This Should Have Been Posted Last Night

Written: Monday, October 03, 2005 4:28:47 AM

“who journeyed to Denver, who died in Denver, who came back to Denver & waited in vain,
who watched over Denver & brooded & loned in Denver and finally went away to find out the Time,& now Denver is lonesome for her heroes,”
- Allen Ginsberg “Howl”

Whew, long day today. Lindsey and I left Limon, Colorado at roughly 10:30 am mountain time, after a quick breakfast at (ugh) McDonald’s. Limon is not too far from Denver so it didn’t take too long to get to a point where we were able to see the Rocky Mountains. We drove along Interstate 25 I believe it was, which ran parallel to the mountain range and provided a really beautiful view. Colorado was very beautiful. I think if I were given the chance I would move there someday. The air was crisp and clear and it was just really nice all around. We pretty much skirted around Denver completely so we were not able to see the place that was so famously described in Jack Kerouac’s "On the Road", and above in Allen Ginsberg’s reference to Kerouac’s adventures there in his poem “Howl.”

Once we left Colorado we entered Wyoming and we didn’t come out for a very long time. I don’t have a whole lot to say about Wyoming except that it is simultaneously really, really gorgeous and terribly boring. The drive through is nearly 400 miles and there is a lot of mountain driving which was tough because I've never done it before and even more open plain driving which is also tough because of the strong winds. I liked Wyoming, but I don’t think I care to go back.

We exited Wyoming and entered Utah near the end of the day. We were driving into the eastern side of Salt Lake City at sunset and let me tell you guys that this was something to see. The stretch between Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah was so incredibly nice. I kept thinking about how great it must be to live there. It seems so quiet and peaceful.

Finally, we left Utah and entered Idaho. Who da ho? You da ho! There really isn’t much for me to say about Idaho, as I’ve driven through most of it in the dark. We stopped in Twin Falls for a bite to eat at Shari’s Diner sometime near 11:30 and were back on the road at 12:30. From there we drove two more hours to Boise and here we are.

Once the trip is done, I will sort through the pictures I’ve been taking and try to post some here. I’ve taken a bunch but I’m not sure if they will be any good because they’ve all been taken from the car.

Tomorrow we will try to leave at 10:30 am, which should have us arrive in Portland near 5:00 pm, Portland time. More to come then!