Strangers in a Strange Land

In 2001, after completing the Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee, Anne and I rented a Toyota sedan with clarinetist Bob Draga to drive to Helena, Montana, for a private fundraising event at the Barrister, a beautiful B&B owned by our friend and former lawyer, Nick Jacques. This was before the days of searching for routes on your phone or even using a GPS; armed with our trusty Rand-McNally we set off on the 15-hour journey. Our time between gigs was generous, so we planned to stop over somewhere slightly past the midpoint. Our friend Tom Hazzard, founder of the Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree, suggested Wells, Nevada, as a place to stop, averring it had a good hotel, restaurant and entertainment. We set off mid-morning, wheels checked and gas tank full. I was piloting while Bob slept in the passenger seat, chair reclined back (Bob is a great driver, but I volunteered to do the first shift and whenever he’s not driving, he’s almost instantly asleep). That left Anne behind me in the back seat, as usual working on paperwork, detailing the next day’s events and navigating for me. The ride started out great. The weather was fine, the scenery unparalleled. I was even able to set the car at a speed so the bumps in the road timed with Bob’s snores making for a syncopated symphonic sound. In between Bob’s naps, he regaled us with stories of his early days as a festival musician running his f