2:15 AM Yawn. Stretch. No room. Hit right hand on passenger window and left hand on driver window. Ouch. Looked for sun. Couldn't find it. Still dark out. Since I crossed the time zone boundary and gained some time, shouldn't the sun rise earlier??? Hmm. Maybe not. O.K. -- "Start the engine. Wait -- not yet. Remember what happened on the last trip? Of course I remember. The car would not start cuz it was too cold outside. It is just as cold outside right now. Maybe colder. Go fer it. Turn the key. WOW! It started!!! Come on, Tercel -- ya got a long ways to go yet! Do that every single time -- PLEASE." [I talked to the car -- and to myself -- a lot on this trip].

3:30 AM Left rest area and immediately entered I-70 East. Then I saw something bright. It started snowing -- hard. The snow kept falling well into the morning. Saw my first sunrise on this trip.

7:30 AM - 8:00 AM At gift shop in Torrey, UT. Bought Utah postcard and breakfast muffin. Wrote, stamped, addressed, mailed postcard to Parixit ("Perry"). Snow. More snow. Snow next to the road. Snow on the road. Snow on the car. No snow on me (at least, not yet).

8:15 AM Entered the first planned major attraction on this trip. Also the first National Park of this trip -- Capitol Reef National Park. Bought "Golden Eagle Pass" for $25 (cash).

Did a little sightseeing in the snow. By 10:00 AM, the snowfall was now no longer a snowfall. It was a blizzard. "Aww-rightey --- Nuff's nuff. Dat's de end o' my sightsin' here!". Left park at 10:40 AM. Rating = .

At 11:30, there was a miracle. The ice and snow stopped falling from the sky! I was driving through Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, which has many red hills. The white stuff on the red stuff made the whole stuff look like beautiful stuff. . Then the wet stuff fell from the sky. .

2:20 PM - 2:45 PM Part of the drive was on a three-mile long dirt road (), which descended along a mountain. The scenery was spectacular, but the dirt and snow on the road made the drive miserable.

3:30 PM For the first time on this trip, I entered a state that I had already entered before on this trip -- Entered Arizona (131293 Miles). Looked for a shop that might sell postcards. No shops on the road. In fact, no nothing on the road (not even the wet stuff)!

4:15 PM For the first time today, entered a "new" state for this trip -- New Mexico = State #5 (131331 Miles).

4:15 PM - 4:40 PM At Four Corners National Monument = . Bought the first of SEVERAL bumper stickers on this trip. Entered Colorado (State #6; 131331 Miles), Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Then parked in Colorado. Walked to the other three states. Stood on an "X" which marked the spot where four of the United States intersect. Had picture taken. For the first and only time on this trip, I was in four states at the same instant. Just before leaving Four Corners National Monument, something that I had never seen before started to fall from the sky. It was white stuff, but not snow. "Hey --- that's hail, isn't it??? Wow! Never seen a hail-fall before! Uhhh... I don't think I ever want to see one again!"

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Dinner at Taco Bell in Cortez, CO.

7:00 PM Entered Utah again.

7:30 PM Checked in at the first motel on this trip -- "Triangle H Motel" in Monticello, UT. Called home for the first time on this trip. And so ended Day #2. This was the second consecutive day on this trip that I went to four states in one day.

License Plates seen today: none!

Expenses:

$2	Cash	Postcard & Muffin	Torrey, UT
$25	Cash	Golden Eagle Pass	Capitol Reef NP, UT
$8	Cash	Gas	Hanksville, UT
$2	Cash	Admission	Four Corners NM, AZ/NM/UT/CO
$2	Cash	Bumper sticker	Four Corners NM, AZ/NM/UT/CO
$3	Cash	Dinner -- Taco Bell	Cortez, CO

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9:20 AM Paid the first motel bill of this trip: $34.30 (Chase). It was so cold the previous night that icicles had formed under the car! Took a picture. Tried to start the car, but it would not start -- a first for this trip. It did start eventually. Paid $12 (cash) for gas at Monticello, then left the city at 9:45 AM.

10:25 AM Arrived at "Hole In The Rock" rest area near Moab, UT: Bought the first souvenir of this trip -- and a what a souvenir!!! It was a magnetic map of the entire country, with individual magnets for all fifty states plus Washington, D.C. The salesperson asked me WHY I wanted to buy magnets for all 50 states -- "Why not just the states you have been to?" That was a strange question for her to ask... her job was to sell, not question why I want to buy something! When I answered her question, she would not believe me!

"Yeah RIGHT! Are you serious???"
"Yep."
"ALL 50???"
"Actually, 48."
"NO WAY!"
"way! Will you give me a discount if I buy all the magnets?"
"I don't own the store. I cannot make that decision."
"Can I speak to the owner?"
"She's not in right now."
"Never mind. Just give me the board and all the magnets."
Paid $73.88 (CB) for everything combined [$25 for the board, $0.89 per magnet for 51 magnets.]

Drove to Moab -- ate lunch, then bought a camera battery at Radio Shack in Moab.

12:45 PM - 1:45 PM Sightseeing at Dead Horse Point State Park = . The park is on a mountain cliff overlooking the Colorado River. According to legend, several horses were stranded on the top of the mountain and died of thirst with the Colorado river in sight but unreachable! Thus the name "Dead Horse Point State Park".

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Sightseeing at Canyonlands NP. All points except "Grand View Point" = 0 . "Grand View Point" = .

7:45 PM Colorado.

After entering Colorado, I started to really DRIVE -- established a never-to-be-broken trip record of the fastest I have ever driven in that or any other car (until now) -- 105 Miles Per Hour. I wanted to take a picture of this. By the time I got my camera, I had slowed down to under 100 Miles Per Hour. Accelerated again to reach 100 MPH, then snapped the picture, hoping it would be clear! When I developed the film later in Denver, this particular picture showed everything that I wanted it to show -- speedometer at 100 Miles Per Hour, a climbing road, and a clear picture, which proved that the car was not shaking even at that speed. I have dedicated that photograph to all those who doubted the ability of my car, including me! It would be almost four months when I would doubt my car's ability again -- for the last time.

8:15 PM Checked in at Clifton Inn in Grand Junction, CO. Called Sachin to tell him I had started my trip and to make sure that he had not changed his mind about coming with me through the New England states. Saw the first movie (on television) on this trip -- "Paper Moon" (I had already seen it before). Went to dinner at Dennys at midnight.

Miscellaneous:

Bumper Sticker:

"Give Blood. Play Hockey."

License Plates:

RKCRAWL

CA

Jeep Cherokee

Expenses:

$34.30	Chase	Triangle H Motel	Monticello, UT
$12	Cash	Gas	Monticello, UT
$73.88	CB	Souvenir -- magnetic map	Hole In The Rock, UT
$3	Cash	Lunch -- McDonalds	Moab, UT
$6	Cash	Camera battery -- Radio Shack	Moab, UT
$3	Cash	Admission	Dead Horse Point State Park, UT
$7	Cash	Dinner -- Dennys	Grand Junction, CO

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Day #4: Tuesday, April 11, 1995
131,712 Miles

10:00 AM Ate free continental breakfast, then checked out. Filled up on gas before leaving town.

10:55 AM - 11:25 AM CO visitor center at Fruita, CO.

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Sightseeing at Colorado National Monument = .

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Lunch at Burger King in Grand Junction, CO -- then called Bhindi Jewelers.

"Sunny skies in the West; Cloudy in the East -- an' me is goin' East!"

5:50 PM Arrived at Silverthorne, CO (I-70 exit 205) -- bought parcel boxes and mailing supplies at Mail Boxes Etc. I went inside a Burger King restaurant and called Bhindi Jewelers again to give step by step instructions on how to print -- the phone call lasted for one hour and ten minutes! During the call, I ordered, paid for, and ate my dinner.

8:00 PM Left Silverthorne, and the fun started[2]!!! This was what happened, which was -- or wasn't fun:

1. It got dark.
2. It got cold outside.
3. The white stuff started to fall.
4. The car started to climb the GREAT ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO.
5. The white stuff started to fall harder.
6. The visibility was significantly reduced because of the black darkness of night and the white stuff, combined with the sudden turns of the road as it wound its way through the GREAT ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO.
7. All of the above made the drive extremely difficult.
8. Then even more white stuff started to fall.
9. I-70 climbs to an elevation of approximately 11,992 feet at Loveland Pass. The car, with me in it, went up that high. The temperature dropped. The car's heater stopped working!
10. There was so much snow on the road that some people were pulling over to the shoulder and putting snow chains on their tires. I did not have snow chains! I was terrified that if anything happened NOW, I was not going to live to see Wednesday, April 12.
11. Soon, I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy because of the sudden change in elevation and the lack of sufficient oxygen at that elevation!
12. Near Loveland Pass, there is a tunnel called "Eisenhower Tunnel". FINALLY, a level road!!! The tunnel is more than a mile long, so there was very little snow inside the tunnel. Finally, I could drive safely at 40 Miles Per Hour!!! (I had been driving at an average of 15-20 Miles Per Hour all the way up).
13. After Loveland Pass, everything was fine. The road drops several thousand feet. It was still snowing down there, but nothing I or the car could not handle. I was glad to be out of that mess, and realized that half of my days on this trip were ruined by bad weather!!! I was waiting for something... and waiting... and waiting... and waiting... then I finally saw it.......

LIGHTS, LIGHTS, LIGHTS, there were lights EVERYWHERE! It was very sudden. First it was dark. The snow was still falling -- but lightly now. Then the road curved around a mountain... and there it was........ DENVER!!! The first major city on this trip. Big. Really big. Massive. Absolutely beautiful city lights!!! . What I had been through during the last hour did not matter. I was safe now. I WAS GOING TO LIVE! It did not matter if anything happened now. I could see a CITY in front of me. The largest city between Seattle, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago. The car's heater started to work normally again. I was going to be just fine!

9:00 PM Arrived (without any incidents!) at "Denver West Econolodge" in Littleton, CO.

Miscellaneous:

Bumper Sticker:

"Faster than a speeding bullet."

License Plates:

FINWAI S

CA

Plymouth Minivan

Expenses:

$44.05	Chase	Clifton Inn	Grand Junction, CO
$11	Cash	Gas	Grand Junction, CO
$3	Cash	Lunch -- Burger King	Grand Junction, CO
$12	Cash	Mail Boxes Etc.	Silverthorne, CO
$4	Cash	Dinner -- Burger King	Silverthorne, CO

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Day #5: Wednesday, April 12, 1995
131,991 Miles

Had free continental breakfast at motel, then checked out at 9:15 AM. It was a clear day -- blue skies -- and for the first time, I saw the GREAT ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO. The jagged peaks looked fantastic. But the primary attraction in the Denver area -- Rocky Mountains National Park -- was closed due to snow. For the next two hours, I went to several different AAA offices to get city maps that I did not have[3]. I had some rolls of photos ready, so I dropped them off to be developed, ate lunch, then went to the (new) Denver International Airport.

At the terminal, I came across something very interesting. There was a map of the United States that covered the entire wall from the ceiling to the floor. On that map, there was at least one photograph in each state that showed the major highlight(s) of that state. This map was made by someone who did exactly the same thing I was doing -- and he also went alone. On top of the map were the words "America -- Why I love her". I had my picture taken in front of that map, and that photograph is now at the very start of all of the pictures in my trip albums. An unexpected, surprising discovery in the least likely of places!!!

Since Rocky Mountains National Park was closed and I had nothing to see in Denver, I drove down to the nearest, cheapest available motel -- an hour's drive South to Colorado Springs Holiday Inn Express. Once I got to the motel, I packed two parcels -- the magnetic board and some things that I had taken from home but realized I would never need on this trip.

License Plates:

TWO ELK	CO	Jeep Cherokee
MAXWARP	CO	Subaru
4WHALES	CO	Nissan 240SX
SSTRUCK	CO	Chevy truck
GAG 7373	CO	Honda Civic (not a personalized plate, but I found it funny since I was born in 1973.)
KHOORY	CA	BMW
TQ	CO	???

Expenses:

$43.72	CB	Denver West Econolodge	Littleton, CO
$13.50	Discover	Gas @ Amoco	Denver, CO
$8	Cash	Lunch -- Dennys	Denver, CO
$6	Cash	Parking @ Denver Airport	Denver, CO
$1	Cash	Postcard -- Denver airport	Denver, CO
$6	Cash	Souvenir -- Pogs of all 50 states + 4 more for D.C.	Denver, CO

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Continue on to April 13

[1] Literally "picked up" -- NOT "bought" -- the very first postcard was free.
[2] Well, it wasn't fun then, but I have great memories of it today as I am writing this -- almost five months later.
[3] AAA California did not have them, so I tried Denver. Got a few city maps, but not all of the ones I wanted.