Here - back in Flagstaff, Arizona - a favorite town of mine and I'm glad that this is the last stop before heading back to LA. It's been a busy month of traveling - playing lots of shows, seeing friends and family - and it's going to be strange to go back to life in LA - back to the day job and back to the day to day things.
My last official show was Friday night in St. Louis - it was good one at the Heavy Anchor - a crowd that was listening and I caught up with an old friend - and the Dead Soldiers who were from Memphis, TN were really good. My cousin Mike and I ran into them later at Mangia. The next day I drove back to Nashville to see friends before leaving the area completely. The drive is only 5 hours and by that point really easy to get there.
It ended up being a quiet, relaxing night and after a decent night of sleep I woke up ready to head back to the west. I had wanted to get to Dallas, but I got out of town a little later than expected - I had stopped by Trader Joe's on the other side of town to see some friends before leaving. A storm started rolling in - a storm that brought rain and later, snow. That night I only made it to Texarkana which isn't too far down the road, but the weather and my late start and the fact that Dallas was still a ways away that night, I stopped right there on the Texas border.
The next day I had wanted to make it to Las Cruces, New Mexico - a good 12 hours away - so I prepared myself for a long day of driving. I made several stops along the way - once for BBQ in Sulphur Springs and coffee in Abilene - and then no major stop until I rolled into New Mexico. I was pretty beat. It's a strange thing to be in your car driving for that long alone. Thoughts of the past come into my mind - and thoughts about the future - listening to music keeps things interesting, although occasionally I'll continue with no music. I was happy when I got into my motel room that night and was able to rest.
Yesterday I woke up not sure of where I wanted to go. It's about 13 hours or so to get back to LA and I didn't want to spend another day driving. So I asked some friends in Arizona about what was going on and my friends in Flagstaff said that they were planning dinner and a bit of a guitar jam - so I decided to head there.
I drove up through the mountains of south west New Mexico and into the eastern mountains of Arizona - all places I hadn't seen before. It was a good drive - although by the 5th hour I was ready to be there. I hooked up to the I-40 in Holbrook and cruised into Flagstaff just as the sun was setting in the sky. It felt good to be back in this town - and out of the car. I was able to see the full moon rise up into the sky and had a great night with some great friends.
It's about a 7 hour drive back to LA from here. I need to time it so that I miss the worse of the LA traffic - so I'm more than happy to just hang out in town for a bit more - a bit more of a reprieve from reality.
yours truly,
Jeremiah
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