Trapped in Las Vegas
My first day on the road takes me through California, over the infamous "you're gonna need snowchains" Tahachapi mountains, and into Las Vegas. The going is good until I hit heavy traffic coming off the interstate and my clutch, which was been suffering an intermittent and undiagnosable problem, finally fails, leaving me stuck in the middle of traffic. With considerable coaxing and cursing, I manage to get it into the hotel parking lot. Getting a tow truck to come out is only half the battle; it's a Friday night, so I've got to find a shop that'll work on it over the weekend.
With the car out of my hands, it's time to gather up what little energy I have left and head for the strip. Unlike most 21 year olds in Vegas, my plans don't include drinking or gambling; I'm out for the rides- Star Trek at the Hilton and the Big Shot freefall ride at the top of the 1100-foot tall Stratosphere. It's quite a rush getting shot up high above the lights of Las Vegas.
Late the next morning, I finally get a verdict on my car: blown cooling fan motor, and no certainty on the clutch, but he echoes the mechanic in California in suggesting replacing the master and slave cylinders. It'll be done later in the day, so I haggle with the hotel people a bit over check-out times and tell them to take a message when the mechanic calls. After roaming the strip for a few hours in 105-degree heat, I return to find no message. There aren't any messages for me over the next several hours, so I call the garage to find it was done hours ago. Totally pissed at the hotel staff, I pick up my car and get out of town like a bat out of hell, hoping to see some of Zion before it gets dark, but failing.
Revising the Plan
It was totally dark by the time I made it into Utah, so I reconsidered my option and decided to extend the driving the next two days, still get in Zion and Bryce Canyon, and skip Arches. It was a good choice; the next day's visits to the parks are totally worthwhile. A little more time in Zion would've been nice; there's a canyon that narrows as you hike up it so much that there's no room for a trail and you just wade up the river. Bryce Canyon is also really something; looking down into the canyon, you just see this forest of rock spires.
It's 5:30 before I'm ready to start the haul across Utah. Filling the car with gas and myself with Mountain Dew, I make quick work of the last stretch, which is much more scenic than I had imagined. Big eroded mountains and canyons- it's amazing they managed to get a road through some of this stuff.
Kan Speaking...
The next day starts off with a crank call to my roommates. Tonight I'll be in Boulder, visiting Ken, who's about to start teaching there, only he's neglected to leave me a voicemail with a phone number or address. I figure if I'm going to wake the roommates up before work, I might as well make it good and impersonate Jim's mentor, Kan. Andy picks up the phone and falls for it, but Jim knows Kan's unique brand of unintelligable English too well to be fooled. No message from Ken, so I'll just have to find him in Boulder.
The Quest for Ken
After spending the day crossing Colorado, passing through ski resorts galore and Rocky Mountain National Park, I arrive in Boulder around 6. Finding the campus, I decide to look for Ken there- he's gotta be working late preparing for his class. No Ken, and no one around to help track him down. Finding a phone is also a challenge, only compounded by the lack of parking in Boulder.
Finally locating one in the lobby of the Hotel Boulderado, I call the operator to learn that Ken does indeed have a listing. After getting his machine, I try to find a hotel, but everything's booked and all I can get is something out by the Denver airport. Before trekking all the way out there, I check my voicemail to find Ken has called back and I finally manage to get a hold of him.
After that, the rest was cake. Found his apartment, complete with pimped-out futon for me to crash on, banged on some computers on campus while he made some calls, hit the local gourmet burrito place, and went out to a few Boulder bars with Ken and another guy that was at Sandia for the summer.
The Midwest
The next three days aren't real entertaining; just driving across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiania, Kentucky, and West Virginia on my way to see my brother at Virginia Tech. Not much in the way of scenery, save for the St Louis Arch and some National Forest lands in Kentucky.
Virginia Tech
Finding Dave at Tech is an easy task and I get to kick back and enjoy a day of no driving while I bum around with him. He gives me a tour of the campus, his old dorm, the MechE building and his labs and offices on and off-campus, where he work's at a spin-off company headed by one of the professors. The next day is more running around; work, the bank, the computer store, and the jeweler's to pick up the engagement ring for his fiance, Paula. They've already got matching engagement tatoo's, but I guess this will really make it official. We crash out in front of the TV for the afternoon before Paula comes home and then go out for dinner at Bogen's, one of their favorite local places. After a big breakfast the next morning, I hit the home stretch, the Jersey Turnpike and Exit 4, and it's home sweet home again.
