I have been working in Lakewood (Denver metro area) for the last 8 days, so no blog updates. I am only now posting my last day on the road, which was Tuesday, July 10th.
I knew I had work waiting for me in Denver, so I decided not to be too adventurous. I abandoned the Highway 50 idea, and just took I-70 most of the way.
I remember a lady arriving at breakfast who looked like she could be Larry Flynt's sister. Don't ask...she just did, believe me. I felt kind of sorry for Mrs. Flynt because she sort of plonked herself down at the talbe in the dining room of the hotel, which was actually supposed to be self-service buffet only for hotel guests. She had just shown up in her large truck. After a few minutes she started yelling, "HAAEEEELLLOOOOO?" The manager lady came out and told her that it wasn't a full service restaurant. Mrs. Flynt seemed a bit miffed and also slightly embarresed. The manager let her pay the $7.99 or whatever it was for non-guests and she sheepishly went to the buffet and loaded up. Unfortunately I was unable to sneak a picture.
I took a short detour off I-70 - well, I thought it would be short - to Aspen. Aspen is really a nice place. It's a little on the touristy side, but it's still nice. I saw a lot of good-looking people there, especially women my age (gasp) and even older. They were a significant improvement on the eyes than Mrs. Flynt earlier on.
I took the advice of the waiterss in the rather "nouveau" Mexican restaurant I had lunch and a fake beer in, and took the road out of town up over Independence Pass. It's one of the highest in North America at over 12,000 feet as you cross the Continental Divide.
As you leave Aspen, you quickly get into wildeness, and the drive up to Independence Pass is narrow and winding. I met some twenty-somethings up the top and they were asking me about Ireland. I took soem pictures for them, and they returned the favor.
The drive north to I-70 took longer than I thought, and I was still quite high up when I decided it was getting pretty chilly and it was time to put some warmer layers on underneath. I passed the town of "Leadville" which was a pretty substantial town for one sitting at just over 10,000 ft. This is a strange part of the world. I also notice the Arkansas River (at least I think it was) now flowing east toward the Gulf and the Atlantic. The previous day I had passed the Colorado River flowing towards the Pacific.
It was getting into duck when i reached the junction with I-70. It also started raining a bit, but I had my BMW Comfort Shell gear on, and it passed the test with flying colors. No having to stop and suit up!
About an hour later, I saw the light of Denver in the distance, like an oasis on the edge of the High Plains, with the Rockies looking down. This would be my home for the next week.
It was a hoard week too. We had a big project to complete. I'm happy to say we pulled it off with flying colors thoough.
I'm looking forward to getting on the road again later this morning. Back into the mountains and north I shall go.
Onwards!
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