2,455 miles down

My journey so far

Perhaps I shouldn't have reread A Fool's Progress last week. Heading eastward, homeward, from the desert to the hills of Appalachia, visiting long lost friends and reflecting on my life along the way, as Abbey does the same, has probably made me way too introspective and added illusions of granduer to my "journey." I like to think that my trip is, unlike Abbey's, is much more of a beginning than an ending. But, it's nice to think of this road trip as a journey, instead of just a really long drive, and Abbey's certainly inspiring in that sense.

So I picked up Henry Lightcap's last hurrah from Kathy and Elliot's shelves in Denver, since I had some time to kill. Hazel the Honda decided to break her two front axels and blow an oil leak in a gasket, resulting in a few days at the mechanic and a serious blow to my budget. It's hard to live in your car when your car is in the shop. I think she overheard my musings about maybe wanting to buy a truck...and got a little upset. And now that I've blown my savings on repairs, she's got her way, and is probably here to stay for awhile.

When I finally hit the road again, I made a quick trip up to Boulder to visit Hillary in her new incarnation as a college kid. Damn, that makes me feel old. But, we had a fun time walking around town and catching up, before I hit the road late, bound for a place to sleep in western kansas. Damn, I've said it before and I'll have to say it again, Kansas is huge. Huge, and not very exciting.

But I did find a hill!! That's right, a hill in Kansas. It's in Wilson Lake State Park, about 5 miles off the interstate, a few hours east of the restarea where I woke up. I went to the park for a much needed run, hoping to steal a campground shower afterwords. But alas, when I got there, the rangers were closing down the bathrooms for the season. Terrible timing. But, the lake was lovely and deserted. So after my run, I took a swim and washed my hair at the boat dock. Lovely.

The scenery got more and more familiar as I drove. The endlessly flat farmland gave way to forests, and then rolling rural farms. It's pretty, in it's own way, to be heading home again. I had an excellent time with Ande in St. Louis and Cox in Indianapolis. They'll both be lawyers within the year. What a crazy idea. But, it was fun to catch up with my long-lost-lawyer friends, we laughed about old stories, new gossip, big plans, and Sarah Palin.

I hit the road again to meet Nat in Louisville. I napped and ran around a lovely city park until he got off work, and we left for a weekend in the Red River Gorge. I'm just learning to climb and he's just learning to lead, so I think we made a good pair. We camped in the woods (trees!!!) and the fall colors are just starting to show. Beautiful. I've missed oaks and maples. Two days on the rocks killed my arms (man- I haven't been this sore in awhile) but it was great fun. I scared myself and impressed myself and realised that this is something I really want to get better at.

Sore as hell, I left Nat to head home. As the scenery became more and more familiar, I thought of Abbey's line about home. "Home is where you go when you probably shouldn't" he said, as Henry Lightcap retreats, battered and nearly defeated, through his past, back to his family. It's always wierd to be home, but I like it. For a visit. The days have gone quickly, bike rides with mom and dad, dinner with a high school friend, packing and unpacking, rearranging my life in the honda, sitting here at the old coffee shop, watching as kids I used to babysit, now college students, come in and out. Okay- just two- but it makes me feel old nonetheless.

I hit the road again tomorrow, off to Nancy and Phil's, then to watch Emily's team play some ultimate, and hang out in pittsburgh. Then grandma, and New York, and then down to Virginia. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself again. It's the journey, not the destination, right?