I slept with two soft shell jackets on plus the
hoodie. It rained last night, and was
also very windy cold. I also added an extra
layer of pants. At 5:35am I sat in the
car where I was able to stay warm, I recited and meditated.
It was during this time that I felt the Kentucky couple pack up and
leave and felt them send me a spiritual goodbye.
Since I was busy, I did not turn to acknowledge physically and continued
to meditate. When I finished, I walked
toward the guys from last night where they had mama moose sightings. I promised myself to do it different, better
than last night, a whole new do over in conversation and attitude.
I was attentive in listening to whatever it is they had
to over in our conversations and I was able to receive what they had to
offer. They showered me with love,
affection and friendship. They included
me in their circle. It was just a very
beautiful experience and I was able to soak it all up. Most of all, I admired their friendship of
sharing, support, and mutual adoration, admiration for each other. The Florida guy pointed out moose hooves and
moose poop to me. Denver guy said he saw
a male moose cross camp at 1am. I said, "I had wondered what smelled like poop around my tent last night." It was that male moose who came to poop and
now here we are observing it’s poop during breakfast. We parted with goodbyes.
I began making split pea for breakfast while they packed and left for their next destination. Denver guy also mentioned how at Boulder you can turn on the radio and people will radio in animal sightings and you can go to that spot to see them as it occurs. He really was a walking encyclopedia of information. I really appreciated his sharing of his knowledge with me, taking the time to educate me and teach me things. Florida guy said California is full of nice people and if I am ever in Florida that I should go to the Everglades and as a heads up, there are lots of mosquito in the campgrounds.
I packed and head out too after breakfast. I drove by Grand Lake going west bound and
was able to see the mountain backdrop.
It is beautiful and so is Lake ShaShone.
Stillwater campground belongs to Arapaho National Recreation Area and is
off the lake. Lake Granby at second
look, is a good pass by not necessarily a place I would feel I have to stop
at.
In general, Colorado is beautiful. It is green this time of the year with
beautiful rolling hills, meadows, and rivers that run through it. When I am here, I have such inspirations as
to get on a bike and ride everywhere.
People have little ponds and lakes on their land with a dock and a
wooden rowing boat. This is what
children’s picture story books are illustrated after, a kind of wonderland.
 |
| I love how the sign here has miles and kilometers |
I felt the border of Colorado and Utah was difficult to be in or even to pass through,
just as difficult as the west side on the way over. It must be a border fengsui thing I
think.
The rest of Utah was beautiful. The area where the lake was had highway road
under construction. The lanes changed to
curb shoulder lane. I had to balance
between not hitting the road cones and driving off the shoulder and also
avoiding the highway cutout lane divide. It was not a success. It is bad for tires and suspension system to
hit those. 
The significance of today’s drive was noticing how the sounds and stories in my mind are just the same as the visual dramas, movies on the screen. It is just shifted into the audio form of sound and voices while I drove. When I followed it, it is same as following the image, getting hooked, gone, and taken over. This is what I must work on.
The Utah stretch of the drive somehow seemed
forever. I pulled over to a Burger King
and had a veggie burger at 8:48pm. Then
I pulled over at Walmart in Logan at 9:30pm.
It was almost 10pm when I was done with Walmart. I was super tired but I was determined to
drive to Tetons tonight and to sleep in my tent.
I bought at Walmart: A $10 hammock, a rain sack for my pack, 2 packs of arugula salad, Corn, Lime, Tomato, Avocado, Cabbage, Zucchini, Green bell pepper
I drove on the scenic highway in full moon which brightly lit
up the mountain sharp turn road. It
really felt like 8:45pm in terms of brightness of the sky. I drove by the lake and through Idaho,
missing all the beauty in the dark. I
finally made it into Wyoming and had to pull over because I was falling asleep
behind the wheel at 12am.
I pulled over at a pullout that is south of the
Campground for Bridger-Teton National Forest.
I just sat in the driver seat legs crossed, head leaned back, planning
on just snoozing for an hour and then continue with my drive. At national forest you can pull into any pullout and camp for free unless it says otherwise. I just camped in my car for the night and didn't bother with a tent.
Grand Lake to Jensen Utah 244 miles
Jensen Utah to Logan Utah 260 miles
Logan Utah to Bridged National Forest 100 miles
Today I covered 604 miles
Hours spent driving: 14 hours
