Last weekend was fun up in Denver. My cousin Chris and I get along well and he has a great family. While in Denver we were hit with storm after storm - and thankfully it let up enough to let us slow cook a pork shoulder on the grill. We had plans to do some more playing on Sunday, but Chris had family things to attend to so the plans ended up being cancelled - and I prepared for my drive in the morning.
At first I was wondering what to do and where to go. I didn't have a show until Thursday in Vegas and I had several days to slowly make my way over there. But I was also having another feeling creep up - one that had been slowly building and building - and that was exhaustion. The idea of just going home was sounding better and better. I was also unsure about a show in Phoenix - one that I had asked about but had never heard a confirmation. And finally there was the question of money - of which I didn't have much left. I decided to head towards Tucson and make my decisions there - although I had a feeling that home would win.
Monday morning I hit the road south and ended up hitting several storms before New Mexico - they were pretty intense - one with hail and strong winds and I kept on the lookout for tornadoes - just in case. The drive is a very scenic one - winding through some mountains as you leave Colorado and come into New Mexico - then it heads down through Santa Fe and into Albuquerque. In New Mexico I hit storm after storm as I went from pine trees to the wide open plains - past the big city and headed on the southern part of the state.
I cruised along through the desert landscape on a small two lane road on my way to the I-10 - and up ahead I could see more storms - the sky was dark and I could see sheets of rain falling in the distance - lit up by the setting sun in the west. I could also see streaks of lightning - both to the right of the road and to the left. Soon I hit the rain and carefully kept moving down the road. The lightning was fantastic and it was amazing to see as the sun finally set. Some of it would shoot straight down in a long line to the ground, and others would just zigzag right across the sky. It kept going and never let up until I was almost to Tucson. Even then I could see the sky in the east light up now and then.
Tucson was nice - much cooler than the last time I was there at they beginning of June. I hung out for a while downtown with my friend Tricia and then later hit the road. I was looking forward to getting home by that point - I was only 8 hours of driving away - but I knew I had to rest. I slept for a little bit and then headed up the road towards Phoenix. I stopped for a bit in Tempe - coffee and some food - and then was finally ready to make the last drive to home.
The road from Phoenix to LA I know well. I've been doing that drive since about 1991 and I've seen the area grow so much in that time. My friend and fellow singer/songwriter Eddie Elliott lived there for around 11 years and I traveled out there often to play shows and visit. In June, though, he and his family moved to the east coast, so visiting Phoenix won't be the same. I was happy that the traffic was light and soon I was past town and on my way to California.
The rest of the ride was easy - I rolled right through the desert and across the Colorado River into California - and soon I was past the desert and into the sprawling suburbs and then I was home - and so glad about it. I felt glad to be off the road finally - after 41 days - and I looked forward to getting cleaned up and getting some rest.
This weekend I feel like I've finally caught up on my rest - after being sort of lifeless for the days after I made it home. I was glad to get out of the house and do something.
So that is all for now - I'll keep posting at least once a week. I do have some shows coming up and looking forward to those.
yours truly,
Jeremiah
The road through Southern Colorado
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