Fall Odyssey 2006

September 19, 2006---Parker, CO to Colby, KS (228 mi)

I finally left the house at 3:30pm. I had struggled getting started out on this trip--I had been dealing with a very persistant mental paralysis. I wasn't getting a thing accomplished for weeks and I wasn't sure what to do about it. Also, I had this strange feeling that if I left out on this cross-country journey I would not be returning. There was no logic to any of that, I was just in a mindset in which I expected, at each turn, the craziest outcome in response to anything I tried to do. I don't know--YOU figure it out, eh.

My initial expectation however was that I would arrive at the Niagara Peninsula by Monday, Sept 25th. I wound up being a little OFF on that estimate. This first day of the trip was rather indicative of this being as I drove for only ONE hour before I made my first stop: which lasted over TWO hours! In Genoa, CO off the I-70 there is an unbelievable curio shop called the Tower Museum (see photos) which I had previously read about online. It was such a fun place and it was such a clear, still evening that I just lingered and lingered at this place until the sun had disappeared and I was the only one left browsing.

Their ramshod-built tower is about 70 feet tall or so. I stood on the observation deck and stared at the sillouette of Pikes Peak on the western horizon. It was at this moment that I felt suddenly at ease for the first time in a long while. I realized that all I had to do, for a while anyway, was relax and keep my mind in the immediate present where I could enjoy the backroads of America and just FORGET who I was and what was troubling me. The evening sky was beyond translucent--almost as though that if one strained their sight a little they could see into the future. Even the best cameras can't capture still, simple moments like this, but I tried anyway.

I think the old man that runs the Tower Museum was relieved when I, his last patron of the day, finally left at about 7:45pm. He shut and locked the door swiftly right behind me: "here's your hat, what's your hurry!?!" Yeh, I didn't feel especially welcome there after a certain point but I stayed as long as I pleased anyway. I was already well into the "I'll go where I PLEASE" state of mind that became the theme of my Fall Odyessy.

I stopped for the night at a Super 8 Motel in Colby, Kansas by around 10:30pm. I had passed through the Central Time Zone at the west end of Kansas so it was only 9:30pm there. I went to sleep around midnight, but at 2:35am I awoke abruptly to the LOUDEST strobe & horn fire alarm on the planet!!


I dressed quickly and went into the corridor and began searching for smoke. I took this very seriously because of two factors: a) I actually smelled a suspicious smokey odor when I checked into my room, and b) I was already well secure in that mindset where I EXPECTED crazy shit to happen to me! I searched around the building for over 10 minutes with my fingers in my ears (it was so LOUD). I even went into the fire alarm control room to read the equipment. Having spent many years in construction management I learned a few things about alarm systems, namely that they sometimes display the trouble areas on their little LCD screens. I was amazed that no firemen or cops or managers were showing up. I was concerned about people's safety--I kind of felt like I was the default "responsible person". People were hanging out in the hallways with THEIR fingers in their ears too. Some people had already dressed, packed and drove off.


Eventually I elected to follow suit just as the cops arrived at the 15 minute point. I asked one cop what took them so long. If they were so damn sure that there was no fire, then maybe they could have turned off the strobes & horns a little sooner than 15 full minutes into the panic! Judas priest! I got a full refund from the apologetic 25 year old front desk night manager and then I spent the balance of the night in the fully reclined driver's seat of my little green 1998 Honda Accord. This was Day One of my cross-country roadtrip.