Day 13, Mile 3000. Denver, CO.

We had a sharp deadline, which was getting Julia to the airport on time. Our first stop was for lunch at South Side Food and Drink in Limon, CO. It’s a small, southern-style diner. We even had three cowboys sitting a few tables away from us. Well, at least they had the hats.

We then drove by a sign for the town of Bovina, and we noticed it’s not on the map. We decided to check it out. Guess what? There’s a reason it’s not on the map:

Chubbuck’s Six States Museum and Wonder Tower, however, was on the map. It also had a bunch of signs directing to it:

There was no one there. We wanted to go to the bathroom, so we looked for the restrooms in the back. Ladies room is on the right. Gentlemen to the left.

We found a small note saying that the place if for sale! I wonder how much it goes for.

We decided to talk about it later and in the meantime make a list of the pros and cons of owning museum of stones and bottles in the middle of nowhere.

Then we got to Denver. We started by getting coffee in a cute coffee shop. It was full of hipsterish students working hard on their laptops. We went online on our phones. I realized then that it was the Israeli memorial day. We commemorate memorial day very differently, in Israel, than they do in the states. Let’s put it this way - we don’t barbecue.  

I was thrown off - first, I realized I forgot, which made me realize how far I am from Israel, physically and mentally. Second, I noticed on Facebook that someone mentioned a young woman who was killed in a terrorist attack about ten years ago. It seems she used to serve in my by base, at the same time I did, and I don’t remember her at all. We were a tiny base, maybe 200 soldiers. I knew everybody - everybody did. I must have known her and forgotten all about her. I’m still not sure I know who she was - after really trying, I think I do have a faint memory of her. I don’t know exactly why this feels weird. Anyway, Danit Dagan was her name. RIP.

We decided we had enough time before the flight - so we went to the Red Rocks. It was beautiful, and we got to see only very little of it. We must come back at some point.

We went to the airport, and discovered that Julia’s flight was delayed. I hung out with her in the Airport, and we had dinner and drinks and then we walked around and stared at the very disturbing murals.

I then left and got a room at a Motel 6. Here are some tips:

1. The sign outside a Motel 6 might say “Wi-Fi here”. Notice that it doesn’t include the word “Free”. There’s a reason for that.

2. If the receptionist will notice even the slightest sign of discontent, she will give you the Wi-Fi password for free. Let your inner Israeli shine!

3. The Wi-Fi password is per device. If you have two computers and your inner Israeli is on a day off, you’ll have to pay double.

4. Almost anywhere there’s a Motel 6, there’s also a Super 8. Super 8 gives free Wi-Fi for as many devices as you want and they have free breakfast. Motel 6 don’t. Just sayin’.

5. Personally, I prefer going for privately held motels. I believe it’s better for the economy.

Day 7: Vermont

I woke up at the motel in East Springfield. I didn’t even know what town I was in. The motel had a diner where I got some breakfast and found out what town it was. I had to get Julia by the afternoon of the next day and still had 15 more hours of driving to do in order to get to Deer Isle.

I made a small detour to Featherstonhaug forest:

I arrived to Bennington VA, when I saw a sign: “obelisk - 1 mile”. ooh! oblisk. I drove for another mile, when I saw another sign: “obelsik - 1 1/2 mile”. That doesn’t make much sense, does it? I kept on driving  and found myself stuck in traffic in the main street of Bennington. as I was waiting for the car in front of me to go, a car hit me from behind. A 22 year old kid in a white convertible ford mustang was distracted by some girl waving at him. His front was smashed. Julia’s car suffered minor damage to the back fender. We waited for the police to show up. The officer asked me where I was from, told me he served in Iraq, and we exchanged our impressions of the middle eastern weather. He then told me I can go, but the kid had to stay. As I got into the car I overheard the officer say the words “not supposed to drive…”. I think the kid got himself into some trouble,

I turned around to look for the obelisk. I saw a tall, pointy structured and decided to ignore the signs and just go there. It wasn’t the obelisk. It was the Bennignton War Memorial.

I paid $3 to go on an elevator to the top, 200 feet high, where you can get a view of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.

I left Bennington, got to Wilmington, where I discovered what the obelisk was. These are small  stone pillars that mark the Molly Stark trail. What a disappointment.

I had lunch at one of the taverns, where the patrons were playing some gambling dice game, with the bartender managing the game.

Outside Wilmington , I stopped for a second to see what the Molly Stark trail was:

It was getting pretty late and rainy and I decided to drive a couple of more hours, get some food for later, find a motel and have dinner in my room, but I lost data reception on my phone. Where the hell am I?

I crossed the entire state of New Hampshire, and there were no motels on the road, which was too bad, because I passed so many tiny bars, exactly the kind I like. When I got to Maine, I started finding motels, but they had no vacancies, one after the other. Turns out there are a couple of big music festival in Maine, and it’s a weekend. In one motel the guy at the reception said they’re making phone calls to other motels to find rooms for people, but there’s nothing.

At this point Julia called. It was about 11PM, and she couldn’t believe I was still on the road. I’ve been driving for about than 10 hours now. Luckily, Julia had internet connection. Once again she proved how awesome she is, and five minutes later she called to inform me she booked what was probably the only available room in New England, at the Rocky Ridge motel, just outside Stockton Springs. having no data reception, she also gave me directions. Indeed, the girl rules. Saved again!