We woke up to the sound of a train whistle today. Still full of the extra helping of Papa John’s breadsticks from the night before and the controversial tie in the previous night’s All Star Game which we had caught the last inning of, we set off for Red Rocks State Park in hopes of riding the natural rock slides. Jeremy is wearing tiny swim trunks and Dan is wearing plaid Grandpa shorts. Let’s rock.

Maker: Jeremy Date: 10/97 Begun: 10:32am Ended: 1:01pm Miles Covered: 74

Maker: Dan Date: 4/98 Begun: 1:05pm Ended: 3:23pm Miles Covered: 125

Leaving Flagstaff, AZ – We stop for gas in Winslow, AZ, the town of boarded up everything, and encounter the slowest pump ever which crawls along at a sickeningly sluggish pace until finally stopping before the tank is full. When asked what happened, the young, snotty gas station attendant explains that "the world’s coming to an end." Lovely.

In Jeremy’s report card for this mix, he describes Portishead as "Tori Amos and Tricky fucking in Kate Bush’s garden."

Maker: Jeremy Date: Winter 98 Begun: 3:27pm Ended: 5:17pm Miles Covered: 75

Petrified Forest/ Painted Desert, AZ – Upon entering the park, we are asked by a ranger if we have any outside rocks or plants to which Jeremy responds, "Not that I know of." Thankfully we are not subjected to a body cavity search.

We try to drive as quickly as possible through this astonishing park before the dark storm clouds surrounding us descend and empty their bowels on our car. The fast driving over bumpy roads makes us feel like we’re in a Dr. Dre video.

We stop at various overlooks to stare in slack-jawed amazement and do a little freestyle walking. The tepees beg us to climb them and we do. Jeremy decides to run down the opposite side of one, nearly killing himself in the process. The rain starts and we stop wasting time with stupid nature and get back to the more important matter of mix tape listening.

Maker: Dan Date: 1/98 Begun: 5:46pm Ended: 8:28pm Miles Covered: 123

Nearing the New Mexico border – A convertible sports car with New York plates impatiently tries to pass us, the car in front of us, and a gas truck to no avail. When he finally has the fast lane to himself after minutes of swerving and nearly crashing, he waves bye-bye to us all as he speeds into the distance. We both hope to find his car in a flaming wreck a few miles down the road.

We drive along through intermittent showers causing Dan to cry out, "I don’t understand the constant stops and starts, it’s like a Shellac song."

The Dirty Three prove to be perfect dusk driving music and the environment we’re in helps too. The long stretch of road, flat land, and dark sky melt together beautifully with the eternally long violin notes.

Maker: Jeremy Date: 8/98 Begun: 8:31pm Ended: 10:20pm Miles Covered: 73

We drive aimlessly through Albuquerque before realizing we don’t have the time or energy to make this an interesting stop. Before leaving town, we somehow manage to get lost in an extremely dark suburban neighborhood, eventually correcting our error and making it back to the highway.

Maker: Dan Date: 6/98 Begun: 10:30pm Ended: 12:30am Miles Covered: 147

Leaving Albuquerque, NM – We decide to go as long as we can this evening, hoping to make up for time lost while parading around the countless parks in Arizona. At 10:50, Dan says, "I deem the next 3 hours as the roughest leg of the entire trip" and he is probably right. Tired and bleary-eyed, we follow as closely to the cars and trucks in front of us, hoping that they will save us from speeding tickets and collisions. One leader car, which Jeremy dubs "our friend" eventually gets behind our car and begins following us. Paranoid and jittery, we worry that the friend has become the enemy. We decide to pull off for gas and our "friend" pulls off too. We’re goners! Thankfully, we lose him by pulling into a deserted Shell station. Back on the highway, we pull in behind a giant silver truck that we dub, "The Deersmasher." We are certain that he will protect us from harm. As we drive through the complete darkness with only The Deersmasher to guide us, we both admit to each other that we thought we would be killed back at the gas station. Yes, we are huge babies.

Maker: Jeremy Date: 11/98 Begun: 12:33am Ended: 3:07am Miles Covered: 111

Somewhere in the darkness in New Mexico – In the middle of the night, we do anything to busy our minds and stay somewhat alert on the road. Tonight, we brainstorm ideas for the proposed "Mandy Patinkin Sings Favorite Indie Rock Hits" cd. Two definites are Archers of Loaf’s "Web in Front" and "Blues X Man" by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Little has been said of this project since.