There’s this little tiny village in the mountains, not far from Aspen CO.

I get dropped off on the edge of town and walk down the road a bit to find a good hitchhiking pitch.

There’s a sheriff’s cruiser parked on the side of the road.

There isn’t a whole lot of traffic. I wonder if this guy gets bored sitting on the side of this lonely road all day, waiting for a speeding driver.
Then I notice that the guy in the cop car is actually a dummy.

I’m riding with Michele across Utah.

Michele picked me up from the side of the road back in Colorado.

Michele is a professional renaissance fair performer. She earns her living traveling across America, dressing up as an English duchess and selling drinking goblets to cos-players.

We make a quick stop in downtown Salt Lake City so I can photograph the giant Mormon Church.

It’s every bit as grandiose and glitzy as I’d hoped.

There’s a wedding going on, so it’s perfect timing for a photo.

The bride and groom are almost certainly wearing magic underwear in anticipation of the honeymoon night.

 
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A little service station in the desert west of Salt Lake City, Nevada.

I’m standing outside the front door, using the WiFi.

A little girl, maybe seven or eight years old walks over to me.
Without a word, she takes my hand and puts a gift in it.

A brightly colored packet of Skittles candy.  There’s a little gift tag.  It says ‘you bring color to the world (more than you know)’.

The little girl turns, walks away and gets into an SUV with her mum. They drive away.

I wave to her and smile.