Why rush?

With most of the mountainous terrain behind us, Mickey and I stopped in the city of St. George, UT for gas and some eats. We were about 122 miles north of Las Vegas with about two hours to go. We felt we were making good time so there was no need to...

*phone rings*

"Hi, Donnie? This is Katheryn from ____ Apartments. How are you? We were wondering when you and Mickey were going to come in and sign your lease. Just keep in mind that we close at 5:00 PM."

It was 3:15 PM, and we were a good two hours away. I screamed in my phone that we were on our way, slammed the phone closed and jumped in the U-Haul truck like I was getting chased by LAPD. I squealed out of the gas station on to a busy street and quickly made my way back to I-15.

Why the rush? It was Saturday, so the leasing office for our building would be closed on Sunday. Plus it wasn't like we had family we could stay with until Monday. After being on the road for two days, we wanted to rest in our own place...in our own bed.

For the entire trip, Mickey and I drove together. At this point, I told her to zoom ahead so we would make it on time. Plus, I didn't trust pushing the U-Haul at 85 miles per hour.

A Burger King in Salina, UT

Two hours and 140 miles south of the great city of Salt Lake City lies the village of Salina, Utah. Sitting as a zit along interstate 70, it boasts an impressive population of 2,393 people. Out of that metropolis, four are employed at the Burger King on South State St.

Mickey and I pulled off at exit 56 to gas up and grab a snack at this Burger King. As we walked the short distance from the gas pumps to the restaurant and convenience store, the mountains of Utah surrounded us from all angles. The arid air continuously whisked the desert sand creating a symphony of secludedness. Our journey west consisted of many exits, but none felt like Salina, UT.

I had to ask myself, "Who lives here?"

Think about it. You're on a road trip, home is behind you, and your destination is in front of you. What else is left? What's in between point A and B? Those small towns that line interstate highways providing you with gas, Red Bull and a release for the last 4 Red Bulls? Where are these places? And more important than that, who lives in the middle of nowhere?

Donnie vs. The Rockies (part 4)

4th QUARTER

We sat in the Shell station for quite some time, neither of us wanting to get out of our car. I knew we weren't done with the mountain terrain just yet, but I needed this break. I needed this time to just close my eyes.

I bought Mickey some aspirin for her headache and told her we'd take it slow. I gassed up both cars, grabbed some apple juice, cleared the windshield and started the U-Haul once again.

Don't laugh, but my iPOD and I have this connection. Yes, it is very possible to have a human like connection with an electronic device. I do my part in filling his brain with the music that fits my personality. He does his part by playing the music on command. It's a wonderful relationship that I treasure everyday. Sometimes when I let him DJ, I really believe he's paying attention to how I'm feeling. It's almost as if the ear buds give him access to my brain waves and emotions, and he takes those brain signals to shuffle in the perfect song.

War "All Day Music" // All Day Music (1971)


It was amazing how the sight of the sun rising and this song helped make the second half of the mountains so much easier to deal with. The snow had come to a stop and the roads were free of any major traffic. Mickey took her spot behind me and snapped these images with her camera phone.

Donnie vs. The Rockies (part 3)

3RD QUARTER

My phone started ringing, but I couldn’t answer it. The two previous rings didn't get answered either. Channeling my driver's education class and gripping the wheel at 10 and 2, I could feel my knuckles stretching the skin on my hands to the limit. Periodically I would have to remember to breathe and blink. Seriously, I have never been so stressed behind the wheel in my entire life.

The wipers had just smeared any clarity I had down the side of the mountain. Before that the snow was already caked on the windshield, but the cheap wipers and the lack of wiper fluid made the situation much worse. I don't know what was more difficult, driving with low visibility or the jerking sliding motion the U-Haul truck made when I tried to apply the brake on the mountain declines. It felt as if someone was physically pushing me from behind. If someone had stopped in front of me for any reason, I would have hit them.

The portion of I-70 we were on wasn’t equipped with a shoulder to pull off on, so stopping to clear the windshield wasn’t an option. I also tried blasting the heat in attempts to melt the snow from the inside, no luck.

I had lost sight of Mickey 30 minutes ago, but I knew she was in front of me somewhere. I guess that’s why she was calling me because she had lost sight of the U-Haul, but I just couldn’t answer.

I'll be honest with you; I was scared.

In moments like this, I tend to think about the immediate past. Have you ever done that before? You're in a tight spot and all you can think about is what you were doing BEFORE you got in the mess? I was saying to myself, “Remember when we were sitting in our hotel room in Sterling, CO just relaxing? Wasn’t that great?” As if that Super 8 was some sort of glorious utopia.

My phone rang again. From my mummified position in the driver’s seat my eyes darted a quick glance at my cell phone vibrating in the cup holder near the dash, which now suddenly seemed far away from my reach. As if I was balancing on a tight rope for Barnum & Bailey, I slowly tilted my body to the right, fumbled my fingers around and got a hold of the phone all while keeping the U-Haul truck balancing on a downward curve at 40 miles per hour.

Mickey didn’t sound any better than me, but her problem was different. The bright lights weren’t helping the migraine headache she was dealing with. She needed us to pull off the road as soon as possible to take a break. At this point we both needed a break. I assured her that everything was going to be OK and that she should slow up and drive behind me.

Many miles later and my eyes were still piercing between my windshield which was looking more like a set of cheap mini blinds. I found a sign that indicated a gas station was approaching 10 miles up. While the conditions continued, my body relaxed a bit knowing there was a possibility for a break. 15 minutes later I almost missed the exit due to the snow caked up on the exit sign. Somehow I maneuvered the U-Haul truck down a slippery ramp and eventually under the protection of a Shell station.

I turned off the engine.

My head buried in the wheel.

Quiet.
Peace.

Donnie vs. The Rockies (part 2)

2ND QUARTER

It was dark. It was almost like suddenly the truck became unstable in the high altitude. Going up hill proved to be a challenge at times, but as long as the gears kept shifting to 2nd I knew I’d be OK. Then, the snow hit. At first it wasn’t a big deal. Ya know, the light fluffy harmless kind of snow. I’d driven in much worse before, so it was no big deal. But the snow kept coming as we continued to climb the mountain.

The snow came down hard and fast, and as I drove it felt like I was pushing the truck up the mountains rather than driving it. There was one point I believe I heard the mountains laughing at me when I switched my lights to high beam. “Are you serious? You think that’s going to help you?” Turns out it was just the wind and my mind playing tricks on me.

Just so you all know, my vision is a bit questionable, but I have faith in what my eyes see behind these specs. I say that because if you were sitting next to me in the truck, you would have seen my face inches from the windshield as if I was legally blind. I don’t know why I thought that would help, but for about 100 miles I was lunged forward in my seat trying to stay in my lane.

Oh that’s another thing. Lanes? They just didn’t exist. The game was now “get in where you fit in”. There were two lanes, but there was no way I was going to attempt to pass anyone way up here. I just wanted to get out of this snow alive. Just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, I flipped the wipers to clear the windshield.

No windshield wiper fluid.

Donnie vs. The Rockies (part 1)

The Rocky Mountains kicked my ass.

There, I said it. It’s out for the world to see.
If you want to call me a punk, then I’ll be a punk.

Mickey and I just spent the past four hours driving through the mountains of Colorado. I had been gearing myself up for this portion of the trip because, well…I don’t particularly care for mountain driving. For those who may not know, all of Illinois is about as flat as your lap top computer screen. Roads are straight and wide. Signs like the one to the right just don't exist.

1ST QUARTER

We left Sterling, CO around 4:00 in the morning. Now on I-76, we spun our wheels towards the city of Denver. I was very excited about driving through Denver because I was always curious as to what the city looked like. Granted I didn't see much from the expressway at 4:30 in the morning, but it was still interesting. The lanes, while a bit hilly in nature, were wide open. In the distance the mountains stood ominous over us, waiting for our U-Haul truck to tackle its rough terrain.

Sterling, CO / Truck Tipping

Mickey and I continued driving on interstate 76 with the sun slowly making its descent behind the Rocky Mountains in the distance. I marveled at the subtle palette change as we continued towards Colorado. It was very beautiful. The hills that hugged the road were straight out of a landscape painting.

Reds.
Browns.
Oranges.

As tired as I was, it was a wonderful scene to the first day of driving. When we plotted out our route, I was worried we'd taken on too much trying to drive all the way to Colorado, but we made it.

I'm really tired. We've been driving for what seems like an eternity, and I could really use a bed. It doesn't even have to be soft or have any sheets. In fact, just a flat surface would be fine.

We arrived at a Super 8 motel around 8:00 PM. As we pulled in to the drive way I spotted this ominous concrete building sitting next to the hotel. I pointed it out to Mickey joking that that could be our hotel. Upon further inspection, we read:

STERLING CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

Comforting huh?

The evening hotel clerk greeted us with a smile. Patty I think her name was (I'm terrible with names). When she saw where we were from she asked how the drive was going. I mentioned to her how windy it was, and how I thought the U-Haul truck might have moved slightly off the road. Her eyes got big when I mentioned the wind, and she pointed behind us out the window towards the interstate. "Just a few days ago a semi truck tipped over due to the wind." It didn't help that she mentioned that the wind gets stronger.

The Marlboro Man's stern breath welcomed us to room 38A with a hearty hello. Mickey turned on the TV as I sat on the bed with my head in my hands. I had no energy to talk. I had no energy to look. I had no energy to listen. Sitting on the bed, I felt my body slowly flip the switch to the off position. Noticing this, Mickey took off my shoes and socks and pushed my weary body under the sheets.