Leg 10: Grand Canyon to Four Corners to Red Rocks

July 16

           In the morning we headed out for a walk towards the edge of the canyon, only to find it really tough to walk around because the wind was blowing so much that even Halley, a puppy weighing around 40 pounds couldn’t walk straight without looking as though she would be blown off into the void below. She stayed next to me until I decided that it was too windy for either or us and we headed to the car and waited for Shawn and Siobhan to come back from their hike. We had a big drive ahead of us and there was excitement in the air - we were going to Red Rocks!

North Rim of the Grand Canyon, looking down

              All I knew about Red Rocks was the amazing beauty of the place and that Widespread Panic had played there the summer before, courtesy of some great bootlegs the summer before. Sure, MANY other bands had played there, but I was getting into Widespread lately and with Trey Anastasio Band playing there a few days later, I was eagerly anticipating the trip. We were still packed in the car for much of the ride, and Siobhan was starting to get irritated because she couldn’t sit still in the back or let Halley sit comfortably in the back with her. I had to turn around a few times to check on her and as a result, nearly drove off the road in the Vermillion Cliffs of Arizona! We were safe but when my dog is whining, I need to know why.

Leg 10: 735 Miles

              We stopped to take pictures of the sign for 'Page, Arizona' since it was a Phish reference and sped off into the desert. I got my car up to around 120 mph for a bit, as this was likely the longest stretch of flat road we would find the entire summer. Finally we arrived at a place I had read about and found intriguing since I was a kid - Four Corners, where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico all met. We walked around an otherwise depressing area that had no sign of life. (5 years later when I drove there, I found out there was a lot of locals selling wares, but only before 4pm. We were there at 5pm this time). It was neat getting to walk in four states and take some pictures. I got Halley to go to the bathroom in all of them, even though she had already done it in three and would definitely be going in Colorado over the next few days. We may not have been out of the car for more than 15 minutes, but it felt like forever.

Halley and I at Four Corners Monument, standing in all 4 states while Halley looks back anticipating another ride

               The next stop was right up the road at a casino I came across, owned by the Ute Indians. $2.50 hands of BlackJack sounded good to me and Shawn so for 30 minutes we gambled, won a small amount later spent on cigarettes and then headed to get some food and drive the expanse of Colorado. I had to drive a lot slower than normal as the roads were winding and I couldn't see very well when it started to rain. We stopped at a turn for 30 minutes, waiting for traffic from the other side to come over on a one lane highway, due to falling rocks on the highway. After this, I called it a night and let Shawn take over driving us into Morrison, Colorado. Siobhan moved up front and I sat in the back with Halley which marked the last time I ever road in the backseat in my car. It was cramped as hell but I fell asleep as we headed on the way north to the promised land of Red Rocks.

            

Leg 9: Zion National Park and The Grand Canyon (again)

July 15

When we got up to leave Vegas, Halley and I were excited but Shawn and Siobhan were not one bit. Drinking all night in Vegas doesn't work well when you need to be up extra early on a 100'+ day. They were tired and groggy and struggled getting their stuff in the car. That was probably the hottest I have ever felt. Once we were all set, we grabbed drinks and a bite and got on the road. Without the air conditioning, it was hot to even to breathe the air, but we stopped to get cold water and ice cream every so often so that Shawn and Siobhan were ok and Halley wasnt overheating. We passed through the northwest corner of Arizona and then crossed into Utah. This was the start of one of the most interesting experiences of my life.

Leg 9: 270 miles

            As we entered Utah, we stopped at a gas station to refuel and get some food. Shawn started talking to a very tall black guy with dreads down his back. He was sitting near some bushes while his dog went to the bathroom. I was a bit taken back because my impression of Utah was white people everywhere. This was still somewhat true since it turned out this guy and his girlfriend and dog were simply passing through town and headed to somewhere in New Mexico or Texas, I can't recall that part for certain. Shawn learned that they were from Humboldt County, California. At the time, I had no idea what that meant, but taking Shawn's lead, we decided to go to Zion National Park together, as it was on the way to both of our destinations, and hang out afterwards. It sounded like a plan and a half.

            We all got in our cars and headed over to Zion National Park, which seemed like nothing more than a big drive-thru park since we didn't really get into the park much, as our final destination was still a few hours away in Arizona. The views were amazing and the roads steep but we trucked on through and made it up to the a crest where there was a one-way tunnel that took us out of the park. Once out, we all pulled over to the side of the road to take a break and admire the scenery. (This is where I really regret not taking a lot of pictures on this trip)

            Halley was wondering what was up with the other dog, so I found out the dog is part wolf, which made me in awe, but also a bit nervous. He was tame and calm and Halley followed him around intently, almost in admiration. When he started to dig a shallow hole just his size, he made sure to even it all out, then he walked around in circles until he finally he laid down and relaxed. So Halley followed suit. She had never done this before to my recollection and the instinct seemed to kick in. She dug a bit of dirt up, moved around in a circle which seemed to press it down nice and smooth, and then her plopped her body down in the dirt. It was much cooler and for a bit she was finally not panting from the heat; it was her own personal den. Since this time, Halley was picked up this habit and made herself a den wherever she wants to lay down: on the beach, in the woods, on my bed, on her bed, on the couch and pretty much everywhere she decides to relax.

            It was getting dark and we said goodbye to the couple from Humboldt who were nice enough to share with us, and we headed off to the North rim of the Grand Canyon. I left me in the car so he could setup the tent and then got her inside the tent and underneath her blanket as it was now in the high 40s and cold as hell. I could have let Halley sleep in the but it wouldn’t be safe with all the other animals out there. We slept quickly and rested after a long day of driving.

Leg 8: Los Angeles to Las Vegas

July 14

          Saturday morning came and we packed up as I walked a few blocks to the mechanics to pick up the car. The gentleman there informed me that he could not fix my car until Monday because he needed a part from the Saturn dealership. I asked him if he could get it today because we really needed to leave that night to get to Vegas and he said 'Sorry, no'. So I weighed my options, sought out a mechanic to ask him for the key to my car so I could get something out of it, got in, drove away and sped off with an engine sans a fan motor to keep it cool. So I drove in a calculated manner, got the car down to the Saturn dealer near the airport and waited.

          And waited.....

          Three hours later, I strolled into the garage and found the mechanic working on my car and learned that while it was fixable, the last mechanic screwed up the inside of the fan motor area and he had to do some work on that first. Another hour later and the car was ready. I thanked the mechanic profusely, paid for the service and sped back to Deidre's. Shawn and Siobhan packed the car while I cleaned up the rest of the stuff for me and Halley in the apartment and headed out of town in record time.

Leg 9: 278 Miles

We drove through the evening towards Las Vegas and arrived at 10pm. We had no A/C but the car was running, which is all we could ask for. Halley was a bit cramped in the back of the car with some of our stuff and Siobhan, plus when we got out for her to go to the bathroom, she had trouble finding a spot to go since there was no grass or any scents in the desert. Finally after much coaxing, she went but this would be a common theme in later trips as she got older.

Me, Halley and Shawn in Vegas 7/14/01

I checked us into a Howard Johnson hotel at the end of the Vegas strip and we all decided to take a walk down the strip to see all the lights of Las Vegas. It was amazingly bright and really warm for nearly midnight.  Feeling the urge to gamble a little, I left Halley with Shawn and Siobhan while I went into Bellagio for a little Blackjack action. 30 minutes turned into 45, I won about $60 and turned down an escort with a solid dose of naivety. When I walked out, Halley was going nuts and Shawn was clearly in a bad mood. She seemed to have some serious separation anxiety issues that were never this apparent to me. Shawn and Siobhan wanted to go explore, as Shawn's 21st birthday was coming up in a couple days and he was excited to explore the ability to drink on the sidewalks of Vegas. 

             Halley and I went to the hotel, eating a little along the way and saw a casino that looked blown out from a fire that we later learned was used in the first Rush Hour movie. We slept comfortable that night in the air conditioned HoJo, only waking up when Shawn and Siobhan came in the room to sleep around 6am. Shortly thereafter, we had to wake up to head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon by that evening, and thus began a two day journey to Red Rocks.

Trouble leaving Los Angeles

July 13-14

Friday came and went and my car wasn’t any better. They were having trouble figuring out what was wrong, so I looked into it, discovering that the fan motor was now the problem. While this gave us all an extra day to relax, we hung out at the apartment, walked Halley around town and made a pilgrimage to The Viper Room, right near Deidre's and the site of River Phoenix's death a few years prior.  so Friday was a fun day!

Friday night we spent drinking at Deidre's, playing some board games and relaxing prior to the next leg of the trip. Shawn and Siobhan were having fun, they were a nice couple and gave attention to Halley, meaning we would have a solid trip back as a result. 

Show #1: 7/12/01, Trey Anastasio Band, Greek Theater, LA, CA

On Thursday, I was getting into show mode with Trey Band in town. Halley stayed at the apartment, which wasn't so bad now since she was quite used to the place, and Mia as well. Then the shit hit the fan: just as we pulled into The Greek Theater, the temperature gauge spiked and we had to crank the heat for a few minutes to keep the car from overheating. This sucked and Deidre, normally quiet reserved and not outspoken started to complain about the heat, which was becoming unbearable for me as well. We were just about to enter the grounds of The Greek when the car started to overheat, then smoke enough that I had to kill the engine and pull into the VIP parking lot off to the left of the venue. I called AAA and got them to tow the car to the nearest garage to Deidre's apartment, which they did. The car would need to wait until the morning at this point. 

We had fun at the show, although it was a new lineup with more horns and now keys, plus the whole car issue was hanging over my head. But I kept focused. I had a few drinks but conserved my money and partook in other things as were available from the heady Southern California crowd. The setlist:

Trey Anastasio Band

7/12/01

Greek Theatre

Los Angeles , CA

Set 1: Mozambique, Moesha, Last Tube, Alive Again, Money Love and Change, At the Barbeque, Sidewalks of San Francisco

Set 2: Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Every Story Ends In Stone, Mr. Completely,Quantegy, Drifting, Flock of Words, First Tube, Push On Til the Day

Encore: At the Gazebo

              Being the first show of the tour, it was hard for me to job my memory of what I recalled from my only other Trey Anastasio Band performance on 2/21/01 at The Landmark Theater in Syracuse, NY. Most of these songs were new, as Trey's debut CD was not released until almost a year later, so this was going to take some getting used to. I dug Last Tube a lot, the deep funk of Burlap Sack and Pumps which I recalled from my earlier TAB experience, and of course First Tube, the Phish song written by the original trio of TAB - Trey, Tony Markellis and Russ Lawton. Drifting and Flock of Words back to back really made me think of Hillary, but I tried not to think about her until I got back east to her. The encore was a big WTF for much of the crowd, as one 3-minute song for an encore was not enough to placate the masses and there was discussion with fans about this potential 'new norm' on the way out the doors into the night. My car was gone and presumably at the shop near Deidre's house, so I wandered around trying to make sense of the night. 

            To top it all off, I was driving two friends, Shawn and Siobhan from Deidre's place back east, which equated to less space in the car for Halley, but with no car, we counted our blessings, snagged a taxi parked near the band's bus and headed to Deidre's to veg out and relax after a long day, and for Shawn and Siobhan, a cross-country bus ride to get on tour. So for now, things were good.

Leg 7: From The Grand Canyon to some rest in Los Angeles

In the morning we woke up and packed our site up and headed west towards the California border with a final destination of Los Angeles and my friend Deidre's apartment. We didn’t rush there however, as we were really basking in the glory of The Grand Canyon and less so because I wanted to spend time with Hillary, as the hours were now numbered with her departing Monday evening for Ohio. So instead of getting in around 6pm, we got to Deidre’s apartment at 9pm and we were all tired, except Halley who was full of energy having been cooped up in the car for much of the day aside from rest stops and bathroom breaks.
When we got to Deidre’s apartment, I hoped that Halley would just stay in the apartment and be quiet till we got back. I clearly had forgotten the lesson at Ken's house a week earlier: she wasn't going to like being left in a strange place so even though Hillary and Deidre were slipping out the door to go out, I was the final straw and Halley started barking. And barking and barking and barking. Not even downstairs yet, I had no choice but to take her with us to the bar, or at least leave her in the car while we got a few drinks. I went outside to check on her when I went outside to smoke cigarettes and drove back to the apartment to acclimate her fully and without any issue of abandonment.

Leg 7: 506 Miles

That night we slept Deidre's huge couch with Halley on the floor below us. We talked quietly since Deidre had to wake up in the morning to go to work, but Hill was starting to come to terms with the fact that we weren’t going to be together after the next day and the waterworks turned on. I reminded her that I would be stopping by to see her in no less than two weeks and that there was no reason to be getting sad when we simply would be apart for not very long. The big talk could happen when I got to Cincinnati.  I didn’t want to think about it since it was so late and reassured her that we would see each other very soon. This helped to calm us both down before going to sleep. I knew that it was going to be weird in the car with just Halley but I think we would get used to it again pretty easily.

July 9

The next day Halley got to meet Deidre's cousin (and roommate) Justine and her dog Mia, the latter of which was was very rude to Halley at first, refusing to sniff her and simply guarding her bedroom whenever Halley walked in that vicinity. Once they were acquainted enough to become familiar with each other, I left her behind while I went out to dinner with Hillary and her aunt at Cheesecake Factory, well before it had become an average chain restaurant. Tonight was the last night with Hill until the next week and while I wasn't focusing on it, I knew that putting it off would mean a tougher time when I got to Cincy in a couple weeks. Dinner was solid, her aunt paid for all of us and we had some time to ourselves before we called it a night and went our separate ways. I headed back to Deidre's, fielded a phone call from my buddy Mike in New Hampshire, a needed distraction this evening.

Mia, me and Halley

July 10

Halley and I slept alone for the first time since we were back in Albany, a welcome respite despite missing the rest of the sleeping party. But today was a day to go visit another friend from Syracuse, Sara G., who had planned for us to meet her down at Santa Monica’s 3^rd Street Promenade. The traffic was crazy intense and a short burst of rain made the roads impassible because out west, you apparently stop where you are and panic when the rain falls. It was insane but I found myself driving through traffic that was easily addressed back east but here it was a clusterfuck at every turn. I drove up into Bel Air and found myself back down on Santa Monica Boulevard just in time to park and get to a nice outdoor lunch with Sara. Since I couldn’t take Halley inside the restaurant, we ate on the Promenade but with Halley hanging on the other side of the fence. She would not stop barking and whining unless I casually fed her bread, which lasted only so long. When I got my sandwich she clammed up, but Sara was visibly pissed but I couldn't do much at this point.

While sitting there with Sara, we talked about the change from college to work, mutual friends that we had from Syracuse, as well as a myriad of her Gamma Phi sisters that I knew quite well from over the years. Coincidentally, we were semi-lucky enough to see Matthew Perry from Friends emerge from rehab and wander down the Promenade, only to be casually followed by Access Hollywood's camera. Sara advised me not to stare or look his way, likely because I was unfamiliar with how you treat a celebrity in a situation like this. Sara went back to work and said good bye to Halley and I, so we headed for a walk down to the beach.

Halley was going to be able to dip her toes in the oceans on either side of the country, as was I. We walked across the longest beach in the world, taking so long to reach the water that Halley wound up needing to go to the bathroom and with no scents on the sand, Halley dropped a squat and peed right into the ocean. A good a spot as any. And then a policeman showed up. It turns out that you can’t bring a dog on the beach in Orange County, where Los Angeles and Santa Monica are located. This didn’t make sense and put a damper on us hanging out on the beach for a little bit while I tried to get in touch with Shawn who would be getting a ride with me a couple days later from Los Angeles back to Syracuse. Halley and I walked up and down the streets near Santa Monica for an hour or so, taking in the sights before again taking a ride through some windy roads in Bel Aire and eventually got back to West Hollywood and Deidre's apartment for a much needed nap.

We went out that night with a couple of girls I knew from Syracuse, including Jess R whom I had a thing with for a bit, but before I met Hillary. All I recall from the night was Jess' friend cockblocking me from chatting with her, so I fed the friend a few drinks until she had to go to the bathroom. I got a chance to talk to Jess then and figured out what was up, talked it out with her and then went home with Deidre driving us first on the way home, then making a split decision to take a drive up the coast, not too far, but just enough up towards Malibu to hang out for a bit. It was a sweet ride and reminded me later of the Colin Hanks tour de force Orange County. It was a nice moment for us to share, coupled with getting pulled over for a taillight being out and Deidre not having her license with her. All was forgiven though and we headed home. 

July 11

Sicne we had spent the better part of the week at Deidre’s, taken some drives around town, slept in, relaxed, and prepared for the next part of the trip, driving from Los Angeles eventually back to Albany. But my car was still without air conditioning and I needed to make it to each show on the Trey Anastasio Band tour which was starting that night in San Diego. We were waiting for night 2, the next night in L.A. at The Greek Theater, but I was concerned we wouldn't make it very far simply due to the car, and we had deadlines of places to be now. I could only hope we wouldn't have any drama with my only form of transportation. 

Leg 6: New Mexico to The Grand Canyon

Once we were on the road from the truck stop in eastern Arizona, I took over driving and headed straight to Flagstaff so as to drive north from there to The Grand Canyon. This was a fairly impressive drive too, with trees and mountains and desert all mixed in the scenery out both sides of the window, and colored rocks adorning the landscape. The air was amazing, it smelled so fresh and so clean, enough that Halley stuck her head out the window at well above the normal 55mph max speed she ducks back in at.

           Driving through Flagstaff towards the road to bring us north, we crossed Beaver Street and had a laugh, then just took our time soaking in the scenery as we continued our drive. As we approached the entrance, we saw a few dozen cars ahead of us, including RVs and a few motorcycles. We waited in line a bit, checked in with our reservation then headed to our campsite, an interesting location: an open spot inside of a bunch of trees with a picnic table with the car parked next to us and nothing more; it felt perfect.  Hillary and I set up the tent while Halley was on her tether, tied up to the table and flipping out while we walked around. I was one to trust Halley, but there were bears around here and I didn't need her attracting the wrong kind of attention to the site this early in the day.

Leg 6: 612 Miles

Regardless of the fact we hadn't showered in over 2 days, we immediately left to go for a drive towards the south rim. There was a great deal of stuff here, including a supermarket, liquor store, restaurants and so much more. Halley wanted to stretch her legs but I needed to pick up some food for all of us, so I left Halley with Hill to walk around and sniff outside for a little while. Once we had our food for the two days here and a bottle of liquor to enjoy that night, we hung out at the campsite and took a nap. Halley wasn’t exactly tired, so she sat out in front of the tent while Hill and I napped. She kept an eye on the neighbors, the random chipmunks that were indifferent to her presence and the birds which she was now accustomed to never having a chance to sniff. It felt good to rest and not have to worry about Halley going far away. When we woke, we got Halley and took her for a short walk to the edge of the rim of the canyon. I kept Halley on the tightest of leashes, as the drop off was steeper than I imagined. In surveying the lay of the land and admiring where we were, I began to look forward to the next day with a clear head. After learning that we could not take Halley down into the canyon with us, we decided that we could talk along the outskirts of the rim tomorrow and get a nice comfortable hike in. We took Halley on a walk through the woods off the main trail near our campsite, which was fun but it got a bit darker in there quickly so we got out of there and headed to the site to eat some food, drink some vodka and get some rest. The biggest bonus of this campsite, with the hole in the tree cover at top, was the ability to see the stars through the trees. Not just the stars - ALL the stars. It was pristine with no light pollution washing out the sky. I laid back in my chair, sipped my drink and quietly listened to the night sounds with Hillary by my side in her chair, admiring the night sky before heading to bed a little while before me. 

For Halley, it was tough sleeping outside in the tent because it seemed she could hear EVERYTHING that was going on and her head kept popping up, ears going up and down and light growls coming out as a warning to the creators of the sounds. The people next door were talking, a guy was snoring in the tent 20 feet away, bugs were making noise, by dawn birds were chirping: not a sound went unignored by Halley. How could she ignore all this commotion? She got nervous and started to shiver a bit, which I had become easily sensitive to, so we went out for a late night stroll towards an open field away from the Grand Canyon and that helped her to calm down a bit. Although she didn't sleep much that night, I didn't either. I was a excited to be hiking The Grand Canyon the next day and I had no choice but to wait to see the sun rise with Halley since she wasn't going to sleep either.

When Hillary got up, I was bleary eyed but enjoying the morning resting on the picnic table. We took turns taking showers by driving down to the shower area and getting cleaned up before coming back and passing off the car to me and watching Halley. While I was gone, she was good enough to pack up all the stuff we needed for the day, including water and snacks, so that by the time I got back from the shower, we were ready to go hiking. We walked on level ground out for about 3-4 miles, taking some time to look out over the edge of the canyon and let Halley sniff around. The only problem was that when it’s just dirt and loose grasses, Halley can’t smell much of anything so it became tough for her to guess where to go to the bathroom! This resulted in Halley taking a shit in the middle of the pathway when I wasn’t looking. I saw it and couldn't find any way to clean it up, with no baggie, brush, twigs or anything. So I kicked some dirt on it and prayed there wasn't anyone walking this way. Worst case, I would clean it up on the way back. But a few hours later, it was gone, stepped in and tracked for 10 feet back towards the campgrounds. Oh well. You can't clean up every pile of shit.

Hill, Halley and I at The Grand Canyon. Almost looks like a postcard, shirtless body aside

It was a great walk but we were tired walking nearly 7 miles while it seemed Halley could have gone another 7 miles. It was so beautiful there and thanks to some good visibility, you can see for miles in every direction. With a little smog obscuring distant views, it was still just beautiful. I stared out at the view and was amazed by it all. Halley stopped on the way back to sat down next to me as we looked out over the blazing hot canyon down below and soaked it all in. I haven't returned to the south rim since, but if I could go to any one place with Halley again, it would be there. This was one of the more special places we've gone in all of our trips.

On the way back in from the hike, Halley saw a pretty big deer. Since she had never seen one so close, she broke off her leash and chased it after it. With her leash dragging behind, she ran towards the deer and it did the unthinkable: the deer jumped into the freaking canyon! Just straight down. Halley stopped short of falling in I came over to grab her by the leash, only for both of us to see the deer bounding off below in the rocks and running away into the canyon. It was an amazing but most importantly, Halley didn't fall into the fucking canyon. I wasn’t very happy with her and we continued to head to the campsite. My feet were killing me and I needed to get some rest, since I had little sleep the night before. This time, Halley lay down in the tent while Hill and I got some food cooking. I was tired and cranky and not in the mood for much of anything, so the two of us spent the night talking outside on the picnic table, having a couple drinks and let Halley rest in the tent. She seemed to ignore the noises this time and she barely moved each time we checked on her. By the time we went to sleep, Hill and I were drunk but tired drunk, and I was exhausted to the point of frustration. I wasn't looking forward to Hill going home to Cincinnati in a few days and frankly didn't want to think about it, but she started to bring it up and that led to a little anxiety and stress over the next day. I just wanted to sleep, and that I did, right in the middle of us talking. I was woken up when Hill noticed this and I pleaded to sleep and talk in the morning since nothing productive could come of this conversation tonight, drunk and exhausted both physically and mentally. The drive across the country with Hill was nearing a close, but there was a lot of time later in the trip to be with her in Cincy. I was starting to look forward to that.