It's Electric

This is one of the rare times when I’m at a loss for what to say about today. Not because something so profoundly fantastic or terrible happened, but because so much happened. I was so busy doing today that I never really had time to stop and think of a theme that tied it all together. So, as much as it pains me, today’s Chicago adventure will have to take the form of a bed-to-bed story.

It began with a 150-mile trip north through western Indiana. Since the designers of the interstate highway system failed to consider the importance of a high-speed linkage between Terre Haute and Chicago, we had to slum it and take a lowly U.S. Highway instead. Except, in parts of the country like this, I sometimes prefer those over some cold Interstate. Because they’re not limited-access, there are interesting things along the side of the road. Plus, these roads aren’t subject to interstate highway rules, so they’re free to go in a completely straight line with no bends whatsoever, all the way to the horizon.

Running On Empty

Today, my 3-day adventure to the land of the Mainiacs ended in grand fashion, with the best weather (and not coincidentally, the best pictures) of the trip.

Dawlurs and Dollars

     

If you look closely, you can see UN territory between the flags.

Long May You Run

Sitting east of Cleveland, a mere 450 miles from my parents’ house in New Jersey, I feel it’s time to pay homage to the true unsung hero of this trip. Over the last 37 days, she’s acted as my closet, my bedroom, my kitchen / dining room, my power supply, my home, and my transportation, She’s been my travel companion, there every step of the way, doing everything I’ve asked of her and not complaining or putting up any resistance whatsoever. She goes by many names. At times I’ve called her the Horse with No Name, the Hyundai, or just simply – the car.

Greggle Goes East

This evening, driving east on I-90, I came over a hill and saw a line of light blue a few degrees above the horizon. This has happened countless times this month and it always makes me wonder whether I’m looking at a line of clouds or a mountain range.

Today when I asked myself that question, I didn’t have to drive any further to know the answer. From now on, there will be no mountain ranges to spot on the horizon.

I’m back in the plains, back in Central Time, and back east of the Missouri River. That’s not to say that today was without intrigue or that I don’t have other exciting things planned for my remaining 4 days on the road, but ever since leaving California I’ve had to fight the dénouement of this adventure. After the climactic few days in Yosemite and Sequoia, I knew it would all be a bit downhill from there. While I’ve certainly enjoyed just about every destination since there (especially Mt. St. Helens and Grand Teton) and don’t regret any of the stops I’ve made, there has been a growing sense that things are drawing to a close. And in today’s moment of sudden realization, that drum beat grew louder.

I don’t want to linger on that sentiment too much, because it certainly wasn’t my dominant mood for the day.

It Takes a Hole to Know a Mountain

This has been quite a day. A long day. An eventful day. An exciting day. A great day. In every sense, a day of extremes.

A Dam Quick Day

There. Obligatory “dam” joke out of the way. Like the title says, today was a quick day, but for some reason I’m still exhausted. Hopefully I’ll sleep well for the few hours I have until I need to be up again.

I'm getting close...

Who Puts a City in A Place Like This Anyway?

It’s in the middle of a desert. There’s no available drinking water. On a day when the temperature reached 106, the meteorologist on the news commented, “If you don’t like the weather today, you should probably move.” What on earth possessed someone to build a city here, of all places?

We Don’t Need No Stinking Arches

My father is a hero. When my computer crapped out on Friday night, he offered to send me the spare that used to belong to my sister. Not just send it, he offered to overnight it! So it’s thanks to him that I can recount to you my enthralling tale of my day at Arches National Park.

Double Arch. Look familiar?
It should, if you've seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Because Mukuntuweap Was Too Hard to Pronounce

…Congress decided to change its name when making it into a national park. It was then that Mukuntuweap National Monument was renamed Zion. This morning, when the automated info-voice on the park shuttle bus explained that Zion was a Hebrew word meaning “refuge,” suddenly this park became my people’s park. If not for the Jews, Zion would still be Mukuntuweap. Also, it was at that moment that the park and I developed a little inside joke, since anyone who’s ever spent time with Israelis can tell you that it’s “tzion” that means refuge. “Zion” is a part of the male anatomy.

“Now THIS is Colorado!”

Thus announced one of the many county welcome signs I passed today. And it was right. Today’s’ vistas were exactly what I had imagined when I first pictured Colorado. Either my teachers or the media have done an excellent job telling me what to expect from the state.

And I Keep on Trekking Westward

As night falls on Salina, Kansas, I sit nearly 700 miles closer to my first major destination (Colorado Springs) than I did yesterday. I wasn’t planning on getting this far into the Sunflower State today, but I got an earlier-than-expected start. Maybe because I slept in the car, I was up and ready to go this morning at 6:30.