"My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus..."to borrow a line from that proverbial Pirate Poet, Jimmy Buffet. Or, more accurately, my butt hurts, my feet hurt and I cannot think strait from 12.5 hours of driving. The day began with a wakeup call from Hank at 3:30am, he did not like the smelly Best Western and neither did I. So, I got up and we were on the road by 5:15am. The day began on the remote plains of Eastern Colorado before the sunrise and with a weak cup of gas station coffee (yuck!). I watched the sun rise as I entered Denver and missed rush hour, barely. Then I drove in amazement as I-76 turned into I-70 and wound me not ever so gently up through the Rockies. I-70 is an incredible feat of civil engineering, with Roosevelt Tunnel at 10,700 feet and also the cantilevered highway through the Canyons past Copper Mountain. As a ski bum it was fun to drive past all of my dream destinations. But I must comment at how spectacular it is to drive through Roosevelt Tunnel and get a a full bird's eye view of the Rockies while exiting the tunnel. And the fact that the Aspens are turning mad it even mre fantastic. But I must say those Colorado drivers are absolutely nuts! They take the hairpin turns going through the Rockies like a Bostonian in the breakdown lane at rush hour - no hold barred and get out of their way if you are going less than 85mph! And Vail is my new dream living destination :)

As I left the Rockies and entered the vast emptiness of Western Utah, I discovered I had not read my AAA Trip Ticket withe the warning of no services for 150 miles, and guess what? I had just enough gas to float in on fumes to the only gas station in the middle of nowhere...lucky! Western Utah is gorgeous and desolate - the rock formations are amazing as you drive past Moab and many other places. As I think about my day it is pretty incredible. I began by going through one of the most beautiful places in the US - the Rockies, then I went through Moab, another beautiful place, and ended my day in St. George, Utah on the edge of Zion National Park. I am now ending the day and spending the night in St. George. Hank is sound asleep after a long hard ride and my ass hurts so bad I don't think I can sleep!

And one last thought out there for my dirty old man friends and my wild at heart girlfriends...I saw Thelma and Louise on I-15 outside of St. George. Two cute, young women went flying by in a yellow convertible bug, singing at the top of their lungs, with the top down and their tops down. They were buzzing along I-15 completely topless and free and easy. Oh the joys of youth! I cheered them on as they flew past....