I woke up on the planet Hoth. Drifting snow curled off the rolling hilltops in blurry, fast-moving wisps. The sun was bright, the sky blue and clear, and everything else was glaring white. We were on highway 25 in Wyoming, headed south to Fort Collins, Colorado. Judah had traded driving duties with Josh sometime while I was asleep, and Josh was now inching along the near-invisible road, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The wind was such that the van would rock and snow from the road would pelt the windows.

When we reached Fort Collins, I stepped out of the van to a beautiful, warm morning. I didn't even need my jacket. Josh went into the hardware store downtown to retrieve a house key from his friend Adam who had offered us the use of his house as a resting point on our way to Denver. Still sleepy, I went across the street to use the public restroom. There was a woman sleeping in the sink. At least, I think it was a woman. And yes, she was sleeping in the sink. It looked uncomfortable.

We made it to Adam's house, where we all relaxed for a few hours. I played a little Playstation and took a shower. We ordered out for some pizza. It was nice to spend some time not having to be in a hurry. I also found an exercise ball, which you are supposed to roll around on and use as an exercise aid. Much to the amazement of my bandmates, I demonstrated the Superman Technique, which involves leaping forward and rolling across the floor on the ball, arms outstretched, screaming, "I'm flying! I'm flying! Whee!" I almost smashed my head on the fireplace, and I got a rug burn on my arm.

Later that afternoon, we stopped in Longmont to see if another of Josh's acquaintances was around. We went to her art gallery, which used to be a small church, but it was closed and she didn't answer the door.

The 15th Street Tavern had awards on the wall from a Denver publication stating that it was the Best Rock Club. I hoped it was. Before we loaded our equipment in, we went to the drug store to get Lauren some cough medicine. She had been feeling bad for a while and had a cough. Parking at the club was an ordeal. We ended up having to park on the sidewalk to unload, and then confusing signage led Josh to park in a lot across the street, thinking it would be cheaper. The lot then charged his card twice what it said it would. Everyone at this point was a little disgruntled and tired. Luckily, we were able to work it out so we could play first and get a good show in before we all fell asleep. Before we played, Judah, Lauren and I went to get burritos at a place called Chipotle. The burritos weren't so good. Josh warned us not to get Mexican food until we were closer to Mexico. That was good advice. We walked back to the club. Lauren at this point was feeling so bad that she went to lay in the van instead of coming inside.

We played for a crowd of perhaps thirty people, some of whom seemed really enthusiastic. The show was fine, but my voice was a little shot and kept cracking at what I felt were crucial moments. Luckily, nobody seemed to care. Next up was Houston, another power trio. They were a bit heavier rock than we are. They had a really good response from the crowd, who often said "Woo." I started feeling really gross from the cigarette smoke in the club, so I went outside, where it was perhaps 20 degrees. When I got to the van, I learned that Lauren had taken a bit too much cough syrup and had gotten sick from it. I guess I sort of felt like this was the first night I hadn't really enjoyed. I went back inside after a while and caught a few songs from the Smithereens. Yet another power trio, they played extremely loudly. Thank goodness I had my earplugs. At this point, the cigarette smoke and my having not slept or eaten well for the past few days all caught up with me. I became very nauseous.

We stayed with the band Houston at a very generous family's home. The back of the house, which used to be a small church (a lot of things used to be small churches around here), served as a large bedroom for six of us, while Judah and Lauren retired to a bedroom where Lauren could be warmer and hopefully recuperate a little. I was still nauseous. Even being as exhausted as I was, I couldn't fall asleep and tossed and turned all night.

Logan