Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains mark a difficult stage in Jenny and Pauline’s journey: as they try to cross them, their failing car turns the mountain route into an immediate practical barrier and forces an unplanned stop in an isolated gathering place.

The Crossing Attempt

The car overheats again as Jenny and Pauline try to get over the Rocky Mountains. A glowing orange dashboard light holds their attention as a visible sign of the car’s distress. Pauline studies their atlas and identifies a small town a few miles away; they crawl toward it at twenty miles an hour, trailing steam. The car’s repeated failure makes the crossing not a smooth passage through the landscape but a slow, uncertain advance governed by the vehicle’s limits.

The Mountain Roadside

The car gives out at a shuttered gas station beside a low roadhouse, with dark foothills rising behind it. The apparent town proves to be no town at all, but a named gathering point between isolated homes. After switching off the engine and dashboard lights, Jenny and Pauline look across the road at the roadhouse’s neon beer signs and faintly hear music. The breakdown thus leaves them stranded at a sparse roadside stop, where their next move depends on the people inside.