I'm not going to act like this trip didn't end months ago.
So much has happened that I've needed time to process it all.
I'm rather unemployed. Well I'm freelancing. But that's just a creative way of saying, "I'm unemployed but I can still afford to live month to month."
I want to keep writing but I want to write about what is happening presently, not about what happened months ago. The problem with that is I can't feel decent writing anything knowing that I left a story untold.
This is the last thing I wrote about to the trip. I think it was in January when I wrote it. It's not the finale, but it's close. Maybe one day I'll reveal more details about what happened in the last 7 days of the road trip, and perhaps what happened the 30 days I lived on Louie's futon in Los Angeles.
Louie and I made it to LA on Friday, November 16, at around 8pm. It was the day after finishing our hike in the Grand Canyon. We were so exhausted and hurting. We both agreed that we were spent. The trip was whole.
We had done so much more than we had originally thought we would. My car was being scavenged for parts in a dusty lot in Colorado, and our rental was due in two days. Something was telling us to wrap it up.
Act III: Just when you think it's over, things are just getting started.
After South Dakota, I was very concerned about my car making the distance. I had thoughts about just selling the car and flying back to NY. I thought about B-lining it to Los Angeles via plane, bus, or car, all to say, "Maybe next time" to the other 50% of the trip I had planned. I hated the idea of cutting the trip short so I stuck with my original plan. I would pat my Civic on the hood and say, "We got this."
I last left off in Denver I believe? Yeah we bought weed in a store blah blah blah, everyone's heard that story before.
While we were there we stayed with a friend of Louie's who told me they were a vampire and said they would kill me if I didn't believe them. I slept like a rock despite the vampire in the other room. Disclaimer: Louie didn't know about the vampire.
We also went to a Barcade, something very popular nowadays. It was fun and the Vampire didn't threaten to kill me when I would win in Pacman. We drank, played games, and then Louie and I continued on our way and went to my cousins in Thornton.
Barcade Gallery
My cousins Nancy and Peter are great. I've stayed with them before when I first visited the state and it was sweet. Louie and I spent some time out and about, checking out the city and some scenery. I was still concerned with my car though... the oil was leaking even though I just had that repaired in SD...
Before leaving Denver, I picked up 5 quarts of oil, just in case. We left for Grand Junction, CO.
We arrived there at sunset, it was beautiful. We found a cozy little Walmart to sleep at. Like every Walmart we visited, we skated around the parking lot and ate at a nearby buffet.
The next morning we got up to head to Salt Lake City. On our way out of Colorado, I noticed a sign for the Colorado National Monument. I read about it the night before and decided I was going to take a detour to see it. After all, parks were free that weekend because it was Veterans Day.
It was so cool. Completely empty at 9am. Louie and I climbed through a small hole to get onto a rather precarious vantage point. We sat there and soaked up the morning sun for a long moment.
We continued up the road until we reached the highest viewpoint. Here we could see what inspired John Otto to preserve this land over 100 years ago.
Another view soaked in.
We left the monument and started again for Utah.
We were on the interstate, climbing a mountain, when I could feel something happening to the car. It was working so hard to climb over this mountain, going a solid 70mph and unable to shift into top gear. C'mon c'mon you got this...
We are just 50 yards from the top of the hill when it happened. Time of death, approximately 11:38am.
I heard a loud clunk and release. As if something snapped and was whipped into some other delicate components under the hood. I knew immediately that this was the finishing blow. Seconds after that noise, the car stopped accelerating. Luckily our momentum sent us over the top of the mountain and we were able to coast forward to safety. The car came to a halt right underneath the "Thanks For Visiting Colorado" sign, only 1/8 a mile away from the "Welcome To Utah" sign. I put it in park. I saw a tumbleweed as soon as we got out of the car. A god damn tumbleweed. The cliche symbol for "you're in the middle of nowhere!"
Let's make sure this thing is really done for...
1... 2... 3... *turn the key* BA BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
"TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!!"
Jeeeeeeeeeeez.
That car was not in good shape. It sounded like the engine was trying the escape the civic.
Louie had his AAA card handy the whole trip. Our ace in the hole. If anything happened where we got stuck, we would rely on AAA to dig us out.
Louie was on the phone with them trying to figure out how we were going to get this car out of here. First off, the cell service in bumblefuck was awful. Second, after telling AAA about our situation, we were delighted to find out that we were smack dab in the middle of 2 mechanics, one in Colorado and the other in Utah. Both approximately 70 miles from where we were. As it also turned out, Louie only had 7 towing miles left on his AAA card....
We decided to go to Colorado where we knew we'd be closer to familiar territory. It would be 2 hours before the tow would get us. We conducted a funeral service for the Civc using holy water that Louie had for some reason... we blasted a bagpipers rendition of "Amazing Grace" on the cars speakers while we said our goodbyes.
The tow came and brought us to Fruita, CO. There I met Tyler White, a friendly mechanic born and raised in the area who I'd eventually sell my car to for $100. I had the night to think about it, and it turns out that would be my only option. I signed a makeshift contract, got 5 twenty dollar bills, moved all of my belongings into a Nissan Altima that I rented and went on my way.
The next stop was definitely Utah, but we would forgo Salt Lake City for now we had to make it to LA within the next 7 days.
This post is dedicated to Charlemagne, My CIVIC.
A car i never asked for that gave me everything i asked from it.
