I’m taking a virtual vacation today, remembering the June trip out West, stopping for the evening in Gillette, Wyoming, after a late-afternoon stroll around Devil’s Tower.

There had been that feeling at Devil’s Tower, one I hadn’t experienced in a while, of being truly free. Usually I book accommodations in advance, but this was the last full day of the trip and I wasn’t sure of the itinerary. So there were 50, 70, maybe even 100 miles of open road ahead and no sure resting place. I knew there would be some place, of course, but wasn’t sure what place.

The place became Gillette because the bones were weary and the motel was the right price range (cheap!). And the restaurant became Chinese because it was the one across the street. 

But the waiter — he was the magical player in all of this. “Have an egg roll,” he urged, his smile lighting up the almost dining empty room. “We don’t just have best egg roll in Gillette; we have best egg roll in Wyoming.”

Well, that did it. The egg rolls came, and they were indeed delicious. And I thought about the randomness of travel, all the fun and funky experiences it opens you up to. All day there had been red rocks and curving roads and grand open spaces. And now, on top of all that, I was tasting the best egg roll in Wyoming.