October 17, 2015

Finally made it to Denver. Got a home-cooked meal at Nancy and Ron’s house.  That is my sister and brother-in-law. I have another sister there, Rosemary, but she is still in the ‘workforce’ and was unable to meet me.  She missed a very good lunch and some scintillating conversation about the sad state of affairs in the world today.

I didn’t stay long because I wanted to get on the road to Vegas and I will be seeing them again at the wedding next week.

It has been many years since I drove to Colorado.  I had completely forgotten what an awesome experience driving through the Rocky Mountains outside Denver is. You get on I-70 West  just outside Denver.  The highway winds up and down and round and round through some of the most spectacular vistas anywhere.

It is especially wonderful this time of year when all the trees are changing colors (no color-blind comments, please).  These mountains are like the Texas Hill Country on steroids.  As you make your way between the mountains, you travel right next to a stream that becomes a river that turns into a lake and then back into a stream again. You can see people fishing or just walking along the road or taking pictures.

I took some pictures also, but I am not going to post them because they just do not do the experience justice.  If you have not driven through the Rocky Mountains west of Denver, you must do it.  You simply must.  Take a moment right now and put it on your To-Do List. You will not regret it.

If you have taken this route, you know exactly what I am talking about.

One thing I did notice was that there are large areas of dead trees.  I do not remember if these areas were there the last time I made this trip, but I don’t think so.  I would have remembered.

I Googled ‘dead trees in the Rocky Mountains’. If you do that, you will get a lot of theories about what is going on. Some people blame drought, others blame global warming, others say they just don’t know. One site predicted the Rocky Mountain forests will almost completely disappear by 2060 if something isn’t done.  I don’t want to get political and I won’t be around if that happens, but I hope they figure it out in time.

Before I left Denver, I passed by the establishment in the picture below.  You can’t read all the signs, but this is a place where you can now get some legal cannabis. It looks like it could be a store run by hippies from the 1960s.

In case you are wondering, I did not stop and make a purchase.

Next stop – Las Vegas.