Colorado

My visit to Kentucky was shorter than I had originally planned.  After visiting Mammoth Caves National Park on Saturday, I found out that the Corvette factory was closed for the weekend.  Apparently, the UAW takes issue with working holiday weekends.  So on Saturday evening, I made my way west and stumbled across Kentucky's "Land Between the Rivers", a National Forest that's located...you guessed it...between two rivers.  There's a huge state park and campground there that was at capacity when I arrived.  Thankfully, the people that manage the campground offered to let me set my tent up on their site.  As grateful as I was for a shower and a place to sleep, the night was far from the long awaited respite I had hoped for.  A screaming baby, and a loud dog with an even louder owner, kept the forest alive until 1am, when I think they all finally became tired and called it a night.  The next morning I woke at 7am to the uplifting and soul-soothing sounds of a gospel folk cd being played for the whole world to hear.  You can imagine how blessed I felt. 

The journey continued up through Missouri, where I had an exciting evening that I reflect on in the video posted on the right.  From there, I quickly made my way through Missouri and into Kansas.  To my surprise, the stereotypically flat and boring state of Kansas offered the most excitement I've had on the trip thus far.  Around 7pm, while riding west through farm country on route 24, the sky turned black and a lightning storm ensued that was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  The winds began to rip across the road and the rain began to fall horizontally.  I soon found myself completely surrounded by lightning.  There were flashes throughout my entire field of view and in my rear-view mirrors.  I think what set this storm apart from any I've seen in New England, is that in Kansas you can see each bolt travel to the ground, as the flat and barren terrain offers little in the way of depth perception.  In result, each bolt appears to be danger-close.  As I struggled against the wind to stay in my lane, I desperately hoped to find some form of protection from the storm, but I was really out in the middle of nowhere: no gas stations, no stores, and not even a house to beg for shelter.  I didn't dare stop and put on my rain gear, so I pressed on, crouched as low as I could possibly get on the bike, and opened the throttle up; all the while laughing hysterically at the thought of my trip ending with a zap. 

The mile markers to the next town finally indicated that I was making progress, and about 10 minutes after I pulled out of the storm, I arrived at a gas station in Beloit, Ka.  As I entered the station, five locals were glued to the TV set listening to the latest reports on the storm.  As the door-chime announced my arrival, they simultaneously turned to look at me:  Four of them shook their heads in disapproval, while the fifth kindly poked fun, suggesting that it wasn't the best day to be on a motorcycle.  We had a quick laugh, and the locals suggested that I stay in a hotel for the night rather than camp.  As the storm withered down, I made my way to the Beloit Super 8. 

With all of the lightning I've experienced over the last couple days, I was very happy to be inside for an evening.  While stripping out of my wet clothes, I found a couple friends that had hitched a ride from Missouri: Four deer ticks had embedded themselves in my shoulder, abdomen, left butt cheek, and my right nipple.  It's bad enough finding one tick, but when you find multiple ticks it's hard to convince yourself that you've found them all.  Even after contorting myself in front of the bathroom mirror for over an hour to inspect every inch of my skin, I still felt like I had things crawling on me, and I must have climbed out of bed 10 different times to inspect myself over and over again.  The last thing I needed on this trip was to come down with Lyme disease. 

In the hotel lobby I met Larry, a guy from Oklahoma who was in town to visit his late wife's family.   Larry's one of those instantly likable and funny people who you meet and feel like you've known for years.  After sharing breakfast and a conversation in the lobby of the motel, Larry gave me a top that he had made by hand, and a quick lesson on spooling the thing up.  As simple as the top was, it's probably one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received.  He truly wanted to share with me something that obviously meant a great deal to him throughout his childhood and his life.  Meeting Larry was the best part of my time in Kansas.  As I pulled out of the motel and headed west, I couldn't help but feel like I was leaving an old friend.

 

I'm now in Boulder, Colorado, and having a great time.  I spent my first night here in a hostel.  The following day, while changing my oil in the parking lot of a local motorcycle store, I met Dave, a 23 year-old guy who will be heading to South America via motorcycle this October.  Dave invited me to crash on his couch, so I've been here for a couple days now.  Yesterday, we took a ride to Rocky Mountain National Park, which was incredible.  It's definitely one of most picturesque national parks I've been to, second only to Glacier National Park. 

Today offered a complete change of pace.  Dave's a carpenter and his boss needed a couple extra guys on the job-site today, so I went to work with him on house a couple blocks from his apartment.  Both Dave and his girlfriend Aisha have been incredible hosts and a lot of fun to be around.  I thought that I may leave tomorrow, but they encouraged me to stay and go on a hike up a canyon with them. 

   

I think I've finally adjusted to the idea of being on this trip.  Although I haven't purposely been in a rush, I think I've finally adopted the mentality of having nowhere to be.  It may be the incredible beauty of Colorado, or the amazing hospitality that Dave and Aisha have shown me, but either way it feels good, and I'm glad it only took two weeks on the road to get to let my mind completely relax.  Adopting that mentality sounds easy to do, but even I found myself feeling like I always had to get to the next place.  With that being said, I think I'll be leaving Boulder on Sunday, and will head to the Southwest portion of the state.  That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Comments

[Jerry Wingen]

Hi Jeff: When you talked about the lighting storm in Ks, I almost felt like I was there! We witnessed that kind of event many times growing up in So.Dak. You got it right! You see the lightning start in the clouds and go almost to the ground. No trees to block your view...By the way, you have a great way of expressing yourself. Maybe you are a writer just waiting to be discovered..Keep having fun....Jerry

[Jenn]

Hey Jeff!

So jealous you were in the Rocky Mountain National Park, isn't it gorgeous!! How's Boulder, may be a possible place I will move after school? Glad to hear things are going well. When do you get to Lued's?

Miss you!
Jenn

[mike]

Jeff, when in Mexico, don't miss Puerto Escondido. Besides being a beautiful little seaside village with incredible beaches and surf (watch out for the rip tides)they have, because of the locally grown cabbage, the worlds best coleslaw.
Mike

[Joanna]

Jeff,

Your DORTHY from the Wizard of OZ!!! hahahaha.

I just stumbled upon this website and I think it is absolutely my second favorite most amusing thing to do instead of my masters of accounting classes. PLEASE keep posting. And really don't die, because that would really not be cool. Especially because I will have nothing to read. WOW, to think that you used to amuse yourself by going to Huskies.

-Joanna "the boring yet safe accountant"