Saket Vora

10:00am

The day starts slowly. We take our time, heading down for brunch at 11:30am and using a dining credit Naman scored when booking the hotel, all four of our stomachs are full for just $6.00. The three of us were in Las Vegas not two weeks ago with our uncle’s family, so there is hardly anything new for us. Naman had been to Las Vegas often when he used to live in Arizona. Plus, we grew to realize as we gazed over the glitz and the glamour…we just aren’t the kind of people that this place caters to.

3:00pm

We won some stuffed toy animals for Naman’s cousins in San Jose, in the Excalibur Hotel only. Then, we wanted to make use of the matching money Naman also got during the booking. Blackjack proved to be the game of choice…we entered with $20 and came out with $170. A leisurely walk across Las Vegas Blvd to the MGM Grand followed, to see the lion exhibit. At first we were taken aback by the exhibit, but a description of it assuaged some but not all of our fears. Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs was scheduled for the night, and Sachi and I definitely wanted to watch it. After that heavy brunch, we didn’t feel very hungry so we picked up some snacks and went back to the hotel room. The game was great – Go Ducks! – and afterward we went downstairs to the casino but didn’t have much luck. Before going to bed, Naman taught us a card game called Poison and that occupied us for a long time. Sachi won such an extraordinarily number of rounds, that Naman was speechless by the end.

7:00am

A gust of wind angrily barrels through our tent, making it quiver. This is followed by another, and another, and another. This continues for nearly three hours. I sit up, having got a much better rest than the night before. The temperature is good, no rain falls, but the wind is relentless. Twice I must reach up and push the tent support back into position.

10:00am

One by one, we all awake but are rested. After a civilizing coffee, tea, and Pop-tarts, we begin our major three mile hike. Major is of course a relative term, but I feel it is a good hike. Climbs almost 400 feet and explores the southern end of the canyon. Before turning back, a rocky outcropping provides views of the canyon town of Springdale nestled in a valley. After returning to the visitor center, we board the bus and get off at the farthest stop, the Temple of Sinawava. The canyon begins narrow here, and we walk around a riverside trail that takes us deeper into the narrows. The trail is crowded, but the shade and the soothing sounds of the river are appreciated.

2:00pm

Following a rendezvous with a post office and lunch, we make our way to Las Vegas. I’m at the helm. Near the Arizona border, the road slips into a rugged canyon and sharply winds and weaves its way through, dropping in elevation the entire time. The fact that the speed limit remains 65 mph makes a white knuckled ride. A final turns spills us out of the canyon and the landscape difference is startling – truly flat, for miles and miles. My hands were heavy on the wheel – winds continue to buffet the van.

5:30pm

We roll into Las Vegas. I hate driving here. We take two wrong turns and pay for it with half an hour in traffic. We finally park the car and Naman and I go to check in. Naman booked us two nights at the Excalibur hotel, right on the strip. The deal he found gave us dining credit and matching money for gambling. After taking much needed showers, we headed down the Strip to see the Bellagio fountains. The winds of the morning followed us here, sending dust and dirt into our eyes. All around us people winced and rubbed their eyes. The high winds canceled the Bellagio fountains. We pushed onward, thoughts set on a Bloomin’ Onion at an Outback restaurant Naman spotted earlier. We bypass a 30 minute wait by catching a table at the bar that just opened seconds before. ‘Dinner’ consisted of drinks, a Bloomin’ Onion, cheesecake, and an ice cream sundae. We didn’t do much else, tired from the day’s activities.

8:00amThe night was unrestful, I didn’t sleep well. Still, the tent is back in its bag by 5:30am and the sleeping bags returned to the back of the van. I fire up the propane stove and heat water for morning tea. By 6 am we are on the road again. Small mountain towns and B&Bs dot the landscape in greater frequency as we approach the ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge. Towering above the tree-covered valleys are the Rockies, their caps laden with snow, brought into stark relief by the morning sun. It warms the heart.

We weave our way through a sharp valley cut into the mountain. Sheer cliffs, towering hundreds of feet in the air, flank us on both sides. A stream, twenty feet wide and speckled with whitewater, flows below. Our elevation is gracefully decreasing, the tree covered valleys being gradually replaced with more scrub and barren rock. The rock has gone from gray to tan to now showing bands of red.

12:00pm

Crossed the border into Utah. Gone are the tree covered valleys of Colorado; we are entering desert land now. Naman notes it reminds him of Arizona. Terra is tan with stocky rugged hills and cliffs around. It is getting warm outside.

4:00pmI awaken with a firm tug at my shoulder. We are in a small town just south of Zion National Park, in front of a grocery store. We pick up dinner (veggie burgers, soup, chili) and some drinks before heading up into the park. The National Parks Pass saves us $25 on the entrance fee, and fortunately our campsite is just a 5 minute walk from the visitor center. We setup the tent then hop on a shuttle bus that takes us inside the canyon.

Central to Zion is a canyon that formed deeply but not very wide. Navajo sandstone cliffs tower overhead on each side as the road winds its way along the Virgin River. We begin a small hike, and the timing is perfect: the setting sun lights up the cliff faces, pulling out the oranges and reds.

8:00pm

A log burns in the fire pit, four burgers being tended to by Naman. We approached the campground 15 minutes earlier. Looking out over the campground, families gather around picnic tables, fires crackle in the pits, and the melody of laughter and music wafts our way. We have a filling dinner followed again by s’mores. Before sleep a moment is taken to simply look up at the sky, upon which stars upon stars upon stars are revealed.

7:00am

Out the door, quickly made bagels on paper plates and pockets full with food that would be appreciated in the days to come. Naman takes the helm, continuing west on I-70. The Kansas City skyline is strikingly lit up in the morning sun, and I’m surprised by the greenery of the city and the rolling hills that surround it. And then its gone. We are in Kansas. The softly swelling green hills challenge our expectations of the Kansan landscape, but the (toll) road is good and driving easy. As I thumb through pages of Dune, I probe the story and the careful construction of the story with greater appreciation. It is not enough; soon I’m asleep.

12:00pm

Colby, Kansas. We are refueling at a gas station, with an abundance of lunch choices around. Two Bible Fellowship vans full of jittery teenagers idle on both sides of us, a trailer full of mountain bikes in tow. I look around to the true 180 degrees of sky from horizon to horizon. A firm breeze blows and its nice. After lunch, a hunch comes to Naman that some fluids might be low and sure enough the coolant flirts with minimum. A pit stop remedies this and we pick up firewood for camping. I learn from Sachi and Naman that our expectations of Kansas are now true – flat land as far as the eye can see, colored in greens and yellows, with long skeletal aerial irrigation pipes tending to the fields.

3:50pm

20 miles to Denver. The front range of the Rocky Mountains is sighted ahead, the peaks shadows looming on the horizon. For an hour now, lush green pastures encompass the road. Clouds grow across the sky, but still the weather is pleasant. Stories by David Sedaris, courtesy of a good friend, elicit knowing chuckles from the three of us and serves as a good break from the music. Since we have arrived early to Denver, we will check out the downtown and take a break for a while. Sapana’s flight arrives in 3 hours.

7:00pm

Downtown Denver was a surprise. We took advantage of our early arrival and explored the area on foot. There was a pedestrian only full of people enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. We walked to the convention center, a building with a glass front wall and a giant 30 foot blue bear peering inside. We passed a film crew which asked if we’d like to answer a few questions on current events. Naman readily volunteered followed by myself and Sachi. The questions concerned terrorism; why it exists, what could be done to stop it, the meaning of it. The footage will be used for a public exhibit at a museum. A stroll towards the golden domed capitol building revealed the back of an outdoor stage. Music filtered through, and as we circled around we saw an enormous fair unfold in front of us. Our visit to Denver coincided with the People’s Fair, which featured bands, street vendors, amusement rides, etc. all nestled between the two primary edifices of Colorado’s state government. We had dinner at Chipotle and picked up one to go for Sapana. We picked her up at the airport (which is an unusually far distance from the city) and continued west.

10:00pm

Golden Canyon State Park, about 30 miles west of Denver. We decide to camp here for the night; our first night of camping. We take the long, windy scenic route into the park. A single incorrect digit in the directions I obtained early delay our arrival to the campsite by 20 minutes, but we find it. Night falls quickly here. Using the last minutes of daylight, Naman and I work quickly to setup our tent. He is pleased at how easy it is to setup compared with his other tent. Sachi lights the Duraflame log and Sapana brings our sleeping bags. It is colder than we expect. We roast marshmallows and enjoy a few s’mores. We gingerly crawl into our sleeping bags; it’s cold inside our tent but will warm soon. An early start tomorrow awaits.

This post begins a month-long series that will follow my sisters, my friend Naman, and myself on a cross-country road trip.

4:45am

Awake. Car packed the night before. Shower, dress, breakfast, and we are out the door by 6am. Pick up Naman, say goodbye to his father, and we’re off. The corner 24-hour Harris Teeter supplies boxes of Pop-Tarts and a warm coffee. Small detour to Naman’s home in Carrboro to pick up a few of his clothes and extra snacks. Connect up with I-40 West and we settle in, me at the helm. We won’t change our road for another 520 miles.

12:30pm

Stretching my legs. We are almost through the Smoky Mountains and stopped for lunch near exit 283. The time went by faster than I thought; conversation has a considerable impact on the perception of time while driving. We’re making good time. Sachi takes the wheel and I pick up a well-worn copy of Dune. After a dozen pages I’m nodding off. I feel bad because I’m in the passenger seat, and that person should keep the driver company. Naman pitches in, and I sleep.

4:00pm

Going northwards towards St. Louis on I-24, in Kentucky. The time-zone crossing gives us another hour. Close-cropped forest no longer bounds us tightly on the highway. The transition into ‘big sky country’ is beginning. A solitary boat in the Ohio River blinks by, and we enter Illinois. We plan on trying to making it beyond St. Louis tonight…it will help for the passage across the Great Plains tomorrow.

6:00pm

Naman at the helm now, guiding us ever closer to St. Louis. Cornfields, first of many, appeared half an hour ago. A quick stop at a rest area stretched our legs and let us throw a Frisbee around. Checked in with the parents up in Chicago, they had seen a promising apartment and planned on meeting our friend Kevin Henderson for a Chicago deep-dish style pizza dinner.

6:32pm

The iconic St. Louis Arch sighted, pleasingly sitting in front of the city’s skyline. We went by a park at the base of Arch and enjoyed the view for a while. The river flows by and a coal barge slowly rumbles along. We move on, stopping for another refuel. 450 miles since last refuel, but we only used 18 gallons of the van’s 21 gallon capacity tank. We’ll push it farther next time.

8:15pm

Midway to Columbia, MO. Serious discussion on pushing on to Kansas City, MO or even Topeka, KS. Big Sky Country is around us, and we see a blood orange sun fall below a cloud wall. The clouds behind us glow with peaches and oranges. Glowing pink bands cling to the horizon.

8:40pm

Naman spots a sign with curiously large signage depicting ‘Z’ and ‘A’. I consult my map and it turns out that Missouri uses capital letters in naming roads in additional to traditional numbers. Strange.

9:30pm

Dinner at Subway with Baskin-Robbins as desert. We’re committed on pushing on to Kansas City. It’s dark now, but the highway lies straight and even. Spirits are good.

11:51pm

Checked into a hotel in Kansas City. AAA discount (just say you are a AAA member wherever you go) saves us $20. I’m a bit tired after driving 9 hours today, but the advances made today will reap rewards tomorrow. Instead of getting to Denver at 8 or 9pm, we now will arrive at around 4pm. A notable Zoo is rumored there, so we’ll see.

Pictures will come soon.