Cross Country 1 (Bridgeport, CT to Riverside, CA)
The following map shows the path I took -- for the most part, it follows
I-70 west. In Utah and Arizona I started taking local roads to visit the
national parks in the area (Arches, Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon). The odometer
read something very close to 4,000 miles, my credit card read roughtly $300
in gas expenses, and I read 36 in terms of coffee cups consumed along the way.
Connecticut
As Labor Day weekend was approaching, Katerina accepted my offer to ride with me as far as Indiana. Other than her, virtually all my friends from college moved away somewhere. Strange as it meay seam, I felt nostalgic.West Virginia
We made a brief stop to get coffee at a Kroger just off the highway exit. The store echoed with "Country Road."* I do not believe this to be a coincidence.*For those who were not as fortunate as to have a country music-fan for a roommate, John Denver's "Country Road" goes: "Country road, take me home, to the place I belong... West Virginia..."
Indiana
In observance of the Labor Day traffic jam, I did not travel. Instead, I studied the road atlas Suzan gave me and planned the remainder of the journey. The plan was, in its entirety, as follows: "Take I-70 west until you hit I-15, turn south and drive to Riverside." I took pictures of the car for my mother who was asking for them since Bridgeport.Jelena made biblical amounts of the finest poppy seed strudel I have ever eaten. She actually prepared so much strudel for the road that all the way to Colorado I had to stop only two or three times to buy burgers.
If you would like to see more of Indiana, the Indianapolis album is a good place to look.
Missouri
Passing through Eero Saarineen's Gateway to the West in Saint Louis officially marked my entry into the unknown.Note from a postcard I sent from Columbia, MO: Missouri. Population: 5.6 M. Area: 68.8 K sq. mi. Price of P.E.T.R.O.L: $1.65. Truck to passenger car ratio: 5:1.
Kansas
Driving through Kansas was reminiscent of the Twilight Zone series: as I was driving westward the sunsets lasted for hours, the roads were straight and largely empty. Once you hit the cruise control button, the only things that remind you that you are still moving over the unchanging terrain are the reflections from the road markers and strong winds that blow to your side and force you to maneuver the stirring wheel to stay on the road.Colorado
Denver looks like Switzerland on steroids. The evening light was exceptional.Utah
Quoting the guidebook: "Green River (population 1,000) is the only town of any size along I-70 between Salina and Grand Junction, Colorado." Green River dubs as the "World's watermelon capital." Imagine nothing. Stretch it to 208 miles, fill it up with sand and spectacular rocks. Add sun. Add a highway. Post signs "Next service area 100 miles" in both directions.No photograph can do justice to Utah. The wastness of the scenery and the sense of freedom it evokes cannot be conveyed through images nor through words.
Arizona
Soundtrack for Arizona: The Orb's "Fluffy little clouds."[Cross Country 2] [back]
