Really? We’ve been on the road for six days?
Today was largely uneventful as we left Colorado and headed up through Wyoming. I cranked out story and got about 5000 words written. Things were fine until we got to Utah.
Ah, Utah.
There’s this dinging noise that our truck makes when the temperature spikes. How do I know this, you might ask? Because it happened when we hit the hills leading into Salt Lake City. Thrice, in fact. Rob had checked the fluids before heading into the hills, but that didn’t stop every light on the dashboard from lighting up. The third time we called the truck rental company and talked to roadside assistance. They are going to get us in with a mechanic tomorrow, but won’t know what appointments are available until seven am.
Needless to say, Rob and I did the only logical thing. We coasted into SLC, to Beth Wodzinski’s house, where she and Sean Markey had arranged for us to meet up with some fellow writers at a local pub. We got to see Eric James Stone, Sandra Taylor and Chris Hansen.
And now, I’m going to turn into a pumpkin so that I can get up in the morning and talk about the truck. We’d just better not have to reload the thing.
There must be something about Utah. The only time I was on a driving trip through the West, our van broke down in Utah. Maybe the van, like its inhabitants, had been overcome by the awesome (in the original sense of the word) beauty of the amazing countryside. We had, after all, just been through Zion and were very close to Bryce Canyon.
Thanks for the wonderful travelogue! I was led to it by your arrival in both my inbox (via Tor) and my mailbox (via Asimov’s) on the very same day – today! Good luck on the rest of your Oregon Trail (trial?). Speaking from my experience of driving a U-Haul from Chicago to Stumptown twenty years ago this summer, I promise you that the rest of the drive is the most awesome (in the original sense of the word) stretch. In acknowledgement that you’ll soon add to the ranks of great writers in Portland, Ms. LeGuin will greet you at the city limits with microbrews and artisan chocolates.