Part Six: Further Beyond the Mighty Mississippi

Part Six: Further Beyond the Mighty Mississippi

Part two of part five? Beyond the Mighty Mississippi is a larger section of my book. It contains many more columns and, as such, many more pictures. So I decided to split it up into two parts.

Did I owe Ben money from college? That’s the thought that occurred to me when I took his advice and jumped off the main route to take a back way to Moab, Utah. The first place I encountered was Cisco, an abandoned town. I took pictures, but stayed in my car. It freaked me out. I imagined an army of Quentin Tarantino’s “Gimps” from “Pulp Fiction” rushing out to drag me in.

But then Route 128 revealed its treasures and I meandered my way into Utah and followed the Colorado River to Moab, the “Gateway” to Arches National Park. Covid and 107 degree heat led to some amazing hikes in empty parks.

Then, it was north to Salt Lake City then west across the salt flats, through Nevada, and racing across the desert. After about 13,000 miles, I finally made the 3,000 mile journey to the west coast, Seal Beach, just south of LA, to dip my toes into the Pacific Ocean.