Eastward Bound - Day 2

Anne and I got a decent nights sleep, waking up at 4:30 am and getting on the road to Denver. We faced a 12 hour drive from Phoenix to Denver and would lose an hour after crossing into New Mexico. Anne took the first leg of the day to Albuquerque and unfortunately got slammed with a weather front moving north on I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The severe undulation of the highway couldn't have made driving the slightest bit enjoyable. This being her first long drive from behind the wheel of my jeep, I was a tad concerned how she'd handle it. Never fear. Mario Andretti bombed up I-17 like she'd logged hundreds of hours at Indy. I nodded on and off but couldn't fall into a deep sleep to make up what I lost in San Diego.

After passing through Flagstaff, we turned onto I-40. Out of nowhere, the same rock formations that I saw on on my trip west popped up. I truly enjoyed actually getting to check out the terrain without focusing on the road. The mile-long trains, random cliffs and small pockets of weather on the horizon were an absolute treat. Anne pushed us through another storm before coming up behind a old Chevy blazer with clumps of mud dropping off the back right tire. As we sputtered along, the frequency of the mud clumps increased before all of a sudden a big chunk fell, bouncing twice on the highway before plowing right into the left side of my car. We didn't notice anything immediately wrong and continued on to Albuquerque. It wasn't until we pulled off the highway and switched roles that I noticed a problem with the left blinker. The blinker flicked rapidly signaling a problem on the left side. Sure enough, the mud rock crushed the driver side front cover and light bulb. Fortunately, the good folks at Auto Zone built the most convenient location across the street from a Subway and the gas station that we used to fill up. Clearly, they knew some day I would roll into this exact location needing a light bulb and realized how important it was to keep the Liberty in good(ish) shape.

With the bulb replaced and our appetite's satiated, we made the proper left at Albuquerque and headed north to Denver. At this point, some of you may be questioning our decision to drive north when our stated goal was to get to Maryland. We planned to visit Anne's good friend from the 2004 Democratic Convention who lived in Denver and was working on the 2008 convention. While we sat in Subway, we briefly debated ditching the drive to Denver and just stopping somewhere in Texas or Oklahoma. Yes, trekking to Denver lengthened our drive by 5 hours, but the cost of a motel room was greater than the gas to get to Denver and we'd be stuck at a Best Western in the middle of nowhere Texas with nothing to do. Onward and Upward (literally) the Liberty rumbled towards Denver on I-25. Within minutes, Anne was out cold. She had just driven for 6 hours and I queued up a podcast from the Tony Kornheiser show, but I assumed I'd get 25 -30 minutes. I relived a couple episodes where he discussed Tiger's triumph at Torrey and the culmination of the Democratic primaries over about 3 hours really getting my first leg off to a good start.

The drive through northern New Mexico into Southern Colorado was really peaceful. The road was wide open with no cops and beautiful scenery in every location. I set the cruise control to 85 and soaked in the massive evergreen trees framed by large mountains. After the initial three hour segment, the continental divide approached and what a sight it was. Off to the left, the snow-capped Rockies sprung into the sky at an awesome inclination I had never seen before. To the right flat plains stretched on forever, with random hay bales and cows every couple miles. Anne woke up after a little while and promptly exalted "Holy..." when she looked out the windows. The dramatic change of the landscape is truly beyond belief. After she was sufficiently awake, and we were an hour into Colorado, we listened to Eddie Murphy's hit comedy "Delirious" It wasn't long before we saw signs for Denver; the day was drawing to a close. Once we got through Colorado Springs and passed the Air Force Academy, anxiousness overcame us. 11 straight hours of driving, stopping only for gas and food, was sinking in and we were so close. The traffic congestion began to increase and all of a sudden Invesco field appeared to the west. We were in Denver and merely 6 exits from Diana's apartment. A couple right turns and a left, down one block and we were there. Pushing the gearshift through neutral, reverse, and finally park felt tremendous. DENVER...GORGEOUS!