Heading Down to Denver

Breezy and a bit chilly this morning as I sipped my first cup of hot brew and enjoyed the sun peeking into this little valley -- Hummingbird buzzed by my vinyl window earlier (still amazed at how many of these little birds I had seen here).  Looked again but, didn't see any Elk on the hillside across the road -- there were around 8 of them there yesterday morning (cows and calves).  Cows are mooing in the pastures below the camp and I think I hear some of the Magpies nearby (birds I hadn't seen since I left Colorado nearly 50 years ago).

Broke camp and headed down the valley on my way back through Montrose, then Delta and Grand Junction before hitting I-70E toward Denver.  Planned to stop at Don and Janet's on my way through Delta and had a little something I had picked up in California -- something I thought he would appreciate more as a retired Fish and Wildlife man -- turned out Janet appreciated it more and had a grand idea of how to use it for a little Christmas Tree (what a hoot she is).  Hope I see a picture of it -- or maybe I'll drop back by and see for myself.

Another quick visit and another quick farewell as I headed "down" to Denver from the "Western Slopes" of Colorado.  I felt more comfortable getting on I-70E and looked forward to seeing some of the sights (farther east) that I had seen in the past -- Glenwood Canyon, Lake Dillon, Loveland Pass and Tunnel, Idaho Springs and other small towns on the way (Genessee Park too).  I made a "pit stop" in Rifle and they were sandbagging the Colorado River to keep it from flooding the rest stop.

Glenwood Canyon



Then I continued into Glenwood Canyon where I could see the Colorado River raging alongside the roadway -- flooding all the pedestrian walkways and intermittently throwing torrents of water into the air off some of the hidden boulders.  Near Eagle and Avon I was hit with the reminder about Colorado's summer weather -- an ice, sleet and hailstorm that nearly completely blocked my windshield (had to stop once to get the ice and such off the wipers).

I hadn't given much thought to Vail Pass but, it was a slow tug with the pop-up camper behind and an extremely slow truck ahead (road construction taking away one of the lanes didn't help either).  The town of Vail looked only a bit bigger but, it seemed to have many more 5 or 6 story buildings in the heart of the ski town which resembled Swiss Chalets -- the area was lush and green, the golf course very inviting with a beautiful mountain stream running through and around it (maybe next time).

Lake Dillon Reservoir

Soon I started to see Lake Dillon in the valley below and stopped to get some pictures of it and the surrounding mountains and ski areas (Keystone and Breckenridge) where I had taken my kids on ski vacations in years past -- fond memories of skiing the powder and trees with them (and a bottle of wine afterwards, while they were still skiing).

Breckenridge or Keystone

Then I came to the approaches to Eisenhower Tunnel and unfortunately there was a Medivac helicopter just taking off from the roadway above and to the left of me as I neared the tunnel -- a serious accident had happened on the westbound side after the tunnel involving an 18 wheeler and had all the lanes blocked.  On the other side of the tunnel, I could see all the westbound traffic being diverted over Loveland Pass -- I cringed at the thought and wondered if it was me whether I would have turned around and taken a room somewhere (wait for things to clear).  Glad I didn't have to make that choice.

Farther down, I made another stop in Georgetown -- pretty rest stop with a museum inside -- small stream and lake just a little farther down (visible from I-70).  A few more miles and the road to Berthoud Pass cut-off to the north toward Winter Park (another ski area we had frequented with little sis).  Minutes later, I passed the llittle town of Idaho Springs with its waterfall and waterwheel (mostly saw it in the past when the waterfall would be frozen as we passed on the way to ski).


Idaho Springs Waterfall



Lake at Georgetown

Soon thereafter, the roadway forked to the right and the climb to Genessee Park began -- another tough pull but, managed to get the V6 kicked in just in time to make the climb without slowing to a complete stop at the side of the road.  When I got closer to Denver (when the climb past Genesse and the Buffalo Overlook were done) I stopped on the downhill side of the road and called ahead to let Rick and Kay know where I happened to be (the city was not far ahead after Mother Cabrinni Shrine and the steep decline into the city).

Arrived around rush hour so slowly made my way around the city to northeast Denver (old Lowry Air Force base) and to Rick and Kay's place.  Left the Jeep and trailer parked in front of their place and settled in for a nice visit (hadn't seen them since March 2010 when they moved from Virginia).