In Flagstaff the old Route 66 is much in evidence, but now as ‘Historic Route 66’ (the route having been decommissioned in 1985). Indeed, since Chicago (or, indeed, since New York) we have been travelling with a Jack Kerouac connection (and, not by coincidence, N° 1 sprog is also reading On the Road on the road, as it were). Kerouac stayed back in Denver for a while. Hugo of New York wants me to point out that Kerouac wrote the following about that experience: “Down in Denver, down in Denver, all I did was die.” I wonder if Hugo has seen the 1995 film, Things to Do in Denver when You’re Dead, in which those particular Kerouac lines, said by Kerouac’s alter ego, Sal Paradise, get cited. Hugo’s underlying point is that Kerouac got bored in Denver. But did he? According to this blog, he fell in love with the place so much that he bought a house there. As to Denver in On the Road, it appears in Part One, when Sal does a lot of partying, Part Three, when he is sad and lonely, and Part Four, when he sets off towards Texas. I didn’t see the 2012 film adaptation (which got poor reviews). Hugo?
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I understand there are some pretty steamy Kristen Steward scenes in it so I probably will. As for Jack Kerouac’s buying a house in Denver, the ultimate guide to his life is Ann Charters’ monumental authorized biography, and I don’t remember any mention of it, but I’ll look it up when I have access to my books again. Stay put.