Moving Brian Robey

Brian and I arrived in Denver about 9:30 p.m. MDT. Here's a recap of his final hours as a Las Vegan:

Wednesday, October 3, 8:30 p.m.: My flight from Cedar Rapids, Iowa arrives. The flight was on time and uneventful. My seatmates, aided by multiple rum & cokes, enjoyed the flight to the point that everything was funny to them. Nice.

8:55 p.m.: Brian drives me to the In & Out next door to UNLV for a quick meal. While in line, we see a hearse in the parking lot with the license plate QUITTRS. Turns out it is owned by our drive-thru cashier, Marc. The vanity plate is for his band, The Quitters. Brian asks if it helps with the ladies. It does; Marc has a girlfriend.

9:10 p.m.: Brian and I visit the Bonanza for a dice clock. (Sara and I need a clock to complete our Vegas-themed living room). We had several to choose from. We choose a winner and take a final drive down The Strip.

The Strip has changed significantly since my departure. The Stardust? Gone. The New Frontier? Closed. Trump has finished his golden phallus of a tower (though the "UMP" was missing tonight), and Wynn and Sheldon Adelson (The Venetian) are making progress on their new towers. The CityCenter Project (MGM-Mirage) looks otherwordly, with a dozen cranes sprouting out of rebar and concrete arranged in exotic curves.

During our trip up The Strip, we see a few quintessential Vegas scenes. At one traffic light, the driver in the SUV next to us sips from a can of beer. At the traffic light in front of Treasure Island (TI), tourists jaywalk through parked traffic. In front of the CityCenter construction site, smut peddlers offer their pamphlets to pedestrians. Ahh...Vegas.

10:00 p.m.: After missing the unmarked intersection of Decatur and Blue Diamond, we arrive at the home of Kehrin Thomas, old grad school friend and host for the night. Kehrin recently visited her husband stationed in Korea; she shows pictures of her rainy trip and I show pictures of Grinnell. We go to bed and get some rest.

Thursday, October 4, 1:27 a.m.: I wake up and realize, "Hey! I'm in Vegas!" I return to sleep.

6:02 a.m.: I wake up before the alarm rings on my cell.

7:05 a.m.: Kehrin leaves for work; Brian and I, packed, leave for breakfast. We lock the doors and close the garage.

7:07 a.m.: I realize that my cell phones are still on the dresser.

7:08 a.m.: I call Kehrin's cell and get no answer.

7:12 a.m: We try and figure a way to get inside with no luck.

7:25 a.m.: We purchase provisions for the drive: Redvines, gummi bears, pretzel rods, nuts, Powerade.

7:40 a.m.: Breakfast at the Silverton's Sundance Grill. I order steak and eggs; Brian orders hotcakes. We play Keno battleship while waiting for our meal. The game ends in a draw. (There are no winners in war, even in Keno battleship.)

8:02 a.m.: I find the number of Kehrin's employer in the phone book. I reach her and get the code to the garage. Hooray, I get my cell phones!

8:25 a.m.: We resist the siren call of the roulette wheel.

8:39 a.m.: En route to Kehrin's (for the phones), we see a banner hanging on a wall: "3-story house - elevator included!" Brian and I shake our fists at the sign and our heads in disbelief. We also see that Clark County is getting around to hanging road signs.

9:00 a.m.: Full bellies, full tank, full car. Hit it.

Brian's iPod plays our Las Vegas recessional as we head north on Interstate 15. "Viva Las Vegas," then "Leaving Las Vegas." In 20 minutes, the city can only be seen in our rear view mirrors. Remembering Lot's wife, we don't look over our shoulders.

10:27 a.m. (102.0 miles, milemarker 15 on I-15 in AZ): We encounter construction in the Virgin River Gorge. My spidey-sense tingles; I tell Brian to obey the s-l-o-w 35 m.p.h. speed limit. Sure enough, the Arizona Highway Patrol has pulled over a car with California plates.

10:53 a.m. = 11:53 a.m. because we're in Utah, which uses Mountain Time.

11:53 a.m. (130.7 miles, milemarker 15 on I-15 in Utah): We open the Redvines. Could be fresher, but they hit the spot.

12:32 p.m. (173.3 miles, Cedar City, UT): I spell Brian at the wheel. We ate subway and topped off the tank. We also saw a giant cow on top of a nearby restaurant. We called PETA -- that poor cow had no food or water!

195.4 miles (I-15 in Utah): 54 miles to I-70! A pick-up truck has a goat? Sacaja what???

210.5 miles (I-15 in Utah): First tumbleweed.

1:53 p.m. (246.7 miles): I-70!!!

249.7 miles (I-70 in Utah): Denver: 506 miles. Ugh.

430.5 miles (I-70 in Utah): The road keeps going...we had an 108-mile stretch of highway with no services. We pulled off at a ranch exit to "water the natural fauna."

450 miles (I-70 in the middle of nowhere): Light at the end of the tunnel -- 295 miles to Denver.

489.8 miles (I-70, 40 miles east of the middle of nowhere): Those clouds on the horizon...they're brooding! The storm ahead looks ominous.

5:39 p.m. (498.8 miles, Grand Junction, CO): Sara gave us a storm report - rain ahead. Ate at Wendy's; my sandwich was good, Brian's was not as good. I couldn't find my chapstick, so I settled for Sara's shimmer lipgloss that I found in my backpack. (I swear, it's Sara's.)

5:53 p.m. (513.8 miles, I-70 CO mile 39): First signs of rain. The next exit after our Wendy's and gas stop had a Chick-fil-A. (D'oh!)

6:04 p.m. (526.3 miles, mile 51): First tunnel, which is a respite from all the water that has ponded on the road.

6:07 p.m. (528.0 miles): Westbound I-70 backed up because of a truck with one trailer upright, the second trailer on its side.

I suggest in-car entertainment. Poker, perhaps? Brian declines.

6:42 p.m. (571.0 miles, mile 97): Still raining, and we crossed the Colorado River...again. Denver: 178 miles. Passed a motorcycle...wonder if the rider is regretting his choice of vehicles?

6:50 p.m. (580.2 miles, mile 107): What drought? In the rainstorm, a field of alfalfa is irrigated. Nice.

6:58 p.m. (587.0 miles, mile 114): Rain ends.

7:07 p.m. (597.7 miles, mile 124): We enter the Glenwood Canyon. Brian shares that this road was built to fit in the narrow canyon (in spots, it sits on top of itself). They were able to build it without closing it to traffic.

7:28 p.m. (619.1 miles, mile 145): Eagle, Colorado, plays host to Mighty Mite football. Because of the team's attire (green jerseys and pants, white helmets), they look like they are an army of Great Gazoos.

7:56 p.m. (651.9 miles, mile 180): Denver: 94 miles. Getting closer to the Eisenhower Tunnel, as we just drove past the "Road Closed" gates. We're gaining elevation; ears are popping and I'm feeling lightheaded.

8:05 p.m. (661.8 miles, mile 190): Vail Pass - 10,603 feet.

8:28 p.m. (687.4 miles, mile 216): Eastern slope! We're out of the Eisenhower tunnel.

9:30 p.m. (....miles): We've arrived at Wes and Pauline's! Brian is reunited with his wife and son, who flew to Denver from Vegas yesterday. We made it!