First leg of the trip

I left on the first leg of the trip on September 8th excited but with a little anxiety about what to expect crossing into Mexico. I left Corvallis at 6 pm after finishing up tasks at home and at work, and made it to a beautiful place to park about 30 miles west of Burns. Driving over the Cascades reminded me how beautiful Oregon is. Next day made it to Salt Lake City by 4 pm. Had a wonderful 5 days with Zach and Jenna and with Jenna's dad, Nik. They made some great meals, a nice hike in the mountains above SLC, and then a couple of outstanding concerts at my new favorite venue, Red Butte Garden. Monday night was blues with Buddy Guy. An emotional concert as he entertained us tremendously, but seemed to be passing the torch to the new generation of blues musicians. The opener was Christone Kingfish Ingram. The new generation is in good hands. The second concert was Herbie Hancock on Wednesday night. Wow. What a talent. His band was outstanding. Never seen anything like it. The opener was his guitarist from Benin, Lionel Loueke. His playing was incredible, but he also incorporated into his singing the clicking sounds of the Xhosa peoples of South Africa. Thanks Zach and Jenna for a wonderful time in Salt Lake. Thursday was the long drive to Denver to hang out with Matt for the weekend and go into the mountains for a photography lesson.

1,400 miles down. About 10,000 miles to go to Ushuaia, Argentina (if we go the shortest route, which is unlikely).