I woke up a bit late Monday and ate breakfast with Jill and Anna. Carlos had already gone to work. Jill kindly packed me a lunch the night before, so I checked the oil levels, packed up the motorcycle, said farewell, and hit the road.
The day was sunny and brisk, the snow had melted; I stopped for gas on the edge of town, and tentatively planned my fuel stops for the rest of the day. The road from West Jordan to Grand Junction was full of twisties, and but for some road work and semi-trucks, riding was a lot of fun. There were a few abandon straight stretches for testing the brawn of the engine, which was a thrill. Somewhere in the middle I pulled over, stretched my back, ate my sandwich and admired the golden hills near the border of Colorado.
I stopped for gas in Grand Junction, and pushed on for Denver. The palisades along Interstate 70 stood handsome in the failing sun. As night fell and the road began to wind and ascend, the temperature dove steadily. I was going to cross the Rocky Mountains in the dark.
I was disappointed to miss the views along the highway, but more distracted by the cold. Every stop for gas included pulling more clothes from the saddlebags for unreasonable but necessary layering. One picks his discomforts. The road was wet, and it brought concerns of black ice. As I passed through various towns and ski resorts, I thought of the following seen in Dumb and Dumber.
Eventually the summit was conquered. Traffic creeped on the eastern side of the mountains awaiting entrance to the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel. Crews were performing maintenance and repairs all along it’s length. In the tunnel the cars were packed and noisy, the smell of exhaust was overwhelming, but who cared? By that time, riding “inside” felt like the biggest treat of the day.
I got a little turned around in Denver, but eventually found myself off the freeway in Westminster, on the correct exit, and pulling into the home of the Hills. I was reminded again what a blessing is to walk into the hospitality of good friends at the weary end of a day of traveling. The boys, Griffin and Adam, had already gone to sleep, but Blake and Kim and I spent the rest of the evening remembering college and catching up on the time in between.
