A Cali Girl Discovers Fall
COLBY — We made it to Kansas. We checked-in before midnight. The desk clerk looked a bit befuddled and had problems keeping his money handling straight. Now I’m less than a day’s drive away from my new job. Mark discovered wi-fi from the hotel next door. It looks like there’s one spot on the dresser that allows us to connect for free.
It’s been a hell of a trip - each of us driving our own cars…kinda like “his and her” Toyota Corollas. Our walkie talkies from Vegas were quite useful when we lost cell phone reception in the rocky parts of Utah and Colorado. NPR has been blessing on this long road trip. We started on Sunday. Morning Edition got me revved up for the day’s ride. I also downloaded NPR and KCRW podcasts to my little iPod Shuffle. About 7 hours worth of news and features. I hooked up the Shuffle to my radio transmitter and broadcasted the podcasts through stations on left side of the dial - that didn’t have any programming. I found that Country or Christian Music stations would transmit beyond their allotted power frequencies and into the stations I was using for my podcasts. I remember reading some FCC rule about broadcasting beyond the allotted power frequency. Apparently it’s a bad thing….but only college radio stations have to worry about getting slapped with fines.
Utah had some amazing rock formations. Rich red and brown canyons that met the horizon. I actually turned off the radio so I could gulp in the scenery. Last night, we drove through the Fishlake Canyon. I imagined driving at night through the canyon could have mirrored deep water exploration, with my car’s headlights skimming the rocks.
I almost hit a raccoon last night. I swerved once and the raccoon scampered across the road. What the hell was it thinking?
Today, I discovered FALL in Colorado. I got a hint of this season in Green River, Utah. I found a beautiful golden tree standing next to our motel. When we crossed the Utah border into Colorado, we hit a little bit of construction work and the freeway shrunk to one lane. Then we drove into autumn - golden and ruby trees EVERYWHERE. The Colorado river ran between the rows of trees. Heart-stopping. I’ve never seen anything like it. In Cali, I figured the tiny trees on the Diamond Bar Blvd median to be evidence of fall. Their leaves turned brown eventually. I used to roll my eyes at people’s (and Mark’s) description of trees changing colors during the fall. I figured, what’s the big deal? But in Colorado - the golden, ruby and even pumpkin-colored trees stood large and proud against what some postcards call “cloud scrapping” mountains. It was a majestic sight.
I remember listening to Alex Chadwick’s NPR story on heaven. He found it in India. Vrindavan. I think I caught a glimpse of it when I discovered fall.
I’m pooped.
Happy Halloween.
