‘Sup, homies? Okay, I apologize for that. Anyway, hi. We’re in Rock Springs, Wyoming, which is about three hours shy of where we wanted to be when we stopped for the night. Whatevs, we’re on vacation, and we’re not stressing about schedules and whatnot.
We got tired last night, so we went to bed before any of our clothes were packed. They were all clean, and the food was organized, the puppy was already at the puppy kennel… so that was good enough, and we hit the hay. And I was nice. Before we even went to bed, I told Frank that since we’re on vacation, I’m not going to freak out if we don’t get on the road as planned. (Having officially put us both in this relaxed mindset made for a very late start indeed.) This morning, we got up early and packed everything, including our Christmas gifts for my family. Except my stepmom’s gift, because it was too big to fit in the car. I think we’ll stop and get the same gift in Texas and then return the one we got in Boise when we get back.
I went out to the car to make sure the seats were folded up so we could put the suitcases in the far back and the food and gifts in the back seat. Frank had cleaned out the car last night while I was doing last minute shopping. He is a guy, though, and we don’t define “clean out the car” the same. It was mostly done, but… well, he made several trips inside with items that would not be joining us on the trip. There were even some mice for the kittehs to play with, and Sydney (with a rediscovered freedom that only comes from the absence of the dog) trounced those little suckers all over the house. This cat goes insane over the mice. Throws them way up in the air, then dives after them and kills them anew. She’s such a cool little feral kitteh.
Once the car was usable, I used my mad-awesome organizational skills to get everything to fit (other than the previously mentioned gift, because I wanted to be able to see out the back windshield). We hugged and kissed the kittehs goodbye (I told Minerva that she’s my sweetest and cutest and I love her the best and will miss her most of all) and finally got on the road. And then we stopped by the bank to deposit some money. Then we stopped at Fred Meyer for a new travel mug for Frank’s coffee. Then we went to Hastings and got the NYT Crosswords game for the DS and the new David Cook CD. I declare it is good, and it shall be my new favorite CD — however, I also declare that David is wearing more eyeliner than Boy George on the cover. Worst. Cover. Photo. Ever. David, my love, you really do not need to wear all that makeup. You’re beautiful just the way you are. (If I ever have a daughter who wants to wear so much eyeliner that the generic passerby will assume she is a skank, I intend to tell her the same thing. Let’s hope she’s beautiful so I don’t have to lie to her.
Anyway. On the way out of town we had to stop at the outlets and exchange a sweater. Then we got gas. Then we actually started driving, on the highway and everything — maybe around 1-ish.
I ate Doritos. I knew I would pay, and I am, and they weren’t even worth it. No Dorito is worth it, except the Fiery Habanero Dorito. Alas, I can never find those. That’s probably best.
We drove for hours, with a short stop to check the BSU score (we had lost the station) with Frank’s parents and eat a magnificent dinner of summer sausage, smoked oysters, crackers, marinated mushrooms, and Jolly Ranchers. It was dark soon after we got to Utah.
So we were driving through Wyoming in the dark, not many street lamps along the highway, lots of big rigs and other highway-type things. I saw that we were passing Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, and I added it to my “places to see” list. Then I noticed a well-lighted area and looked over across the highway. I saw the strangest thing. This hotel was just standing there, all alone, amidst a freakishly awesome rocky outcrop. I want to stay at that hotel.
We were going to try to get all the way to Laramie tonight, but it was 9:30, and Laramie would be another three hours, Rawlins would be 1.5 hours… so we decided to stop at Rock Springs. Looks like we’ll have a good twelve hour drive tomorrow (not including stops).
Gas was $1.80 in Utah.
Later gators.