The Start of the Cross Country Drive

Normally, when I drive across country, unless I have a friend's place in which to crash, I simply pull-over to a rest stop, find a quiet parking spot to park, lock my doors, recline my seat, pull out a pillow and blanket, and sleep until I wake up. I've found that you can cover a lot of this country if you just wake up as early as possible, and drive till you get sleepy at night. I made DC to Flagstaff, AZ in less than 36 hours possible with this interstate assault. There for stopping shortly after Indianapolis when I got tired seemed practical and normal to me. I stopped at the first rest stop west of Indianapolis, found a spot next to some trees and shut my car down. As I took the time to put some new music on my ipod, I noticed a late middle-aged man in a dark minivan was driving around slowly from parking spot to parking spot with his head lights on. I recognized him as a man that caught eyes with me and waved as I was walking from the bathroom. Anyways, after about 30 minutes of watching this guy move around, I noticed that he had been staring at me the entire time. Right when I did, he started flashing his running lights and his dome light at me as if to signal me to come inquire what he wanted. Another 30 minutes of this parking-lot dance and light show occurred before he finally parked in a parking spot 20 feet in front of me and began to signal me and scare me. At this point, wanting absolutely nothing to do with this incredibly creepy person, I turned my car on, along with my headlights, and he drove to the opposite side of the rest stop complex still with in view of me (and I to him). He then continued to signal me! Knowing this wasn't right, I called 911 to report this guy as "suspicious". After I "pretended" to fall asleep, the guy realized that I had let my guard down and came back and parked in front of me again. Thankfully, in the 20 minutes it took the Indiana State Police to show up to the rest stop, this creep didn't once get out of his vehicle. The trooper recognized the vehicle right away based off the description I gave the call taker and had the guy get out of his vehicle to question him. After a pretty stern talking to by the trooper, the guy, seemingly disappointed, got back into his van, and drove off. The entire time I pretended I was sleeping while peering out at him with a cracked eye. After he had left, the trooper had left and I was left in the parking lot with 3 other people trying to sleep yet too nosy to ignore their fatigue as they looked on to this scene of drama. At this time in the night it was 3 AM and I was exhausted. I locked my door again and curled up under my blanket...this time clutching a mag-light I keep in the side of my door for these reasons alone. Yeah I can buy a small LED light if I need a flashlight but sometimes a 'D'-cell mag-light can say "no" a lot easier than your mouth...

I woke up at 0700 and began the drive from Indianapolis to Denver. I knew it was going to suck before I even left. I hate driving across the great plains and I was dreading every second of the drive. I don't even remember Illinois I managed to drive so quickly across it. Missouri was ok because the scenery remained a little interesting. Right before Kansas, however, I caught a glimpse of a fatal motorcycle accident that despite 7 years of firefighting and EMS I still claimed to be one of the most horrific I've ever seen. Thankfully, Kansas was the last major leg of my day's trip. When I drive I look at the mile markers to gauge how long it would take me to drive across a particular state. Seeing "Exit 423" on a sign after crossing the Missouri river made my heart sink. I made it to Kansas sometime after noon. It was well into the night by the time I hit the Colorado border. I made it to my friend's house in Golden/Denver before 11. I came in, had a glass of wine with her, and will soon crash (probably hard) for the night. Thank God the worst part of the drive is over with...