I dropped Kenny at the airport, thrilled to have had my first travel companion for a week. We had great conversations, shared meals and beautiful vistas.
Now I was in SLC, and had coordinated a rendezvous with Beth, a friend I made at the Escapees RV gathering in Lake Havasu. We had been in touch here and there, and we realized she was heading east while I was heading north, so let’s hang out! I’m only beginning to be part of the ever-changing fluidity of the nomad “community”; keeping track of people I meet along the way and intersecting again down the line.
We found a Harvest Host spot right in town (Stay for free but consider spending $30 at the establishment) and had a great night talking by the campfire with the host Alec and his neighbor Westin. But there was something in the air and on the chairs that was causing terrible itching, so we left for Belmont Hot Springs north of the city. The springs were actually geothermal ponds, a new experience for me.
That night by another fire Beth introduced me to midwestern punk, a genre I did not know. I had largely written off punk music because I only knew the anarchistic, nihilist and quasi-neo-Nazi style from New York. I loved it! Check out the band Violent Femmes. Maybe you already know this about me, but I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with a lot of popular music, having immersed myself in classical music growing up. I can’t sing along at parties. It’s a little sad. But I’m good with Brahms.
Whatever was irritating skin and lungs in SLC didn’t affect me beyond the day we were there, but Beth ended up with a wicked flu-like sickness. She needed to stay put and recuperate, so I came back to the city and saw the Indigo Girls in concert. They were of course terrific. A (very) young songwriter named Jessie Mazin opened for them, also recommended.
And now, I sit in the waiting area at Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Ram (why are they always together?) getting the brakes looked at, again, buying a spare tire and in general getting ready for the journey to Alaska.
Travelogue sidebar; every state has its highway roadsign icon, and Utah’s is a type of beehive. Utah is even referred to as the “beehive” state. Here is an informative article on its history.