the eve of departure's eve

...does that even make sense? I just like the word "eve."
So my time as a Crested Buttian (possibly pronounced byoo-shun) is drawing to a close. I've spent most of today packing packing packing. I stupidly packed my radio early in the day, so I had to listen to neighborhood sounds while I continued.
I dont know if it's the altitude or just Colorado, but there are no crickets or cicadas or any noisemaking creatures here. So at night, instead of a constant din, there is only silence. It still weirds me out when I'm trying to fall asleep. And when I visited Pittsburgh, I felt like I was in the jungle. All in all I had a very nice visit home. I saw friends and family, though not everyone I wanted to see. There wasn't enough time, sorry if you didn't hear from me.
Thursday morning I am heading out. I'll jump back on Rte. 50 into Utah, where I plan to stop at Arches Nat'l Park. In high school I got a bookmark that had a picture of Delicate Arch and ever since, I've wanted to visit. After that I'm stopping in Salt Lake City to rest at some friend of a friend of a friend's house, so I dont have to drive 11 hours in one day. Friday I'm off to Boise, ID to spend Labor Day weekend with Kathryn. YAY! Then on to Portland on Tuesday, where the journey I set off on on May 25th finally comes to rest.