She makes me feel like I'm 22 again.

The highway brings back memories. When I was 22 years old I got hired for my first tour. To drive Trembling Blue Stars. I ended up tour managing them. However the first task was to drive across the country by myself to pick them up in Atlanta. The landscape reminds me of distinct moments of that drive. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, being 22, fresh out of college, never on tour, never having been further east then Nevada. To the left on I-15 between Boise and Salt Lake City, the mountains remind me of Red House Painters, the rocky mountains - John Denver, Kansas - John Vanderslice, Witchita - Grandaddy. There were moments of great despair and moments of great triumph on that trip.

Now I am 27 and seen these roads a few times here and there, from different vehicles, but they still haven't lost their charm. The mountains haven't failed to remind me to be in awe of God. They've always given me pause and made me think. Despite the often busy-ness of the road, there is a lot of time to listen. I've spent the last year plus playing music, DJing for people, but not really listening. Hearing singles and hits, but not whole records. It's a general impatience of needing a quick fix to keep the party going, needing a quick answer. But albums on the other hand ebb and flow and sometimes take a while to get to the hook . . .some of the best albums aren't full of hits, but of great songs that when put together create a story and a context.

You can't rush the road either. If there are a certain amount of miles between cities, there's not much you can do to make it go any faster. 60 miles takes an hour. you can try to drive faster, but that is just scary and gives propensity for tickets. so five miles over the speed limit is about all that you can get away with. So you have to be patient and just make due, Use the time too look, too listen to reflect.

If God was a musician he would make epic albums, perhaps not with hits but epic songs that may not make any sense when listened to as a single, but when put together makes on incredible piece of work.

All the while we think we're getting closer to our destination, He keeps moving that city further and further away, and then we realize that there is no actual destination, just the mountains right in front of us to give us pause.