10/2/22 (Sunday)--The Adventure Begins!

Today marks the start of my month-long adventure out West! After joining my family for our annual tradition of volunteering at the Jimmy Fund Walk in Hopkinton, I enjoyed a nice breakfast with the gang, then headed over to Logan for a 1:34pm JetBlue flight to Denver. For the next 4 weeks, I will be living in an earthship, where I get to learn about the systems of these structures in the morning and work on an active build in the afternoon. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of an Earthship, check out this YouTube video for a quick overview--amazing stuff!

The whole flight over (and honestly, for several weeks before), my mind was consumed with worry regarding what exactly would transpire when I got to the rental car company at Denver International Airport. When I made the reservation several months back, I made it with my Massachusetts license, which was no longer in my possession. Back in August, I went to the NH DMV to finalize my move to the "Live Free or Die" state and had to forfeit my precious MA license for the black-and-white temporary paper license they handed me, which by all means, looks highly counterfeit and nothing at all like a license. At the time of my visit (August 22), I was convinced this would be a non-issue, as I would surely receive my actual license over the course of the next month before departing for my trip. Wrong. Never in a million years would I have thought it would take 40+ days to receive my actual license when it was a simple out-of-state transfer, but here we are 47 days later...

So, in addition to having made my reservation with a different license altogether, I now have this questionable black-and-white piece of paper that only licenses me to drive part-way through my reservation. Convinced that a rental car agency would never rent to me in these circumstances, I frantically called the NH DMV twice last week, only to be told there's nothing they nor I could do, except to wait for my real license in the mail. How do I even respond if questioned about my license by the rental company? "This is a valid license, I promise." "Uh, my real license is in the mail." "Oh shoot, would you look at that?!"

Play it cool, Lauren...I walked up to the rental car counter, schlepping my 100lbs of baggage with me. I took out my paper license and credit card and with a sense of false confidence, handed it over to the agent. Every time she asked me a question, I thought for sure I was done and would have to find another way to travel the 300+ miles to Taos. I already checked Uber/Lyft as a plan B--it would be about half the cost of the monthly car rental just for the trek down. I could take a bus part-way, but at most, that would only cover 90 of the 300 miles, and I would likely not get to Taos in time for class Monday morning.

"Ok, so your reservation is for 10/2 through 10/29?" "Uh, yes." (not sure where to look, and continuing to run through the alphabet of plans in my head...). "And you have a mid-size SUV?" "Mmm hmmm..." (grimacing a bit, half waiting for the next question to expose me, while trying to figure out how I would respond if she questioned my license). To my utter surprise and total

delight, the agent at the counter didn't even bat an eyelash. In fact, after asking those couple of questions and having me sign the electronic pin pad a few times, she told me I was being upgraded from a mid-size SUV to a Toyota 4Runner! I smiled and thanked her, and before anyone could change their mind, flew out of there as fast as possible.

From Denver, I set out for Fort Garland, CO, where I'd be spending the night before the final push to Taos, NM. Since it was now after 6pm, I figured I'd do as much driving as possible until I reached my maximum level of hangriness. I was good for about three hours, then gave in around 9pm. My options were limited though, as it was late on a Sunday night. Finally, I spotted a KFC/Taco Bell--bingo! Usually I am not one for fast food like that, but it was out of my control now. I swung around to the drive-thru planning to order a UHaul's worth of tacos. A woman's voice chirped over the intercom--one I could hardly understand (a very heavy southern accent exacerbated by less than a full set of 32 pearly whites...). What I was able to decipher though, was that the Taco Bell side of the restaurant had already closed. Damn. No tacos tonight. How is that even possible? Aren't they one in the same? And, did I also hear her say she only had chicken thighs left? Anyhow...

"Uh, hi, could I please have a #8?"

"We're closing in fifteen minutes and we don't have any sides left."

"Um, ok, could I please have a...chicken thigh, I guess?"

"Just a chicken thigh?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess..."

"I'll give you two. Do you want any fries with that?"

What in the actual hell? I guess I'm now eating two, and did she not just say she had no sides?

"Sure, please..."

"How about a biscuit?"

Ok, now I'm totally confused.

"Sure, sounds good, thanks."

"Ok, I'll throw in two. Drive up to the second window."

Marveling at the absurdity unfolding in this KFC/Taco Bell drive-thru in the middle of nowhere at 9pm on a Sunday night, I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled up to the window. As I handed my credit card over, the woman informed me that the machine had been giving her problems all day. The thought of spending even more time in this god-forsaken drive-thru made me cringe. As it turned out, my card went through with only two swipes. I took my thighs, fries, and biscuits, and booked it to the other side of the parking lot to mow down.

The grease of my meal saturated the carton and was now soaking through to the napkins underneath. This cannot be good...wonder how much time that took off--days? Weeks? Regardless, I scarfed down another few bites and was back on the road headed towards Fort Garland. An hour left!

When I arrived at my motel, I was caught a bit offguard. It was 10:30pm and there were only two trucks I could see in the parking lot--both maintenance-type vehicles. Despite the motel having a rating of 4.5 stars, it struck me as horror movie-esque with its neon red sign and otherwise dark exterior. As I was fumbling in the back of the 4Runner for my backpack, I heard someone behind me. I turned to look and saw a large stray dog trotting down the other side of the road--Cujo, is that you?

The manager inside couldn't have been nicer. It was the same man I had spoken with earlier when I called letting them know I'd be running late. He explained that they were just coming out of their 7-month peak period, where they were basically sold out every night. He mentioned that there were a lot of empty rooms that evening and asked if I would like to be upgraded to a king--yes, please! Thank you, Ryan!