26 June 2008

Denver to Cedar City

26 June, 12:30 am

We woke this morning outside of Denver, and though we planned to hit the
road at 9, our hosts convinced us to wait until 10 to miss rush hour. After
a quick jaunt across Denver, we hit the mountains. Today was the first time
that I had seen the Rockies in summertime, and it was breathtaking. One of
the folks we talked to at a pit stop says that most people move to Colorado
for the snow but stay for the summer. It was truly amazing.

The mountains eventually gave way to the desert, and temperatures climbed
from 59 to 99 in a few short hours. The a/c in the Jeep is sporadic, so
Sarah and I were both getting sticky and gross. Colorado gave way to Utah,
and the desert became a small mountain range, which in turn gave way to some
slightly fertile desert by the time we got to Cedar City.

We chose Cedar City because it is the home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival,
where a colleague of mine is directing this summer. He and his wife invited
us to stay with them and watch a show tonight, and though our plans had us
arriving in Cedar City at 6.30, we ended up arriving just after 8pm (thanks
to a major back-up at Silverthorne Pass, from which we never recovered). We
missed the first few minutes of the show, but saw most of it and then
caravaned with Robert and Lorna up the mountain to their home. They live in
a beautiful house with great stars and such a view! We're very grateful for
their hospitality (and, of course, Sarah's parents in KC and Sarah's friend
Dan in Denver).

I had two unusual thoughts today during the drive. The first was a
recurring thought about ON THE ROAD and how prominently Denver features into
the book. The second was missing singing with Denise during road trips.
Sarah and I put Moxy Fruvous on the ipod, and I missed my old singing
partner...

It's after midnight here in Cedar City. I'm not sure when I'll be able to
post this...

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