OK, not flew, but drove. I flew out to LA early Monday, rented an SUV, went to pick up my daughter, loaded up (some of) her stuff--including Bang-Bang the Cat and the stuffed head of a Ram--then headed for Denver. We made it to the Nevada-California border by about 2:00 a.m. and crashed at Whisky Pete's Casino where a modest room costs about $40.
This would create a minor problem. My MileagePlus Visa card sometimes declines to authorize payments if you spend outside your regular range of transactions. Since Whiskey Pete's is quite at odds with my regular purchases, that particular card was disallowed the rest of the way home.
We woke up around 7:00 and hit the road again, through Las Vegas by 8:30 a.m., then through southern Nevada to Utah, to St. George, to Cedar City, to I-70, and through the surreal and ethereal landscape of southern Utah.
Something is killing the trees. We saw mile after mile of what appeared to be dead juniper trees. Probably, the cause is pine beetles, the same insect which has plundered Colorado's forests as well. If there are climate change-deniers in Utah, they need to open their window and look out at their own landscape.
Green River, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Georgetown--all Bang-Bang breaks--and into Denver at about midnight, thus covering 1017 road miles in just about 24 hours exactly. I took the delightful Ford Escape back to Avis at Denver International Airport (DIA) where I encountered the two night clerks who were friendly, in a suspicious kind of way.
It turned out that MileagePlus Visa was balking at making the payment, which probably caused the staff to wonder if I'd stolen the vehicle. They handed the phone to me and the lady from Visa was on the line. After establishing that I was indeed me, they inquired about Whisky Pete's. Did I purchase accomodations there last evening? Yes, I said, and now that you mention it, I was going to call you about this.
The transaction completed. The Avis clerk called a shuttle bus, which took me to the terminal, whereupon I took another shuttle which which took me to my car. In both cases, I was the only passenger. Imagine, DIA without crowds!
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