All -When we last left our intrepid traveler, he was perched at over 10,000 feet in the Rockies in a blink on the map called Fairplay... (yes, I left off in Denver but it's my story so I have the right to re-write). Some of you have been here form the beginning; some have been added along the way. It's been seven days since I put fingers to keyboard. I'll do my best to make this quick (newbies can go to the bottom and see the entire story).
I did see Denver. My cousin put me up (put up with me) from the 18th through the 23rd. After the kiddie Christmas party, the next day we made a jaunt up to Lookout Mountain where Buffalo Bill is buried. Supposedly, our grandfather actually sat on Buffalo Bill's lap (I have a ticket stub to the circus) so I guess we kind of completed a circle of some sort as her kids sat on his grave and wondered why you could not see the bones (they're underground).
You can clearly see Denver, Golden, and other places from the top of Lookout Mountain... despite the tangle of telephone and communication towers that have been barfed up upon the hillside. We made out way back down the hill, past the buffalo, and onto Morrison for lunch. From there it was a rush to a midget basketball game.
On the 20th, I went up to Boulder where I wandered the town while my cousin and her family took in the Chronicles of Narnia: The Musical (coming to a town near you). Boulder is where the University of Colorado is located and may also have a worse homeless problem than San Francisco. Most dread-locked 'Trustifarians' looked like they were bumming money for a ski pass or the next Big Head Todd concert. The campus was nice. I think I spent more time in the library (because it was cold) than my previous family generations that attended the school.
On the 21st we took the kids to the Coors Brewery in Golden. It's a tour. In a brewery. You are allowed three free beers every 12 hours. Later, had a nice dinner that night in Cherry-something with Leslie's mom and friends. The waiter ripped us off $16.
On the 22nd, my last healthy day, we went into downtown Denver to see the Capitol and the house where our grandfather grew up. In the projects. The house is a few blocks from the capitol so I guess it was a nicer neighborhood when he lived there. I am sure the same liquor and lottery store was there in the 1910s, too. The Denver Capitol took seven years to build. Pooter McGee, the tour guide we had, was probably a classmate of my grandfather adn there for the building's opening. Did not absorb much of what he said as I was mesmerized the coke-bottle glasses, the clacking dentures, and the mounds of hair growing out of his ears.
Went to the top of the dome where the Denver history museum and the library were pointed out. Since we had at least a few generations from Colorado, I wanted to go to the library and see what I could find on the genealogy floor. A library is not a good place for a six and eight year old. Found a few articles in the Rocky Mountain News tied to relatives (including my sister's namesake; my brother and I still think we should have named her after the horse) and then we had to leave.
Somewhere in there I did get to make a trip to the local library to get more 'Hank the Cowdog' books on CD (don't ask). My cousin gave the directions to the library to the eight year old as a test. We all failed. The first turn we made was incorrect. The six year old proceed to tell the eight year old and I that we had done it wrong and now we were all hopelessly lost and we would never find our way home again let alone to the library. The eight year old, being male, rationed off the missed turn as part of the plan and the way we were going would get us there, too. The six year old countered that we were all stupid and that we were now going to starve to death because we would not get home for dinner. I proceeded to explain that I was not lost and I knew exactly how to get home and that I may even know how to get to the library, too. The eight year old concurred and, once again, we were both declared stupid and the six year old broke into tears. At that point, the eight year old hauled off and slugged the six year old and I threatened to pull the car over.We found the library, got 'Hank the Cowdog', and got home all shiny happy people with mom none the wiser.
I met an old EDS-days friend for a much needed drink that night.
We were supposed to ski Copper on the 23rd but the weather turned cold and I got sick. I spent most of the day trying not to make other people sick. Hopefully, I succeeded.
Pulled out of Denver on the 24th to go to Vail. Denver is at 2,500-something feet (hence, the mile-high city; it says so on the 13th step of the capitol); Vail is at 8,500 feet. The top of Vail is over 11,000 feet. Taking a head cold from 2,500 feet to 8,500 feet is not a good idea. Pulled into Pepe's in Vail miserably sick and horribly clogged. Went to my room to die.
Spent the 24th through the 26th in the hotel room. Finally, on the day when the high was 8 degrees, I gave up on homeopathic healing and went to the emergency room at the Vail Hospital. Saw Dr. Robert and told him I had finished a box of TheraFlu, a bottle of NyQuil, a bottle of Motrin, too much vitamin C, and enough water to float a battleship around. He needed to give me something to kill what I got. So, Dr. Robert gave me Azithromycin, Prednisone (some sort of steroid), and Prometha-something with codeine. Two days later, I was out on the slopes (so it worked).
Skied Vail on the 29th by myself and the 30th and 31st with my sister. All three days were awesomely sunny. Vail does not suck. Skied today in flat light but good snow.
Tonight is my last night in the lap of luxury. It's starting to snow again but I think it is just going to be a dusting. Tomorrow I go to Moab, Utah. Why Moab? Because it is the only 'city' near the Arches National Park (which I have been told I have to see). The drive to Moab will take me down along the Colorado River (Colorado River Byway) and across one of the first bridges over the Colorado River. From Moab, I will attempt to see both the Arches and Dead Horse Point (where Thelma and Louise drove off into the canyon). This may mean two days in Moab in the dead of winter. Then it will be off to Salt Lake City and Alta or Solitude or Park City for more skiing. Since I visited the Vatican just a few months ago, I may also visit Temple Square. And then it will be the long, lonely ride to Reno (eight hours from Salt Lake) and a final burst of skiing in Tahoe (depending on how I do in Reno).So much for quick. I figure I will be back in SF sometime around the 11th.
Hank
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