So, you think you can tell, heaven from hell and blue skys from pain, we can too, and since you were no doubt wondering what happened to today's blog posting, here it is.
Word has it that some believe we are a bit too heavy on pics, and too light on the written word. I'll get to that in a sec, but we are now in Salt Lake City and just got back from seeing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse, after a sumptuous dinner at The Olive Garden, so after all that excitement following our 300 mile trip through Idaho from West Yellowstone, we have been a bit busy. But given that Bridget and I are six days into this Amazing Adventure, it does provide a natural and appropriate time to pause, comment, and reflect on all that we have seen, which has been beyond belief and expectation.
Of course it is impossible to put into words all of it, so pictures do provide a necessary vehicle to try to convey the highlights. Bridget observed that we are now entering the cosmopolitan, citified segment of our journey, having come from the true wilderness of the American west and nights spent in a Teepee etc under the Big Sky. One might not consider Salt Lake to be cosmopolitan, but it does have quite a bit going on as evidenced by the funky bars and restaurants near our downtown hotel and it is 180 degrees from where we have been the last 6 days. It sort of of caps this first segment nicely to reflect on the first part of the trip from a homogeneous place like Salt Lake; with all of it's incredibly nice, smiling, mostly pale, Mormon's, and following a dinner at Olive Garden (a first for both Bridgie and me) which represents all of what many feel is the evil strip mallization of America, given that all we have seen thus, far has been for us as unique and diverse as America has been, still is, and will always be.
No, we didn't write the first American road trip story, many, many others have done this gig before. Jack Kerouac and our old friend, John Steinbeck, whose Travels with Charley accompanied us on the convertible's speakers this morning and is as relevant, and dead on, about this country, it's inhabihants, roadways and soul today, as when Steinbeck took his trip in 1960, come to mind here. However, the definitive road trip story hasn't really been written in stone by anyone, as it is ongoing, it is individual, and we all are writing it every day aren't we? Bridgie the Kid's and my story, is our story, and your story, and that's the story.
Unfathomable beauty, which only photographs and memories do justice to, natural resources, vast spaces, a mosaic of people and interesting characters, and yes even the comforting sameness such as the ubiquitous Subway's awaiting us off of every exit ramp is what this road trip has been for us so far. It is the powerful cocktail of our inherent human need to be alike, and our tribal need to be together, shaken not stirred, with the American quest to be on the move that has also struck me. We have ourselves quite a country folks, built on the natural largesse of wonders like Old Faithful, and the perseverance, artistic genius, and American can-do spirit of Mt. Rushmore, and yes, even the sameness of The Olive Garden, Interstate 15 between Pocatello and Salt Lake, and inhabited by you, and me and those blond haired, blue eyed smiling Mormons. The point to me, on this day after celebrating our Independence Day, is that it's all beautiful in it's own way, and the freedom to roam and be independent should not be taken foregranted. I don't think the good ol' USA is done yet, thank you very much. Looking at the everlasting smile on my 11 year old accomplice's face while contemplating the Two for $25 summer meal deal at OG confirms it. We think we have lot to complain about, and all is not perfect for sure, but as I prepare to slumber here in this rather posh Courtyard Marriott, in this oddly unique and yet very vanilla city, I was thinking to myself here at the Hotel Utah that this could all be heaven or this could be hell, but I'm pretty damn sure they don't have convertible's in hell.
Sin City awaits.
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Peter Day
215-519-3326
peteralexanderday@gmail.com
Yea! Love your newsy post today! :) It's been 7-8 years since we took our kids out west, and drove from Salt Lake City through Wyoming and Montana, and back. I remember being struck by how wide open and vast the land is out there. Everything felt so big, and seemed to move so much slower than we were used to in the east. It didn't take long to get used to... Such a beautiful part of the country! Love all the pics of scenery; you guys should make them into a calendar when you get home. Have a great time in Las Vegas, and remember:
ReplyDelete"What happens in Vegas... "
XO, Holly