin’s car after we went our separate ways.

Carlin and Ashley woke up shortly after, we sat and had breakfast of some sort, and then packed up Ashley and Liam to take them off to the airport.  This trip was uneventful, aside from the inevitable interaction between pulling up to the curb at the airport and immediately being told by a TSA agent that I had to move the vehicle unless I wanted it towed and myself arrested (the arresting thing was a new one for me).  So, while Carlin said goodbye to his wife and child, I drove his car through a sea of needlessly aggressive persons in the snow to reposition it at the cell phone lot.  Carlin eventually called and we migrated back to the house to finish packing the car.  Kevin – the third member of our party – was down in Provo (at work, for some reason), so we needed to go get him, all the while hoping that the snow would stop and we’d be able to get through the Rocky Mountains without too many issues.  Originally, we were to go south to Moab and then head east directly to Denver.  While we traveled down to Provo, Kevin was checking out the roads (again, why was he at work?) and discovered that basically every road heading south was under about 3 feet of snow and not even remotely worth attempting.  He recommended we head back north and then east through Wyoming before going south to Denver.  We collected Kevin, fueled up on coffee, and then headed out.

The Long Road Ahead

Wyoming from the interstate.

From here on out, the plan was to drive continuously to our destination in Denver, stopping only for gas.  We were completely loaded up on food, as Carlin decided that everything they had purchased in Utah was coming with us on the road.  These items included, but were not limited to:  6 different types of Crystal Light (with and without caffeine), two types of humas, 4 types of crackers and pita chips, a months supply of Coke Zero, two types of cheese whiz, and a loaf of Tillamook black-labeled, vintage, white, extra-sharp cheddar.  Needless to say, stopping for sustenance was not necessary, but stopping for nutrition may be required.  We hooked up my iPod and, accompanied by Carlin’s GPS which was lovingly referred to as “Hugh,” off we went.

Welcome to Wyoming!

Now, despite all of the horrible things I’ve heard about Wyoming, it actually was very pretty.  Most of the larger hills and mountains were covered in a carpet of snow – which was not settling on the road, thankfully – the vegetation was green, and the air was more or less clear.  When I was not driving, I was seated in the passager seat with Carlin’s Canon 50D in hand, attempting to record our trip from a moving car.  Kevin and Carlin were quiet for the most part (Kevin spent the majority of the trip sleeping in the car), but we briefly discussed the next few days of travel, figuring out where we were stopping, when we were stopping, and – most importantly – when we were leaving each morning.  Ultimately, I figured leaving circa 4am was the best way to avoid traffic around any of the larger cities we were near, but Carlin and Kevin didn’t not really think that was going to accomplish anything.  Apparently, they like to sleep…

This is how Kevin spent most of his time in the car.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado

We passed into Colorado rather uneventfully, and the road to Denver was short.  We got a beautiful glimpse of the Denver skyline before heading into the suburbs to find this apartment Carlin had arranged for us to stay at.  The most noticeable thing about this place was that it was completely unnavigable!  Additionally, it was swarming with brown rabbits.

Rabbit

He had been informed that the keys were “under the mat,” where they definitely were not (they were actually in the grill).  After a quick disembark, we decided to splurge on Taco Bell for dinner (as if the food in the car wasn’t healthy enough), which Hugh decided was only accessible by driving around the block completely instead of just making a right turn into the parking lot.  We filled up, went back to the apartment, and settled in for bed…  or, I did.  Carlin and Kevin were not tired (they obviously had not slept on bricks the night before), and attempted to watch a movie in the living room, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for the fact that I was trying to sleep on the couch that was 5 feet from the television!  Needless to say, I won, kicked them out, and went to bed.  It was to be a 5am departure the next morning.

The Denver Skyline

Carlin and Kevin after the first day of driving