Sunrise, sunset

Left the bosom of my family in Phoenix, by the time I got to Los Alamos I was ready for a reversion.  An old friend and his wife invited me in for a night, a quick trip to a pub, a natural-food co-op, and a small community of mutual friends and gamers, many friendly dogs and cats, and now the sun is rising over the canyon.

I'll let the Garmin plan the rest of the way home.

Hot

Arrived in Phoenix in 105 F.  Yow.  Drove over to meet my 96 year old aunt, several first cousins and many, many more distant younger cousins to catch up on recent stories and replay some old ones.  The younger folks regaled the older with a charming concert.

Zion at dawn

I was warned that Zion National Park would be pretty warm, so I arrived before 6AM.  Personal cars are not permitted during the summer months, so I caught the first bus around the main loop.  There are about ten stops, each of which leads to trails from a couple of miles to more than 20.  I took two of the shortest.  Very nice.

Now off to Phoenix to visit an Aunt and cousins.

On the road again

After a pleasant interlude with my brother's family in Provo, I'm on the road, and am currently in Cedar City, Utah.  Tomorrow a little expedition to the Zion National Park.

Provo

A couple of days in Provo, Utah, with my brother and his family before I start the southern part of the route. Plans: a couple of nights at Bryce or Zion, then to Phoenix and thence to Los Alamos.

Brigham City, UT

I-80 going across the south of Wyoming is straight, and more or less flat.  Much of the time the only view is sagebrush desert.  Not a tree in sight.  The speed limit is 75, most people do about 70.

And it takes me  to northern Utah, where a turn onto I-84 takes me north up along the panhandle to Brigham City (not named after the ice cream) to visit my uncle and his family.  It's a nice city, very proud of its Mormon Temple and Tabernacle and schools.  The TV in the motel is permanently tuned to Fox News, which was the case in Wyoming as well.

No vibes here

I met a couple in Buffalo with whom I had a terrific argument about politics, Plato and existential angst.  We agreed however, that the abolitionist John Brown was a fine fellow.  Not apropos to anything, they recommended the 1968 movie "Paint your Wagons", which is available streaming from Amazon, free if you're a Prime member.  A lot of fun.

Drove through a lot of Wyoming desert, bereft of cullular companionship, to Laramie.  Ambled around the University campus, very modern.  I couldn't picture the 1943 campus, where my mother and father met, married and ultimately conceived this narrative.

Spending the night in Laramie, where the student at the motel desk claims to have an eastern accent too.  He's from Chicago.

Crazy Woman Canyon

I have visited Crazy Woman Canyon in the Little Big Horn Mountains on many occasions.  This is the first time I drove it in a car.  All-wheel drive is recommended - it is a favorite spot for ATVs.

Thunder and lightning blah blah

I'm luxuriating in Buffalo, Wyoming.  If that were even remotely possible.  The drive in was accompanied by rain, thunder, lightning, and snowballs, so it stands to reason that as soon as I checked into the motel, I went looking for a tavern.

Well, the same bar that I visited a couple of years ago.  Three IPAs in bottle, and some of the most extraordinary bar talk ...  The bartender was messaging on her iPhone with both thumbs at supersonic speeds.

"Who you talking to?" I asked.  "My Mom.  She wants more photos."

"What does she want more photos for?" asks a customer.  "What are you talking?" I say. "A mom can never have too many photos."

No photos here, my mom is silent.  I'll be in Buffalo two nights, then next to Laramie.

Continue for the next ...

Just after crossing over the Mississippi from Wisconsin to Minnesota,  my Garmin GPS told me what every driver wants to hear: "Continue for the next eight hundred and thirty two miles."

Spending the night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after a lobster, shrimp and scallop dinner a looong way from any ocean.

Never again, again

I tell myself that I'll never drive through Chicago again.  This time I've added something: I'll never drive through northern Illinois again.

I sure hope their automated toll I-Pass accepts the Massachusetts transponders, cause I sure blew by a dozen or so booths.

In Janesville Wisconsin.  I'm sure I've been here before.

Same old ...

Well, made it to Erie, PA.  The exact same motel as a year ago, the exact same wifi problems.  The exact same nearby tavern.  A nice ride today, tomorrow looks stormy, but hoping to make it past Chicago.

What's happening here

I'm heading out to visit friends and relatives in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and any other place I've misplaced.  Be back in 3-4 weeks.