Day 4: A Multisensory Experience

Miles: 560~
States: 2 - Colorado and Nebraska
Tolls: 0
Highway Patrol: 9 (out in force!)
Wild Turkeys 3

During this very long leg of my roadtrip there were several things that struck me - and my senses - about this drive...

1. The Smells. Cow manure. Fire/smoke. Drilling. Some unknown and rather strong, but not in a good way, odors. I'm thinking it might have been a slaughterhourse/tannery. After about 7 hours of eau de farmland, I think my olfactory system has been destroyed, hopefully just temporarily.

2. The Sounds. There are very few places in the US where a radio listener will hear a live broadcast from the Chicago Board of Trade discussing future corn supply and Chinese soybean demand, and five minutes later get an update around the local junior college's baseball season. Though the news was current, the music was not: "The Gambler" by Kenny Rodgers, "Amarillo by Morning" by George Strait, "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond and "Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks (twice!). I enjoyed this flashback to 1970s -1990s music scene.

3. The Sights. 1000s of cows. Some brown. Some black. 100s of barns, silos and farmhouses. Some are livable, some should be condemned. 100s of miles of flat farmland. Some had "turned the dirt." Some hadn't. A few dozen horses. 3 wild turkeys...again just hanging out by the side of the interstate.

Once I arrived in downtown Omaha it was a ghost town. I guess the sidewalks really do roll up at 6 p.m.

Next stop: Chicago!!!

Day 3: Rocky Mountain High

Miles: 250~
States: 1 - Colorado
Tolls: None!
Highway Patrol: 2

Late start, questionable weather and mini mini-van not necessarily a recipe for success when planning to drive over and through the largest and highest mountain range in the "lower 48." Thankfully, mother nature, my silver slug (my automobile) and my lead foot came together in perfect harmony. Unfortunately my phone/camera/GPS was singing off key throughout some rather winding, rainy mountainous roads. It should be noted that I have a rather co-dependent relationship with this multitasking device....actually, I'm not sure how "co" the relationship is... I'm dependent on it and it tolerates me.

Visions of getting lost in the Rockies and becoming a 21st century Donner Party tragedy passed through my head. (Yes, I know the Donner's dinner party was a California event, but there could still be some parallels.) I tried the ol' helpdesk secret of turning it off, but it wouldn't turn off or turn on. It wouldn't do anything. Due to seasonal road construction (Murphy's law was certainly at play), I was unable to pull over to properly fix it, which at this point was to throw it on the ground and curse at it.

Then after 3 minutes of terror and anger, it beeped and it was functioning! Was this just a game for it to show me how much I need it? Am I empowering an inanimate object to have too much sway in my life?

The day ended on a much happier note: dinner with an old high school friend, her husband and their adorable 4 year old son.

Next stop: A very long drive to Omaha.

Day 2: My Fair Lady Gaga in Utah

Miles: 510
States: 4 - Nevada, Arizona, Utah & Colorado
Tolls: None!
Highway Patrol: 1
Wild Turkeys: 2

Due to technical difficulties I am not able to listen to my iPod on this road trip, so I am at the mercy of whatever radio station I pick up. This was a very long trip through the middle of no where...and I mean no where...at one point there was 110 miles in which there were no "gas food lodging" signs.

During my first hour in Utah there were country stations, Christian stations and Lady Gaga. Bad Romance. Born This Way. Telephone. Then at my first "pit stop" I overheard a bathroom discussion around when the end of days was coming. Not sure why I mentioned that, but I wanted to provide the full audio experience of this part of the trip.

Upon my departure from Utah my radio station selection was limited to Christian stations and songs from the "My Fair Lady" musical showcase. For some reason driving 80 mph through canyon country doesn't really match "Wouldn't it be loverly?"

So what was in between Lady Gaga and My Fair Lady? Country music, which I thought was fitting as drove past lots of cattle, ranches, and most likely cowboys. This also matched the boundless landscape. I could see for at least 100 miles in any direction (once I cleared the mountains and canyons).



And what greeted me as I entered Colorado? Wild turkeys eating alongside I-70. Thankfully they were quiet.

Next Stop: Denver.

Day 1: Anthopological Study of the Las Vegas Strip

Miles: 250
States: 2 - California & Nevada
Tolls: None!
Highway Patrol: None!

Leaving California was all about funny signs. I love funny signs and street names. On the first leg of my roadtrip I came across "The Gateway to Space," where the first street in this future-sounding world was "Camelot." But neither of those signs prepared me for the street with the still unknown pronunciation, "Zzyzx Street."

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Vegas. Normally my trips to Vegas include late nights/early mornings and dance clubs. This trip was more about people watching and trying to navigate the maze that is Las Vegas Boulevard.

I decided to walk about 2 miles from my hotel to The Palazzo to see my cousin's mechanical design and construction work. But I didn't realize that to walk the 2 miles would require me to walk through the lobbies, casino floors and shopping districts of three casinos, where I noticed an abundance of 3 new - and distinct - types of groups enjoying the pleasures of Vegas, since my last foray to Vegas a few years back:

1. The Jersey Shore has been transported to the Mojave Desert. Not sure when GTL became something to aspire to, but it has. I only saw one Snooki, but there were lots of Situations and DJ Pauley Ds.

2. Matching Girl Groups. Whether it be white shirts and blue jeans (the same designer with bedazzled rear pockets), sequined tank dresses or black mini dresses, apparently when 3 or more women go out in Vegas there is some unspoken dress code that they must each dress alike. I'm thinking this done to confuse men.

3. Women who don't know how to walk in heels feel they must wear 6 inch heels. It is almost as painful to watch as it is for them to walk. Almost.

After my hours of people of watching, I mean, current cultural anthropological studying, I headed back to my suite where I practically swam in my jacuzzi tub.

Next destination: Grand Junction, Colorado

About to get on the road again

My roadtrip is off to a rather dubious start....

1. The SUV I reserved was not there. I am now driving cross country in mini-Minivan. There should be some rule that says single women without kids cannot drive minivans.

2. My car adapter for my GPS is MIA. I used it last week and it has since disappeared. I think my mom's cats are plotting against my safe return.

3. I still need to buy road trip supplies. When I told my mom I needed to go to target to pick up food, etc., she asked "Why?"

My response, "I'm not going to drive cross country without food and water."

"Yeah. I guess that makes sense."

But I know I will be in Vegas soon and one day closer to home.

Day 8: Seattle

Day 8 stats:
Miles: 0 driven (about 5 walked)
Highway Patrol: 0 (but a few of Seattle's finest)
Tolls: 0
Hitchhikers: 0

This day was the first - and only - day I didn't drive. I did however take a monorail and walk a decent amount. I won't say I walked a lot, because for me a lot is about 12+ miles in a day. I was able to see a variety of sights in a a day.

1. Seattle Art Museum. Primarily a modern and contemporary art museum, but they did have a great exhibition called "Inspiring Impressionists," which talked about how impressionist were influenced by old masters, 17th century Dutch landscape painters and the works they say at the Louvre. On display were not only the impressionists works, but also their "muses." A great start to the day!

2. Pike Place Market. Kind of touristy, but lots of good fresh food.

3. Space Needle. I took the monorail to the Space Needle and felt like I was on a very large Disneyland "land" (e.g., Tomorrow Land, etc). Surrounding the Needle was like a carnival, complete with a Ferris Wheel, some spinning rides and of course the Bumbershoot music festival, which is apparently the largest music festival in Seattle. I didn't know this was going on until I arrived in Seattle. Thankfully it was a clear day - a rarity in Seattle - so I had some great views. But after looking at the views for about 5 minutes I realized I spent more time standing in the ticket and elevator lines than I was going to spend looking at the view. Oh well.

4. Seattle Waterfront. I decided to walk back from the Space Needle to Pioneer Square (birthplace of Seattle, but more about that later). My first stop on the waterfront was the Olympic Sculpture Park. Lots of very large modern and contemporary sculpture including a series of 20-30 foot tall orange traffic cones. And then a very disturbing fountain. I continued my walk along the piers.

5. Seattle Underground. No it's not a subway system. It is a tour that I would totally recommend to anyone going to Seattle. I learned so much about the history of Seattle...did you know that for decades the streets and sidewalks were 10-35 feet above the store fronts and people would have to go up and down ladders and stairs just to walk a couple blocks. Eventually a series of underground walkways were created, which considering the rainy weather...walking underground is much preferred than climbing a slippery ladder while wearing a petticoat (at least for women). We walked on and under Pioneer Square.

Homeward bound...

Day 8: Drive to Seattle

Day 8 Stats:
Miles: 300-ish
Highway Patrol: 3
Tolls: 0
Hitchhikers: 2 (there was a sign on the highway that said "Hitchhiking Permitted"....but no one was there)

I didn't really expect it to take almost 6 hours to drive across the state of Washington, but it did...those dirt roads leaving the winery took a while.

During the drive I was somewhat surprised about the landscape of central Washington, it was almost desert-like, and the scenery reminded me somewhat of Lake Havasu in Arizona! And I found what I call a "mini-me" Grand Canyon - it is about 1/10 of the one in Arizona and not as colorful, but other than that a dead ringer.

Once I got about 100 miles outside of Seattle something expected occurred: rain. Throughout the trip I have been blessed with blue skies and sunshine, with only about 5 minutes or rain in Montana, but then again Seattle isn't the rain capital of the US for nothing (I don't really know if it is true or not, but it sure seems like it).

Normally rain isn't a big deal to me, but as I drove down some very steep mountains on some very windy roads adding rain to the mix is a recipe for disaster. Thank you state of Washington for having guard rails...there tends to be a family history of windy mountainous roads, absent guard rails and disasters....

By the time I got into downtown Seattle I was ready to check into my hotel - a very cool former early-20th century gentlemen's club (not a strip club, but a place were actual "gentlemen" socialized) - but my room wasn't ready, so I hung out in the Polar Club bar.

Next stop: touring Seattle....