Cross Country**part 2**

**A Travel East** We pass the Grand Mesa cruising like lightening at 95mph, I feel like a passenger on a toy train. A mountain 11,000 feet above the ground, auburn colored, rock faced cliffs, complimented by a spectacular baby blue sky. Clouds scatter, trying unsuccessfully to cover the rapid sunrise. Blue, Indian orange, and red mix together well with the beauty of the cliff face. Along the base, the Colorado river races. Not quite a rapid, yet swift enough to scare rafters, and small animals. Miniature icebergs travel through a small channel created in the ice of the once wide river. A family of coyotes gather on a patch of solid ice. The young playfully roam, while the adults relax, lick themselves and watch. Deer prance across the terrain, chasing the train. Detained, inside a fence, cattle graze in a group of one hundred or so. A cottage rests along the perimeter where children play. Bundled from head to toe, Snow, thick and heavy. Frosty is created!! Homeward bound!! The ride semi-pleasant, better than the first. The lavatory still with that distinctive musky urine scent. The passenger car seems bigger this time, more spacious. Room for my long legs, and wide enough to accommodate my beer gut. I hear the rantings of an old married couple as they bicker about what time dinner should be reserved for. Beside me, laying awkwardly, an old man snores. Shallow breaths in between, I can hear his heartbeat. Pounding like a heavy percussion solo, his feet propped on his duffel bag below. The lobby car when first entered looked barren. A few passengers sit with books and laptops, others watch as the fast moving terrain passes through the tinted double glass. My cell phone lost battery life and I needed the accommodation of electricity. Occupied, I wait for my turn. From my peripheral I saw her, I could sense her aura. Smell her aroma of Vanilla Musk. Dirty blond hair with red highlights, short but not to short, with a friendly disposition. So, I sparked a conversation, that helped better this expedition. Jared Pickett 3/7/08 Asavvy1