Where Are Ronald's Roosters?

10/4/23

Utah / Colorado

Today was something of a reset for me. We left Utah around noon and headed to Colorado.

It felt weird, leaving friends. Primarily Taylor, because he’s a silly guy I can talk philosophy with. And I’ve never driven farther east than Salt Lake City (unless you count moving across country to New York when I was 14, which I don’t).

On the drive east, I came to a few conclusions:

1. Because I have the ability, necessary gear, and interest required for rock climbing, it feels like the fastest way I can have an experience that I would consider an adventure. But it is not the only way to have an adventure.

2. I like to have fun and be silly, and I can only do that best when I’m with people I know and like. So the things I’m doing have less to do with my overall happiness than the people I’m with.

3. I love to see new places.

There’s an adventure, or memorable experience, waiting around every corner, if you want it. It just takes a certain attitude to seek them out.

After making dinner at our campsite off the I-70 about an hour inside of Colorado, a truck pulled up. Inside was a man named Ronald looking for three roosters. Apparently, he had stopped there several times over the summer on his commute home from work. He worked 14 days on, 14 days off, in Grand Junction, CO, and stopped at this spot by the river on the way home to “chill out, meditate” before driving home. He noticed there were three black roosters living by the river and started bringing them popcorn and eventually chicken feed. Last time he saw them there were only two.

We told him we hadn’t seen any.