weekend warrior

this would be the second weekend in a row that i spent out of provo, but it felt right to leave. thursday night, at marni's party i invited her and brittany to come along. marni had other commitments, but britt could come, so i cajoled her into leaving town with me. i slept at dave hawkins house and slept in before going to breakfast with him at village inn. for some reason memories of mission ideas and stories kept coming to mind, so we talked about them. christian was getting married soon, dave was thinking about marriage, and it seems that i am the only one without any marriage prospects on the horizon. that's all right though, i'm more worried about losing friends than gaining a wife for the time being. all of my friends at byu were stressed about finals and final papers. it's surreal to be on vacation when everyone you know is at their most stressed. i felt happy that i wasn't worried, but excited to start school again. 

i unloaded the front seat of my car at my new apartment, but left the rest of my belongings in the back seat and the trunk. just about everything important to me in the world was in that back seat, from clothes to journals to books. i didn't worry too much about theft, most of what i hold dear has little monetary value. brittany called me at twelve forty five and said that she was ready to go, so i headed straight for her apartment and left my guitar there to make some more room in the back seat for her stuff. when she asked what our plans were for the weekend i answered honestly: i had none. the most important part of the trip for me was already happening. packing up, leaving town and knowing that there is an open road ahead bring me a relief that is hard to explain. once we got to denver we would figure it out. the weather was forecasted to be beautiful, and boulder is a great town to visit when it is beautiful out. 

i had never really spent time alone with brittany, but road trips are as good a time as any to deepen a friendship. seven hours when talking and not talking are equally comfortable. we spent some time discussing our families, and some time just being excited about nice weather and road trips. when i turned from us-6 onto i-70, i remembered thompson springs, the nearly deserted town between green river and fruita. we stopped to take pictures, examining the deserted motel and the disconnected railroad switch for a deserted train station. the weather was unbearably beautiful. i took about fifteen pictured, brittany had more film and took more. about half an hour later we were back on the road. 

when i left the highway in grand junction the sun was still high in the western sky, but i knew it wold disappear quickly as we climbed into the rockies through glenwood canyon. i put gas in the car and calculated our mileage, and old habit that is mostly for self gratification. on the road again i didn't feel much desire to speed, so we cruised along at eighty or so the rest of the way. in glenwood i told brittany stories from this same trip, not thinking that i was a part of a future story right then. soon after we passed copper mountain i was alone with my thoughts since britt sat in the passenger seat, eyes closed, taking even breaths. i thought of parents and siblings, relationship attempts, money, school, friends and more. the great appeal of a road trip for me is the chance to spend a few hours doing nothing but thinking. a few hours without internet, phone service, or talk radio, just music and thoughts. some people have therapy, i have the outdoors and a four door. 

i woke brittany up when we crested lookout mountain, and pointed out the clear air and the lights of denver. leaving the interstate, i steered the car onto ward road, cruising through dark, empty fields barren of light. as we crested hills the lights of boulder appeared and disappeared, but the stars were always visible over the dark flatirons that guard the front range of the rockies. soon we arrived and parked in my mother's driveway. sore legs, but happy hearts to have arrived with such nice weather on the way

to be concluded