America On The Move

I see him again today…sitting on a shoulder of the Peak to Peak…surrounded by plastic bags and suitcases…seemingly all of his material possessions. He looks comfortable though…sitting in a chair…as if he’s on vacation…and thoroughly taking in the beauty of the mountains…while waiting to catch…a ride…to Wyoming…Cheyenne… his placard says. I saw him two days ago for the first time…sitting patiently amidst his treasures holding his sign. Yesterday, when I passed the spot where the traveler had been…his chair still sat among the bags but...he could not be seen. I thought that perhaps he had abandoned his worldly trappings for the sake of a ride…but today he is back in the chair…in the midst of all his belongings…holding the sign. It occurs to me that he must be used to waiting…he does travel with that chair…and all that baggage..........
It is not uncommon to see hitchhikers in these mountains...even in these times of uncertain safety…either going somewhere local or looking to catch a ride to a distant locale. Often the faces are familiar ones ..."locals"... going to or from the flats via their preferred mode of transport...but some of the others...homeless…camp in the mountains for months at a time…sometimes with dogs as companions...hitching the canyon down in the morning…often to panhandle in Boulder… and back up at night…back to their star-studded temporary abodes…moving out only when winter lays its feet of snow on the ground. Many times...the signs they carry are...a blog in itself............ What is unusual about this man is…all that bagged weight he’s trying to get a ride with…at least 12...really huge...black plastic ones stuffed to bursting…as well as…the multiple suitcases and...the chair. This traveler obviously doesn’t care to “travel light”…so whoever gives him a ride will have to be driving a pickup…at least...or a moving van…kind of limiting his options…and giving a new tweak to the phrase “America on the move”... What can he be carrying in all those bags I wonder…where does he haul them off to at night…when another unsuccessful day of waiting has gone by…and he has to seek shelter…presumably among the rocks and trees nearby……how many days will it take him to make the journey…a scant three or so hours by car from where he’s sitting…traveling as he is…with all those bags…waiting at the mercy of a stranger…with…a…large…vehicle…going to Wyoming…or to somewhere along that way…