On toward the end of the trip, and headed back to Mojo City, I decided to take in Arches National Monument. Was last there a number of years back with Lauren. We lived together while we did graduate school in journalism at Boulder, Colorado. As I drove and walked the land, I spent a lot of time wondering what had happened to her. It was a sad thing to be here without her. We'd shared that time together. This place was ours.

I sat there at the Delicate Arch view site, talking about those times to Fred. When I stopped talking, Fred offered up his bottle of Jack. Said I didn't even have to join his bad religion again.
I took it.

Toward the end of the trip, headed back to Mojo City, I decided to take in Arches National Monument. Was last there a number of years back with a woman I was living with while we did graduate school in journalism at Boulder, Colorado. As I drove and walked the land, I spent some time wondering whatever happened to her. It was different to be here without her.

There's an incredible beauty all along the Highway. What's about a 60-mile drive sucks you right in and you're out of your car walking all over the place looking at stuff that keeps getting better as you walk on and away from your car and you come out of the drive on the other end sometime quite late in the day. I've never done it in less than four hours.

Fred kept saying, "Oohhh," and "Ahhh," all the while, and I kept saying, "Yeah," and he kept saying, "Oohhh" and "Ahhh" and as much as I liked the view, I was really getting tired of his noise and then I finally figured out that I'd dropped some of my luggage on him and the boy was hurting.

Getting toward the southern end of the Highway, there's a small pond with these lily-like pads floating in the water. I try to stop at this pond every time I pass by. Even with it being so close to the road, I get a real peaceful feeling there. Shortly after this photo was taken of Fred in the foreground, he jumped into the water for a swim. Being hollow, he floats. But having an aluminum-foil hat permanently attached, his head stayed underwater and his butt was constantly smiling at the sky. I laughed a lot. And then realized he was drowning.