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Travelogue:
Colorado
June and July 2008
By
Roger W. Reini
By
date:
September
26 | 27 | 28 | 29
| 30
October 1 | 2
| 3
| 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
| 8 | 9
Prologue
I had been thinking about a trip to Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak
for some time. Indeed, I had originally planned to go this
past
July. However, when I learned that my sister and her family
would
be coming to DC from overseas during that same time, I changed my plans
so that I could see them. That worked out very well; not only
did
I get to visit them, I brought my bike and rode many of the bike trails
in the DC area. I knew that I could go to Colorado just about
any
time, but my opportunities to see my sister’s family were limited and
would become even more limited as my nieces and nephew grew
up.
It was an easy decision to change my plans, and I have no regrets in
doing so.
When I originally set aside the time in September and
October for vacation, I had in mind a train trip to the Pacific
Northwest -- Seattle or Portland. But I decided to put that
off. Then I was entertaining thoughts of another trip to
Texas to
see friends and visit old haunts. Hurricane Ike put the
kabosh on
those plans, and with gas prices increasing substantially just after
Ike, along with fears of gas shortages, I feared that a cross-country
driving trip would not be a good idea. But within 10 days,
gas
prices in Detroit had returned to their pre-Ike levels, and shortages
were confined to the Southeast, so the trip was back on. I
had
narrowed down my choices to visiting Windsor, Ontario for a few days or
taking that deferred Colorado Springs trip. Given that
Windsor is
only 25 miles away and that Colorado Springs is not, the choice was
simple: I would be going for a Rocky Mountain High.
This would
not be my first visit to Colorado; that took place in March 2000 as I
took the train to Los Angeles. All my previous visits had
been
via train (March 2000, September 2004, March 2006), and they had all
been pass-throughs; although I got off the train at a few Colorado
stops, I left when the train did. This time, though, it would
be
a full-fledged visit, staying a little more than a week.
Top
Friday
September 26
It
has frequently been the case that I have started my vacation trips
right after work, or shortly after finishing packing at home.
But
I did not do that this time; I didn’t feel like it, nor did I feel like
spending this first evening in a hotel -- more accurately, I didn’t
feel like spending any money for a hotel this evening.
Instead, I
planned to go to bed early and set the alarm for the middle of the
night. I’d get some sleep, and I’d cover the distance I would
have covered on Friday night. So after packing the Mariner,
as
well as mounting the bike on the rack and making sure the garage door
would still close (it did), I went to bed around 9:30.
Top
Saturday
September 27
I
woke up a few times during the night, but then I woke up for good at
2:30 when the alarm went off, the “alarm” being the radio tuned to
WJR. During the span of 45 minutes, I checked e-mail and
checked
the websites I normally check in the mornings (my laptop is right next
to my bed), closed the windows upstairs, took my medicine, completed
packing, got dressed, and got ready to hit the road. At 3:20
in
the morning, I was under way. Traffic was light at that time
of
the evening, as you could imagine. I did notice a Canton
Township
police car parked under the I-275 overpasses at Ford Road; it was dark,
but I presume an officer was there watching for drunk
drivers. I
had no problems navigating Ford Road, M-14 or I-94. After an
hour
and a half, I stopped at a rest area for a bathroom break. It
would have been a good night for stargazing if I had been dressed for
the occasion; the temperatures were in the 40’s, but I was not wearing
a jacket (jackets were in the car if I decided I wanted to wear one,
and I was sure I’d need jackets in Colorado). As I drove on,
I
listened to various channels on Sirius and XM: World Radio
Network with Radio Australia, BBC News, the Midnight Trucking radio
program, 60’s on 6.
Around 6 AM, I had to pull off at another
rest area, for I was feeling sleepy. I rested there for a
half-hour, not very comfortably because I couldn’t put the seat back
down; it was blocked. Near the end of my rest, I went inside
to
get a bottle of pop and a snack. Unfortunately, the snack
machine
seemed to eat my money; I never heard it go down. Looking in
the
slot, I thought I could see it hung up in there. I tried to
fish
my money out with a small knife blade; it was too small. I
tried
a piece of paper; it was too wide. I folded the paper and
tried
again; this made it act like a scoop, and I got my money
back. I
also got some extra money back; well, I’ve had money eaten by other
machines in the past, so maybe this made up for it. I got the
snack I wanted -- from a different machine. Heading back to
the
car, I could see the crescent moon rising as well as the first hints of
sunrise. This led me to think that Ramadan would soon be
ending.
By
the time I was in northwest Indiana, the sun was up. I was
looking at gas prices and my gas gauge, trying to figure out the best
time to fuel up. I was also thinking about
breakfast. I
thought about the Lincoln Oasis over the Tri-State Tollway in the
southern Chicago suburbs; a look at the gas prices there told me to
head onward, for they were still over the $4 a gallon mark.
As I
had filled up on Friday in Detroit at $3.59 and had seen comparable
rates along the way this morning, I wasn’t interested in $4
gas.
I had enough to get past Chicago. Breakfast was another
matter; I
stopped at a Denny’s at I-80 and US 45 and read about last night’s
presidential debates in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The drive
westward along I-80 was uneventful. At various times, I
listened
to Sirius Disorder, Moments to Remember on XM’s 50’s channel, an
American Top 40 from September 1970 on XM’s 70’s channel, and several
football games, not to mention the occasional song from my
iPod.
I had my amateur radio transceiver with me, of course, but as I had not
yet figured out how to mount a high-frequency antenna on my new
Mariner, I could not listen to the chatter on the bands. I
stopped at the Iowa Welcome Center just across the river from Illinois
on I-80 and picked up some literature; perhaps I’d have time to see
some sights in Council Bluffs, my destination for the
evening.
Continuing westward on I-80, I passed the big Iowa 80 truck stop as
well as the campground near Tipton where I had attended the Equinox
campouts (not for several years, though, due to regular conflicts).
AT40
had ended around 2:30 Eastern, so I felt free to stop for
lunch.
And I did need to stop, to take an extended break. I also
needed
to fill up the gas tank again. Gas prices in Iowa were lower
than
in Illinois or Michigan, but I noticed something odd: in Iowa, the
midrange fuel is the least expensive. Everywhere else, the
regular is the least expensive. This was true 3 years ago
when
I’d last been in Iowa. I wonder why that is? After
I filled
up, I went to a nearby sports bar and grill (Daytona’s in Des Moines),
where I was fortunate to see Michigan State wrap up its victory over
Indiana. I also saw the starts of the Wisconsin-Michigan and
Arkansas-Texas games, and I was able to continue to follow them via XM
radio. I didn’t follow them to their conclusion, though,
which is
why I was surprised to learn that Michigan, which had been losing
rather handily to Wisconsin, had come back in the 4th quarter to win.
By
the time I reached my destination for the night, the Hampton Inn in
Council Bluffs, I’d been on the road for 15 hours including stops and
had racked up 715 miles. That qualified as a long haul,
though it
wasn’t my longest; in 2000, I had driven 770 miles in a day.
I
was in no mood to go anyplace else this evening, for dinner or
sightseeing or anything. It turned out that the closest
restaurants were in the nearby casino. I didn’t have to enter
the
gaming floor to get to the restaurants, which suited me just fine, as
I’m not a gambler. In fact, the gaming floor was actually a
riverboat. But I digress.... there were four restaurants in
the
hotel, and I ate at the Prairie Mill Cafe. The chicken
alfredo
was good -- the chicken was fantastic, the alfredo a little less
so. Every so often I could hear loud cheers coming from
across
the hotel; they were coming from the sports bar, which was carrying the
Nebraska game (Nebraska was losing at the time and would eventually
lose the game). After my meal, I walked past the casino
entrance
but did not enter, and I went back to my room. The walkway
went
through the Holiday Inn, where I passed a wedding reception in full
swing. The band could be heard quite clearly for some
distance
from the ballroom. Back in my room, I worked on this
travelogue
for a bit and watched some football before calling it an evening.
Top
Sunday September 28
I got up around 5:15 this morning, though you wouldn’t have known it
from the time on the clock. It was an hour slow for some
reason; I didn’t bother resetting it. When 6 rolled around, I
went down to the lobby for the regular Hampton Inn breakfast
bar. This morning, I had a dish of Total, a bagel, some peach
yogurt and an egg dish of some kind; I guess it would qualify as an
omelette. By 6:57, I had checked out of the hotel, packed the
car, attempted to take pictures of the hotel in the twilight without a
tripod (some were good, some weren’t), and hit the road. It
wasn’t long before I had crossed the Missouri River and entered
Nebraska. I saw signs for US 75; if I’d gone south on it, I
would have ended up back home in League City.
As I drove down I-80, the satellite radio was a constant
companion. Early in the day, I listened to ‘60s on 6 (a show
on songs associated with NASA missions, in honor of NASA’s 50th
anniversary) and Fine Tuning (where I learned of Moody Bluegrass, Moody
Blues songs done in bluegrass style). Later, I turned on
Sirius NFL Radio as today’s NFL action got underway. The
Detroit Lions had a bye, so I saw no need to listen to a single game;
I’d keep it on the main NFL channel, which kept listeners informed
about every game. When I stopped for gas at a truck stop, I
saw an ad for a 3-way power outlet splitter that can be placed inside a
cup holder. That helps keep the splitter off the floor, where it can
easily be stepped on. I thought it was a good idea, so I
picked one of those up. Later on, I passed under a huge
structure near the town of Kearney: the Great Platte River Road
Archway. This was worthy of a visit, I thought.
After I got there and learned what it was (a private exhibit of pioneer
days), I didn’t feel like spending much time or money there.
I did take some pictures of the outside and a movie of my feeding some
fish in a pond; the fish were congregating in the area underneath a
bridge with a fish food dispenser, for they knew to expect a snack
there). I saw a row of five vintage cars, four Fords and a
Chevy (oddball!). Afterwards, I had lunch at the
McDonald’s in town; service was rather slow, but it was good.
I had a bacon ranch salad topped with Newman’s Own dressing,
particularly appropriate in light of Paul Newman’s death on Friday,
news of which was announced Saturday.
There was something about the main drag of Kearney which suggested “The
West” to me. I couldn’t pin it down, though. The
terrain was definitely changing, and it really changed by the time I
passed the turnoff for I-76 and the direct route to Denver.
West of there, I-80 started to climb, and the trees became very
scarce. I listened to the end of the Texans-Jaguars game,
which had gone into overtime. Jacksonville won the toss and
was able to kick a field goal and win the game. At the town
of Sidney, I pulled off to gas up and to visit Cabela’s. I
didn’t get anything there, although I could have. Only later
did I learn that Cabela’s headquarters was there, that that was
probably the flagship store. It didn’t seem much different
from the one in Dundee, frankly.
An hour or so later, I was in Wyoming for the first time, my 42nd
state. I turned off at the rest area for a bathroom break and
a chance to pick up some literature about Cheyenne. The song
“Goodbye, ol’ Paint/ I’m a-leavin’ Cheyenne” rolled through my mind,
although the words weren’t yet apt; I was heading TO
Cheyenne. And at 4:46 in the afternoon (Mountain time), I was
in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, right next door to a Home Depot,
an Outback Steakhouse and two other hotels.
What did I want to do? After discovering there was a Barnes
and Noble in town, I wanted to go there, and I also wanted to find a
place for supper. The bookstore was on a street near the
shopping mall in town (not too far from the airport, either).
It was similar to other Barnes and Nobles in other cities and
towns. I ended up buying the latest issue of Scientific
American and leaving in search of supper. My search ended at
the Perkins restaurant down the street, where I had a chicken and
mushroom dinner which was rather good. Then it was back to
the hotel, where I felt very tired at 8:30 (10:30 Eastern). I
started to retrieve the copy of Saturday
Night Live that I’d recorded at home, converted to a
smaller format, and uploaded to my iDisk. That download would
not complete for several hours.
Top
Monday September 29
My sleep schedule was a little screwed up; I found myself awake around
1 AM, checked to see if the SNL download had completed, found that it
had, and started to watch it. I watched the first sketch, the
one with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Katie Couric (I
enjoyed the reference to “phone a friend”) and part of Duffy’s first
number “Mercy”. Then I got tired and went back to bed,
although a sinus clog kept me from going back to sleep. I was
awake again around 4, which was close to the time I would normally wake
up (5 Central, 6 Eastern). I tried to watch the rest of SNL
and got to the end of Weekend Update, but there was a recording glitch
that caused a major out of sync condition between picture and sound
(FYI, the sync problems were in the conversion to the smaller format;
the original recording back home had the glitch but no sync
problem). I could get it back into sync with surgery on the
file, but not this morning. I started to download Brothers & Sisters
from home as well, but it was very slow going, so I cancelled it and
started to upload it to my iDisk, from which I could retrieve it later.
I took a shower and then went down for breakfast. This
morning, I had corn flakes, muffins, and yogurt. Then I
decided to go for a short bike ride. It was chilly outside,
cold enough for frost to form on my bike seat. I put on a
jacket, got the bike down, and prepared to ride. The rear
derailleur seemed a bit sluggish this morning, probably due to the
cold. I decided to go for a short ride, down the Lincoln
Highway to I-80 and back. This was my first ride at higher
altitudes, and I could tell from the get-go, as I was breathing more
heavily than usual even though I had just started out. I’m
not in the greatest of shape, but I’m in better shape than
that! It turned out that I had been going somewhat uphill as
well -- not visible to the naked eye, but quite apparent to someone
pedaling it! I went under I-25 and then I-80, turning around
at I-80 to return to the hotel. This ride was faster, which
didn’t help my thumb tips any; they were feeling the cold.
After 3.38 miles, I was back at the hotel, and the bike was back on the
car. I needed more time to acclimate to the altitude.
By 9:26, I had checked out of the hotel and set out on the
road. I first went into town to look for photo opportunities
downtown. The main opportunity was the Wyoming State Capitol,
and I took a few pictures there. Then it was goodbye to Ol’
Paint, for I was a-leavin’ Cheyenne. After a restroom stop at
a truck stop just south of town (and a good photo opportunity for an
overlook of Cheyenne), I put on “X Minus One” on Sirius’s
old-time-radio channel and drove south on I-25. There were
one or two mountains in the distance; soon, there were more.
There were also several construction areas on I-25 between Cheyenne and
Denver, most of which didn’t slow me down much at all. As I
drove through Fort Collins, I turned on my amateur radio transceiver
and tuned it to the frequencies of time station WWV, which was located
in Fort Collins. I did not have an antenna connected to that input of
the transceiver, yet I could hear WWV on 5, 10 and especially on 15
MHz. It would have been booming in had I had an antenna
connected.
Also located in Fort Collins was one of Colorado’s welcome
centers. It was in a separate building from the rest area,
although one could easily walk from one to the other. I
stopped here to pick up some literature for Colorado Springs, Denver
and whatever else I felt like. The staff there were helpful,
although I wasn’t in much need of help. I took a few pictures
of the mountains in the distance, including the big A on the side of
one mountain. What it stood for, I had no idea.
There was a trail that I walked for a short distance before returning
to the car and resuming my southbound trip.
The traffic got heavier as I neared Denver, as one would expect,
although it was not jammed by any means. I passed through
downtown, noticing Coors Field in the distance and remembering how the
Amtrak trains passed next to the ballpark on their way to the
station. Up ahead, Invesco Field (the new Mile High Stadium)
was looming. I was in need of a break and a rest, so I was
heading to the Cherry Creek Mall in the middle of town. It
was located in a nice area, even if there was major construction in the
area.
It was lunchtime, so I needed to eat. The Macaroni Grill
sounded good to me, so I went there and had a lunch special: a cup of
soup, a small salad, and half a meatball sandwich. I checked
the news via my cell phone as I waited for my meal, and I saw that the
financial bailout or rescue plan had been defeated in the
House. What that meant for the future of the country, I had
no idea. I’m not sure Congress did, either. Enough
about politics: after my excellent meal, I walked around the mall to
walk off my meal. I stopped at the Apple Store but didn’t get
anything there. Having bought an iMac and a MacBook there
already this year, I wasn’t in the market for another one.
Then it was time to head on down to Colorado Springs. The 2
meter antenna was off the car, for it was banging on the parking deck
supports.
The drive to Colorado Springs was uneventful, though it was more tiring
than usual. I was getting tired of long distance driving; I
wanted to arrive at my destination. And within one and a half
hours, I had. Colorado Springs! There was a scenic
turnoff north of town; I pulled off there for a while. It
overlooked the Air Force Academy and its airport, and I was able to see
several training flights taking place in small aircraft (no
jets). From there, it was a few short miles to my home for
the next week or so, the Extended Stay America.
Extended Stay America hotels differ little from one another, although
this one had a more colorful decor than the ones I’d been accustomed
to. I unpacked, established my Internet connection, checked
e-mail, then went in search of a grocery store or a Target, for I
needed to stock up on some food items. I found the Target
first and got most of what I needed, then stopped at a Safeway when I
suddenly realized I’d forgot to get dishes and cups. I ended
up eating supper from what I’d bought tonight, as I didn’t feel like
driving any more today. There was a bicycle store just up the
street (Criterium Bicycles), and I stopped in there for a time, buying
a map of Colorado Springs trails. I put on Monday Night Football
but didn’t stay up for the whole game, as I was getting tired.
Top
Tuesday September 30
I woke up at 4:15 in the morning, which was 6:15 Eastern, so I was not
able to get back to sleep. I put on the Weather Channel for a
while; oddly enough, that did put me back to sleep for a short time,
and I was up for good around 6:45. It was clear out, so I
went outside to take some pictures of Pikes Peak and the
mountains. It was chilly outside this morning! But
it warmed up quickly.
My big plan for the day was to visit the Garden of the Gods.
I delayed my departure until 9 o’clock, which was when the official
visitor center opened; the park itself opened at 5 AM. The
visitor center had an observation deck on its upper level that allowed
one to take a picture of all of the main central rock formations, and
it was very popular with the attendees, most of whom were part of a
tour group from Florida. I took advantage of it as well,
naturally, as well as the 12-minute introductory video about the
park. The visitor center had a nice gift shop, which gave me
some ideas for possible Christmas gifts.
With detailed map in hand, I left the visitor center and drove into the
park proper. I parked at the north parking lot and set off on
a walk around the Central Garden Trail. This took me near the
North and South Gateway Rocks, the White Rock, the Sentinel Spires, the
Three Graces and the Cathedral Spires. On top of the North
Gateway Rock was a formation called the Kissing Camels (aptly named, in
my opinion). Other rocks reminded me of buffalo or of a bear
crawling up a rockface (that, or a giant claw reaching out).
Several formations reminded me of faces. I saw a few rock
climbers ascending the Gateway Rocks. In the distance, I
could see Pikes Peak and several other mountains; the peak was free of
snow.
After I finished this hike, I got back into my car and set off on the
loop around the park. There was a bike lane on the loop, and
there were a couple of bikers. The loop seemed too hilly for
my liking, especially in this high altitude. I completed the
loop, then set off on it again until I found the road for Balanced Rock
and the Garden of the Gods Trading Post. Balanced Rock really
did look precariously balanced, but it had existed in that form for
thousands, perhaps millions of years. It had been an
oft-photographed landmark for 100+ years and remained so
today. Then it was off to the Trading Post, in existence
since 1900. By the time I arrived, it was lunchtime, so I
decided to eat at the Balanced Rock Cafe. I’d brought my
camera inside to review the pictures I’d taken. But when I
opened up the camera bag, I had a scare: my extra memory cards were not
there! I had not used them on the trip, so I hadn’t lost
anything irreplaceable. But I would want to have an extra
card, for I planned to take a lot of video and pictures on the cog
railway trip. I wasn’t in the greatest of moods as I ate my
buffalo burger and chicken tortilla soup, both of which were
good. As soon as I was done, I went out to my car; perhaps
the cards had fallen out there. And indeed, they had; they
were in the front seat. Was I relieved! No need to
go looking for extra memory cards. I put them in a different
compartment of the bag, one that wouldn’t be regularly opened.
I found a Christmas present and a book on walking tours of Colorado
Springs, so I bought those and headed onward. I had not yet
seen the Siamese Twins formations, so I drove to the trailhead for the
trail that would take me to them. This trail had a
significant increase in elevation, so I was getting winded.
There was a point on the trail where I could see the rocks; that was
where I decided to take my pictures and stop my ascent. It
was back to the car and out of the park, passing by Balanced Rock
again. When I left, I found myself in Manitou Springs, so I
drove through the town, wanting to see what it was like and to see
where the Cog Railway station was. I found it; I even visited
the station for a while, though I didn’t buy my ticket for
Thursday. I drove back into town on US 24; I still thought of
it as Telegraph Road, its name in Detroit. I passed by the
Citadel mall and a Barnes & Noble bookstore, where I stopped
and picked up a couple of magazines, though not the CQ Magazine I
wanted. Then it was back to the hotel via surface streets.
I had been carrying my bike on the back of my SUV. Tonight, I
would take it off the rack and ride it along the Pikes Peak Greenway,
which passed right by my hotel. I picked up the trail at the
access point, then headed north. After a mile or so, the
pavement ended. The route had several places of
soft dirt and significant upgrades -- well, significant to someone
who’s not in the best of shape and was not accustomed to high
altitudes. I pushed my bike up several of these upgrades but
made it to just inside the Air Force Academy grounds, which is where I
turned around. Going south was also going downhill, for the
most part. Once I returned to my starting point, I kept going
south on the paved portion of the trail, passing a construction site, a
city reservoir, a skateboard park and some other parks before turning
around north of Fillmore Avenue. I put a little over 14 miles
on the bike this afternoon.
An observation: while driving south on I-25, the scene reminded me of
driving along 101 south of San Francisco in the South San Francisco
area. It must have been the similar geography: mountains to
the west and dead ahead, flatlands to the east. The trees
would have been quite different, though.
I still wanted to look for CQ Magazine (for amateur radio operators),
so I drove to the Borders on the north side of town, near the Air Force
Academy. While looking for the store, I noticed a Souper
Salad. This was the same chain of salad buffet restaurants
that was in Texas. If I were in Texas this year, I’d have
gone to Souper Salad. The one here (one of three in town, I’d
learn later) was just like the ones in Texas, so I enjoyed my salad
experience. Then it was over to the Borders, but they didn’t
have the magazine either. They had the magazine, but not the
new edition. So back to the hotel I went, and it wasn’t much
longer before I called it a night. Parts of my biological
clock were still operating on Eastern time; also, I had done a lot
today. Also, I kept my laptop on Eastern time so as not to
mess up any file time stamps, especially for downloaded photos, and
seeing that time might have been sending a little signal about what
time I should be keeping.
Top
Wednesday October 1
As a result of my biological clock not being fully
on Mountain time, I found myself popping awake several times during the
night, including the time where I might normally awaken at
home. But I could also go back to sleep fairly easily,
letting me awaken for good at a better time. Now after my
breakfast, I was debating what to do today. The weather was
nice, and I was sorely tempted to make the drive up Pikes
Peak. Yes, I’d be taking the Cog Railway tomorrow, but the
drive would be a different experience. But I decided against
it in favor of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Seven Falls.
It was a fantastic day for visiting the zoo. I’d worn a
jacket when I left the hotel but left it in the car when I went into
the zoo. It wasn’t very crowded today; I only noticed one
school group. The first area I visited was the African Rift
Valley area, home to a large giraffe population. Giraffe
crackers were available, 3 for $1; these were for feeding to the
giraffes. I didn’t feed any, but I got some closeup pictures
of the giraffes. I wandered through the whole zoo, seeing the
elephants and the emus, noticing a Pallas cat curled up like a regular
housecat, watching a tiger take his bath, then climb out and prepare
his natural litterbox for use (he used it, too). The Rocky
Mountain Wild exhibit was a real treat, with a grizzly bear taking a
bath and interacting with the kids on the other side of the glass,
mountain lions resting or slinking about, wolves on the prowl (thank
goodness for a long zoom lens; those wolves stayed well away from the
glass), a porcupine climbing a tree, wild turkeys not drinking Wild
Turkey, and a moose hanging around without a squirrel (I did see a
squirrel elsewhere in the zoo). I saw the monkey exhibit,
which featured one monkey exhibiting his monkeyhood, as well as the
great ape exhibit, with gorillas sitting around and one orangutan
swinging around.
Admission to the zoo also allowed one to drive up to the Shrine of the
Sun, a memorial to humorist Will Rogers. The shrine was at
the end of a 1.4 mile drive up Cheyenne Mountain, a true mountain drive
with twists and turns and guardrails that seemed wholly insufficient in
function. I was a little uneasy going up and down that road;
I wanted to drive in the lane farthest from the edge, whichever lane
that was. But the shrine was a magnificent sight on a
magnificent site, 8000 above sea level overlooking Colorado Springs and
the zoo. I could see to the plains beyond the city; I could
see the Garden of the Gods from afar; I could even notice Pikes Peak in
the distance. As I was taking a movie of the shrine and
surroundings, the chines sounded for the three-quarter hour.
They were below me, and they were startlingly loud! I don’t
know how far one could ascend inside the shrine; I only went up to the
second level, which was up four flights of stairs.
It was time to leave, and I drove back the way I came. After
leaving the zoo, I programmed the GPS to direct me to Seven
Falls. This proved to be a mistake, as it took me along the
Old Stage Road, which turned into an unpaved mountain road. I
passed where the GPS said my destination was, but there were no seven
falls in sight. I stopped a tour wagon and asked if I was
going in the right direction; he said I was not, to turn back around
and get to the main road, then try again. I did do that,
frequently keeping the SUV in low gear as I descended. These
two mountain roads convinced me that driving up the Pikes Peak Highway
wasn’t a good idea for me. I eventually found my way back to
roads I had driven in the morning and found the signs leading me to
Seven Falls. The GPS directions were accurate, if I were
willing to drive off the edge of that road! At the Seven
Falls, there was an observation platform known as the Eagle’s Nest,
accessible by steep stairs or by elevator. I chose the
elevator, which was at the end of a long tunnel. It reminded
me of the opening of Get Smart, only without the doors between each
section. The Eagle’s Nest provided a good view of all seven
falls as well as the rocks of Cheyenne Canyon. I could also
see another set of stairs paralleling the falls. I didn’t
think I could climb those easily, so I chose not to. I met a
couple from Clinton, Michigan there (Clinton is southwest of Ann
Arbor), and I overheard another couple say that they were on their
honeymoon. For a late lunch, I had a bowl of chili and a
bottle of water at the snack bar, then continued my sightseeing.
Back at the hotel, I downloaded my pictures, then went for supper at
Outback Steakhouse. It wasn’t busy at all when I went, though
it got busier as the night went on. I could see a huge storm
cloud over Pike’s Peak and the mountains; I was wondering if there was
snow up there. Then it was back to the hotel for baseball and
a phone call with a friend until I turned in for the night.
Top
Thursday
October 2
I partially woke up around 5, then woke
up for good around 6. I had recorded Pushing Daisies
last night on my MacBook using an Eyetv tuner, so I watched that in
chunks. Reception wasn’t the best, so I had to contend with
occasional dropouts, but I managed. Today was the big day for
the Pikes Peak trip, and I didn’t feel like doing much beforehand, so I
decided to take it easy and stay in this morning. After
having done a lot the last few days, I’m sure I could have done with
the rest.
Unfortunately, I was contending with some sinus irritation and
congestion. At times, it felt like a mild cold, but I didn’t
feel like I had a cold. Usually, when I have a cold, I know
it, and I feel really miserable. That was not the case
here. In some ways, it felt like the week after a cold, where
I was feeling better yet still blowing my nose a lot. Might
the high altitude be contributing to it? I don’t know, but I
thought I should get a bottle of saline solution for the nose (brand
name Ocean spray, also available generically). I left around
11 to look for a drugstore; I found a Walgreens at Garden of the Gods
and Centennial. I found the stuff for my nose there, along
with some rubbing alcohol (not for the nose!) and a power
strip. Pikes Peak was quite visible in the distance, but also
visible were some threatening clouds.
I got back on I-25 and headed to Manitou Springs and the Cog Railway,
listening to Moments to Remember on XM 5 -- earlier than usual, thanks
to the time difference. I made it to the railway in plenty of
time for the trip. I took some pictures of the surroundings,
then paid for my ticket. The upstairs gift shop had many
items on sale; I picked up some that I thought would be good Christmas
presents, put them back in the car (no need to carry them to the
summit), then went downstairs to the loading
platform. While there, it started to rain, and
there were even two cracks of thunder. I hoped it didn’t bode
ill for the trip. There was a cafe there; I ordered a box
lunch (turkey sub, Lay’s chips, a 2-pack of cookies, and a bottle of
water) and a pack of crackers. I could take it on the train,
but I was hungry now, so I ate the sandwich and chips at the station
and saved the cookies, crackers and water for later. Not long
after I finished lunch, the train was ready for boarding.
It was a full house on the train today; it probably is most of the
time. It was a two-car train; I was at the back of the
forward car, facing forward for the uphill climb; it was also known as
the 2-seat side, as the other side of the car had rows of 3 seats, and
my side had only 2. There were several people who’d come up
from Austin for the Texas-Colorado game on Saturday, all decked out in
their Longhorn gear; my rowmate was one of those fans who made the
trip. Across from us was a couple from Denver. The
windows of the train could be opened, and they started the trip
open. The scenery was spectacular as we began our climb up
the tracks through Engelman Canyon. At times, a creek and
waterfalls were visible. Unusual rock formations lined the
tracks, both close and at a distance; one of them looked just like an
Ace of Diamonds. On my left was the townsite of Ruxton Park,
now home to only one family, the caretaker of the hydroelectric plant
that still supplies Colorado Springs with some of its power
today. The aspen were turning yellow. Our conductor
and tour guide mentioned that aspen bark has medicinal qualities akin
to aspirin, telling us the story of an Indian warrior who returned home
after battle with a terrible headache, so he consulted the medicine
man, who told him to take two aspen and call him in the morning (groan).
We went up Son Of A Gun hill, a section of 25% grade, so named because
of what the steam engine firemen would say after keeping the boiler
going up that grade. They probably said a more profane
version of that phrase, though. There were other sections of
25% grade; one was along the Big Hill. The terrain dropped
off sharply on the 3-seat side of the car, providing for spectacular
views but also some unsettled nerves. The trees began to thin
out; we were reaching timberline. Then it was mostly rocks
with lichen for the rest of the way to the summit, though there were
some grass-covered areas. We passed Windy Point, where it
wasn’t terribly windy, although we wouldn’t have known it; the train’s
windows were closed by this point, and I had already put on my winter
hat. As we neared the summit, we could see parts of the Pikes
Peak Highway, a wide dirt road leading to and from the summit; I even
saw a car on its way down.
At last, we reached the summit! We had 50 minutes up there
before the train left, and woe to anyone who was left behind.
It was chilly and windy up there, leading me to eventually do up my
jacket and put on some gloves. There was one man in a
Hawaiian shirt and shorts; he had to have been miserable while
outside. The visibility was not as good as it could have
been, for ceilings were low and bad weather was approaching.
Actually, it was okay to the east and northeast, but terrible to the
west. I went around the summit, staying far from the edge
(it’s quite flat up there, actually), avoiding a snowy and icy area on
the north side. There was a little bit of snow, but most of
the ground was not yet covered. I saw a memorial to “America
the Beautiful”, which was inspired by a visit to Pikes Peak in the
summer. I’m sure Katharine Lee Bates did not have to contend
with snow on that July day she visited, but I did. It started
to snow while I was up there, and the wind picked up. I’d
later learn the temperature was 31 degrees with a wind chill of
24. I took a self-portrait by one of the summit markers; I
think it turned out better than the picture someone took of me by the
other summit marker.
I needed to warm up and use the restroom, so I went inside the Summit
House. After I took care of the restroom duty, I checked out
the gift shop. There were many hats, though they seemed small
on me. I thought they’d seem small on my brother-in-law’s
head, too, so I didn’t get him one. Nothing else at the shop
interested me that much except for one thing: the chance to enjoy the
famous Pikes Peak donuts, cooked on the summit. They seemed
lighter than a normal donut, and the outer surface was slightly
crunchy. They can’t be cooked this way at lower elevation,
I’m told. The donuts were fresh from the fryer and so felt
nice and warm in my hands. Then it was back outside for a few
more pictures. I overheard a few people talking about damage
from hurricane Ike; turned out they were from the Clear Lake and La
Porte areas. Then at 3:10 in the afternoon, the train
whistles blew three times. That was the signal to return to
the train. We sat in our same seats. I didn’t take
many pictures on the downhill trip, for they would have been the same
as the ones going up. I did see a doe on the way down but
couldn’t get my camera ready in time. There was also a buck
on the other side of the train, but I couldn’t see him. As we
descended, the conductor came by selling books an DVD’s about the trip,
products only available on the train; I bought one of each.
By 4:30, we were back at the depot. I spent some time at the
gift shop getting presents. It was raining as I walked back
to my car, and I noticed a rainbow in the sky. I took a few
pictures of it, noticing that it seemed to span the sky.
I stopped in Manitou Springs for a short time and walked
around. It wasn’t very busy, and most of the shops had closed
for the day, it seemed. I did drink from the Shoshone Spring;
the mineral water tasted fine to me. I tried to drink from
the Cheyenne Spring but couldn’t figure out how to turn on its
faucet. Then it was back towards the hotel, where I wanted to
look for a Mexican restaurant. One place I stopped at was
more of a fast food place, so I left there. I ended up eating
at Las Palmitas just north of the hotel. Before I went
inside, a couple asked me if I could jump start their car. I
agreed and maneuvered my vehicle next to theirs. Once the
cables were connected, I started and revved my engine. Their
car clicked but never turned over; jump starting would not
work. They got other help, and I went for my meal.
To be honest, it was OK, but I’ve had better. The food at the
places I visit in Westland is much better. Then it was back
to the hotel to watch the vice-presidential debate.
Top
Friday
October 3
I woke up briefly around 4:15, checked e-mail, then went back to sleep,
getting up for good around 6:30. Fox 21’s morning news show
was on the TV as I ate my breakfast and debated what to do
today. Would I go into Denver or go down to Cañon
City? I chose Cañon City, for the weather looked nicer today
than tomorrow. And so I found myself driving down Highway 115
towards US 50 and Cañon City. The view from the highway was
very scenic, and the music, courtesy of Phlash Phelps and 60’s on 6 on
XM, was pretty good too. When I got to Cañon City, I had to
use the restroom, so I stopped at a Wal-Mart. Then I got some
gas at a nearby gas station and drove on to the turnoff for Royal
Gorge. I noted the large number of prisons I passed on the
way to Royal Gorge (three or four) -- a bit unnerving, perhaps, but not
if those who are sent there stay there.
I had contemplated visiting Buckskin Joe’s at the same time as Royal
Gorge, but as I drove past it, I saw that it was closed for the
season. Scratch that off my list. The short drive
from the highway to Royal Gorge was uneventful, even for the climb up
to the altitude of the gorge. Finally, there I was.
I paid my admission, taking advantage of a $2 discount coupon, and went
inside. The first thing that caught my attention was a water
clock that showed the correct time and date. Powered
completely by water! Then I decided to ride the inclined
railway to the bottom of the gorge. A five-minute ride down a
45 degree slope led me to the bottom of the gorge and the Arkansas
River, giving a closeup view of the rapids (no rafters today) and the
Royal Gorge Railroad tracks (no train at the time), along with some
spectacular scenery. I could see a tram car heading across
the gorge, and of course I saw the underside of the bridge.
Those of us who rode down didn’t stay that long, and we went back up on
the return ride. We had to stand in the cars.
After taking some pictures from Inspiration Point, I decided to cross
the bridge. It was possible to drive across it, but I walked
across. It was quite high: 1053 feet above the river
below. When vehicles were on it, I could feel the bridge
vibrate. I never felt the Golden Gate Bridge
vibrate! My aunt said she and her parents and her aunt had
driven across the bridge back in 1965, and the experience was very
scary. I could understand why she felt that way.
The decking consisted of wooden planks, all in good condition, though
the gaps between planks differed in width. Some were wider
than others. There were signs along the way highlighting the
locations where records were set or special bungee jumps attempted; one
sign pointed out a mountain that looked like John F. Kennedy laying
down. Once I finished crossing the bridge, I found myself on
land that at one time had been claimed by the Republic of Texas, so one
could say that I had indeed visited Texas this year. There
was a good slope up to the other attractions that interested me, such
as the wildlife exhibit. Here, I could see Rocky Mountain
bighorn sheep, buffalo and elk in their native habitats. The
animals were eating, and they were laid back. There were even
some rare white buffalo in the exhibit. Before I saw the elk,
I visited Point Sublime and was able to see Pikes Peak and take in the
full span of the bridge. I then got around to visiting the
elk. One was near the fence; I said hello to it, and it laid
down right there and then. Coincidence, I presume.
After walking through the western town area, I saw a presentation about
the gorge, bridge and railways at the theater, which also housed an
exhibit of historical documents and pictures.
As I walked back across the bridge, I noticed a train coming down the
gorge. This was the Royal Gorge railroad, and it was quite a
long train. I’d like to take that train sometime; it’ll give
me a reason to return to the state. I’ve got plenty of
reasons to return, based on all the attractions Colorado has to
offer. Back to the gorge: I stopped at the visitor center and
gift shop for a while but ended up leaving empty-handed. My
last stop was the Silver Rock Railroad, a short loop passing by some
real corny sights, such as Deadwood (a pile of dead wood) and Boot Hill
(a pile of old footwear). Very punny!
After I left, I was hungry. I ended up stopping at Hank’s
Travel Center for lunch. It took a little bit for me to be
waited on, but once I was, the food was all right. Then it
was on to Pueblo and a chance to walk on their Riverwalk. I’d
seen a flyer for the Riverwalk at one of my stops this week and thought
I’d try it out. Would it be suitable for riding a bike
there? It turned out not to be that suitable, but it was
excellent for walking. One unusual sight involved two empty
pop bottles bobbing about under a waterfall, unable to break
free. This Riverwalk was nothing like San Antonio’s
Riverwalk, but it had a charm of its own. After I completed
my walk, I got on I-25 and headed back to Colorado Springs, stopping at
the Barnes and Noble in Pueblo for another magazine check (yes to
latest New Scientist, no to latest CQ).
Back in Colorado Springs, I was thinking of what to have for
supper. I was also thinking about checking out the nearby REI
store, for which I had a gift card. My plan was to go to the
REI store first, but I missed the turnoff for it. In the
process of finding a place to turn around, I noticed a Qdoba Mexican
Grill. That was where I ate supper tonight: a chicken
quesadilla. At REI, I was having a hard time finding the bike
supplies; they must have been moved to their winter
locations. But I did find them, and I got three items: full
bike gloves (meaning the fingers were covered), an additional water
bottle holder for my bike, and a case for storing things that fits
inside a water bottle holder. Then it was back to the hotel
for the night, while I watched some of the Red Sox and Angels playoff
game.
Top
Saturday October 4
I woke up for good around 5:30 this morning. My sinuses were
continuing to bug me, though not so much that I couldn’t function
normally.
Yesterday, I was trying to decide whether to go to Cañon City or to
Denver, eventually choosing Cañon City. So it made sense for
me to head to Denver this morning. The weather for tomorrow
and Monday was not supposed to be as good, giving me more reason to
make the trip today. The distance from here was about the
same as the distance between my home and Toledo (a bit longer,
actually). I set off a little after 10 in the morning, after
watching some of the opening moments of the Michigan State-Iowa game on
ESPN2. Since XM was carrying the radio account of the game, I
didn’t miss a thing as I drove up I-25 into Denver. As I
passed by the Air Force Academy, I could see some activity at the
football stadium; they were getting ready for today’s game with
Navy. That explained the presence of the midshipmen at the
hotel this morning; they were leaving at the same time I was.
My first destination for today was the Ham Radio Outlet store in Denver
on Iliff Road. According to maps, I had two ways to get there
and ended up using both of them. I went there via I-225,
passing a bike path alongside the freeway. As I approached,
the store was easy to spot; it was the one with the large
antenna. It was a small store, but it had a lot of
stuff. I didn’t get too much today, just a couple of
magazines, including that new issue of CQ Magazine, a calendar for next
year, and a manual on emergency communications, which is something I’d
like to get more involved with. I briefly considered an
antenna mount for HF antennas, but I thought it best to go home and
work with what I had first; those may yet be adaptable to my needs.
After I left the store, I picked up I-25 and went into
downtown. I wandered all over, even passing by Coors Field,
before finding a good place to park. It was the parking
garage for the Denver Performing Arts Complex, and there seemed to be
some event taking place at one of the theaters today. Exits
for the garage didn’t appear to be well marked, but I eventually
figured out that I was parked on the same level as the
theaters. And so, with map in pocket and camera bag over my
neck and shoulder, I set off on a downtown hike. I went up to
the 16th Street Mall and walked its full length in both
directions. To the northwest, I encountered Union Station,
which I had visited in 2004 on my train trip to and from San
Francisco. I went on the Millenium pedestrian bridge, which
took pedestrians to Commons Park along the riverfront, although I
didn’t go there. I saw a young couple having their picture
taken; I suspected these were engagement or pre-wedding
pictures. As I walked back, I knew I’d be walking through an
area filled with restaurants, so I was wondering about what to have
when all of a sudden, I noticed a BD’s Mongolian Barbecue next to the
Jet Hotel. No more wondering about lunch; I was going to eat
there! The food was just as good as at their other
restaurants I’ve visited in Detroit and Maryland. While
there, I could see that the Michigan game had started. I had
to use my cell phone to find out that Michigan State had held on to
beat Iowa. I also had to use my phone as a watch, as I’d left
mine at the hotel.
There were many street musicians along the mall; there was also an area
where people gathered to play chess. I even saw a street
entertainer dressed up as some 70’s superhero freak, with the big Afro
and everything. Free buses went up and down the street, but I
didn’t use them. I stopped at a Barnes & Noble but
didn’t get anything; I did not stop at the Virgin Megastore, but I
briefly popped into the Denver Visitor Center. That might
have been more useful at the start of the trip, or if I were spending
more time in Denver. At the far end of the mall, I passed by
the building for the two newspapers in town; it had an automated
crawling headline service telling of what was going on.
The Colorado state capitol was across the street. One of the
steps was marked “5280 Feet Above Sea Level”, the true Mile High
point. I took a picture of that step, along with survey
markers above and below it. Is there some doubt about the
true Mile High point? More like subsequent surveys with
greater accuracy; the lowest marker is the most accurate, it turns
out. Then I made my way back towards the parking
garage. I wanted to make sure and pass by the convention
center, for I knew there was a 40-foot-tall statue of a bear peeping
into the center. And there it was. It was roped off
so no one could approach it, but I took some pictures there.
Then it was back to the Performing Arts Center and garage, and I
left. Now I briefly considered going back to the Cherry Creek
shopping center, but I decided I wanted to go back to Colorado
Springs. So I drove back down I-25, bouncing between the
Michigan-Illinois game and pregame activities for
Texas-Colorado. Those Longhorn fans would be glad they came
and saw the game, for Texas beat Colorado soundly. Michigan
fans weren’t happy, though; they lost.
There were occasional rain showers on the drive back to Colorado
Springs, though nothing too heavy. I found myself getting
tired, so I stopped at a rest area for a can of Coke Zero. As
I approached Colorado Springs, I saw the game in progress at the Air
Force stadium, and I could also see snow in the mountains.
Pikes Peak was picking up some snow this afternoon. Back at
the hotel, I didn’t do much in the evening except have supper and watch
football. I also made sure the antenna was positioned to pick
up the local NBC station so I could record Saturday Night Live.
Top
Sunday
October 5
I blinked awake a few times in the middle of the night but went back to sleep. I got up for good around 6:15 and watched Saturday Night Live
from last night. The reception was not as good as it should have
been, for there were a number of dropouts that hindered my enjoyment of
the program. There were fewer dropouts later in the program,
which helped. After breakfast, I installed the second water
bottle holder on the bike. Unfortunately, I couldn’t put anything
in it because the bike rack blocked access, and I didn’t want to take
the bike off the rack.
Today, I paid a second visit to the
Garden of the Gods. When I visited last week, I made a note to
myself to return to the gift shops for Christmas gift ideas. And
I did just that, picking up some gifts for certain relatives. I
can’t mention what gifts and which relatives, for that would be giving
away too much. I even got something for myself: a refrigerator
magnet with a clip on it. Then it was time to go into the park
itself. The north parking area was much busier than last Tuesday,
but there were still several spots available. I walked slightly
different trails than last week, giving me a somewhat different
perspective on the rocks of the Garden. I took a hike on the
Bretag Trail, which went around part of the park and took me back to
the parking area. Then it was down to the Trading Post. I
had the Lions-Bears game on my Sirius radio; the Lions were
losing. I looked at hats, which didn’t fit me that well, and
walking sticks that were rather artistic as well as useful. But I
didn’t get anything except hungry, for it was time for lunch. I
didn’t feel like eating at the cafe here; I programmed the GPS to look
for the nearest Souper Salad, and it guided me there. The food
was as good as it was the other day.
After my lunch, I drove up
to the shopping area north of town. I had thoughts of stopping at
a Wal-Mart or Target, picking up a pack of handkerchiefs and maybe
getting some extra cash. However, after stopping at the Best Buy
and Barnes & Noble, I found myself getting quite tired and feeling
run down. That was not a good feeling to have, and I vowed to
take an Airborne tablet when I returned to the hotel. I had been
doing a lot this week, and I probably was in need of a rest.
Also, I would start the drive for home Tuesday morning, and I wanted to
be in good shape for that. And there would be football on
TV. So back to the hotel I went, and on went the TV. The
Lions lost, disgustingly; the Texans also lost, disappointingly; but
the Broncos were winning.
With the start of my return trip
looming, I opened up my suitcase and packed away some things I would
not be using on this trip anymore: travel literature, dirty laundry,
those sorts of things. No need to pack in earnest until
tomorrow. I went to a nearby Subway and brought back a BMT
sandwich, eating it while watching Sunday Night Football
on NBC. It was a little different from the sandwich as prepared
at my normal Subway in Westland, but it was still all right. I
started to download last week’s episode of Brothers & Sisters
from my iDisk but stopped after I saw it would possibly interfere with
the recording of this week’s episode (I would resume the download after
the episode, and it would complete overnight). When the football
game ended, I flipped over to TBS for the Red Sox-Angels playoff game,
which the Angels won in 12 innings.
Top
Monday
October 6
Once again, I woke up early. I watched the download of last week’s Brothers & Sisters,
which caught me up so that I could watch this week’s. It should
have recorded at home, but I was sure that it did not, as the system
appeared to be down (it was not available for me to log in remotely,
and Folding@Home work hadn’t been done for the last week). I read
some more of Earth Abides;
I’d bought the book after hearing the radio adaptation on XM’s Old Time
Radio channel. I had breakfast, finishing the box of cereal I’d
bought last week (one less thing to take back to Detroit). Taking
a look out the window after the sun had come up, I’d seen a rabbit
hanging around near my SUV. I’d seen that rabbit several times
this week; it must live nearby. Pikes Peak was shrouded in
clouds, but the skies were otherwise clear. I went to the front
lobby to drop off two bills for mailing; on the way back, I noticed a
tourist flyer for Dodge City in the information rack. I picked it
up -- would there be time to go there tomorrow? After computing
what it did to the trip mileage, I concluded there wouldn’t be time to
go there and do it justice.
My aunt and uncle are on the mailing
list for Colorado Cyclist, a mail-order store based in Colorado
Springs. My uncle suggested I check them out while I was
here. Since today was my last opportunity to do so, I did.
The store wasn’t far from the Citadel mall; it was in a corporate park
area. I went inside, and they had a few things, but not a lot
when compared to their catalog, so I didn’t spend much time
there. I did go over to the mall, walk around for a bit and have
lunch at Panda Express, and after that I went back to the hotel.
Then I took a short hike on the Pikes Peak Greenway and the Cottonwood
Creek trails -- a very short hike, less than an hour, but it got the
blood circulating. Back to the hotel for more packing. Out
to the Apple Store in the northern part of town -- saw some things I
might be interested in getting, but didn’t get any of them today.
Back to the hotel for more packing, reading, guitar playing and
what-not.
For supper, I decided to go to the Black-Eyed Pea, a
restaurant chain in Texas and Colorado. I hadn’t been to one all
that often, but I felt like it tonight. And so I enjoyed a
chicken fried steak dinner this evening. Afterwards, I drove back
to the Garden of the Gods for one final visit this trip. The park
was open until 11, although the visitor center had already
closed. I entered from the south gate, passing by Balanced Rock
and wending my way to the main loop, where I pulled over and walked to
the central garden trail. The rocks looked a little different in
the light of sunset than at the height of day. Then it was back
in the SUV and back on the road to the hotel. I was listening to
Sirius’s Old Time Radio channel (programmed differently from XM’s),
which was playing episodes of The Burns and Allen Show (this one with Gregory Peck) and The Lone Ranger. Then it was time to wrap up most of the packing and take it easy for the rest of the night.
Top
Tuesday
October 7
I
woke up just before 5 this morning, checked my e-mail and took a
shower. It was quite chilly in the room this morning, so I turned
on the heat before taking that shower. I had breakfast around 6,
then finished packing up. A little after 6:30, I got a luggage
cart, loaded it up, and took it out to the SUV, where I loaded it up
for the trip home. I had to adjust the securing of the bike to
its rack in order to do so. By 6:50, I was ready to leave, but
the front desk would not open until 7, so I sat in the lobby until it
did open. It took a few minutes to check out, and then I walked
out to the SUV. I took one last picture of Pikes Peak as the sun
was beginning to rise, and I took pictures of birds with unusual black
and white coloring that were out on the grounds. The rabbit that
I’d seen around the hotel this past week was out, as well. By
7:15, I was on the road.
I didn’t take I-25 out of town; I
didn’t need to. The closest way to get to US 24 was to take
Woodmen Road across town. That was a blinding trip, as the sun
was so low in the sky, I couldn’t flip down the shade. Once I got
to US 24, though, my trip went northeast, putting the sun mostly behind
me. I was heading through the eastern plains of Colorado, and I
could see Pikes Peak recede in the distance in the rearview
mirror. I stopped for a restroom break and a chance to pick up
some snacks at a truck stop in Limon. Then I picked up I-70 and
stayed on it for the rest of the day, barring stops. XM, Sirius
and iPod kept me occupied during the drive today, just as they had on
the outbound trip.
For lunch, I stopped at the IHOP in Hays and
had pancakes and bacon. It wasn’t what I normally would have for
lunch, but I was in the mood for IHOP. I had seen Waffle Houses
in Colorado Springs but had not been to them, which was probably for
the best. Onward I went across the state, making it to Topeka and
picking up the Kansas Turnpike. I had supper at the turnpike
service plaza closest to Topeka; it was a personal pan-type sausage
pizza and a drink. It wasn’t much, but it filled me up.
Next came Kansas City, a city I’d never visited before. This was
where my SUV had been built this past July (I did not drive past the
assembly plant, though). It was getting dark by the time I
arrived in town, and it was after dark when I crossed over into
Missouri and the other Kansas City.
One of my goals for today
was to make it past Kansas City so that I wouldn’t have to contend with
its rush hour tomorrow. I’d succeeded in doing so; now how much
farther did I want to go? I saw a Hampton Inn around mile marker
20 and exited the freeway there. But before I went in, I got out
my MacBook from the bag, logged in through my cell phone, and made a
reservation for that inn. There weren’t any other suitable hotels
that close; the next closest in my direction of travel were in
Columbia, and I thought that was too far for me to go (this was around
7:45 Central time, 11 1/2 hours after I started out this
morning). I made the reservation and then checked in. Not
long after I checked in, the presidential debate started. I paid
it slight attention while I retrieved my e-mail, which proved to be
difficult, as the hotel’s wireless connection was real flaky. I
had better results using my cell phone as an Internet connection.
Top
Wednesday
October 8
I
woke up around 5:25 this morning. Once 6 o’clock rolled around, I
went downstairs to the lobby for breakfast, having cereal, yogurt, a
muffin and water. The hotel’s wireless connection was still very
flaky, making it difficult to do much web surfing. By 6:44, I was
on the road. It was still dark, although it was becoming a bit
lighter in the east. I had no problems with rush hour, for I was
east of Kansas City heading out of town. I did have to contend
with bright sunlight directly ahead, though, once the sun rose. I
stopped a couple of times at truck stops for gas, snacks or restroom
breaks. Oddly enough, at both times, I was stuck in traffic jams
caused by flagmen.
Traffic got heavier as I approached St. Louis
before noon. I did not plan to drive through town, for that would
have been out of my way. No, I would take I-270 to the north and
east, which would connect with I-70 again in Illinois. I saw a
sign to take Highway 370 to 270 if I wanted to avoid St. Louis traffic,
but I didn’t do so. I didn’t have a map handy, and I didn’t know
where this Highway 370 went, so I stayed on 70. As I drove, I was
listening to Fox News with their reports on what Wall Street was
doing. Then they switched to a speech by Democratic
vice-presidential candidate Joseph Biden. I listened, and I
reacted to it, but I’ll not include my reactions here. So I’ll
just say that he was still speaking as I crossed the Mississippi into
Illinois. I saw the Chain of Rocks bridge to the south as I
crossed; I’d walked across that old relic of Route 66 before on
previous trips.
I continued eastward on I-70, deciding to stop
for lunch at Effingham. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to eat,
though I had several choices available. I almost ate at the
Cracker Barrel, but then I noticed a Ryan’s Steakhouse and decided to
go there. No, I didn’t have steak; I had their Mega Bar, a salad
and meal buffet that made for a filling meal all on its own.
There used to be a Ryan’s in Westland until it turned into Fire
Mountain (same ownership). I enjoyed the meal and enjoyed the
break from driving. Then it was back onto the highway, continuing
eastward on I-70. Within 45 minutes or so, I was crossing the
Indiana border. I wasn’t sure when I crossed into Eastern time,
so I checked the time on my cell phone; it showed Eastern time, so I
set the car clock one hour forward. With the time change came a
realization that I might encounter Indianapolis’s rush hour.
I
had no real problems getting to Indianapolis. Now I planned to
take the loop around town to get to I-69. I would have taken the
west loop and north loop, but construction signs warned of long delays,
so I went around the other way, the south and east loops -- or to put
it in DC terms, via the outer loop as opposed to the inner loop.
The drive around Indy went all right, although I started feeling more
and more like a bathroom break would be advisable. I had passed
up some opportunities on the south side of Indy to take a break because
I was listening to an interesting program on XM’s Old Time Radio
channel, “Behind the Mike”, a program about radio behind the scenes,
circa 1940. As I turned onto I-69, traffic slowed down. I
saw a helicopter hovering ahead, and I got concerned that there was an
accident up ahead. But there wasn’t, or if there had been, it was
all clear, for traffic got up to speed in short order. I found a
gas station off of Highway 37, where I filled my gas tank and emptied
my own, so to speak. Then it was northeastward on I-69.
Now
I faced a decision: did I want to stop somewhere for the night, or did
I want to press on to home? I felt like I could go on for longer,
but I decided that I would stop. It would be getting dark soon,
and I did want to watch Pushing Daisies
this week. I couldn’t count on it being recorded at home due to
the problems I’d noted earlier. So I stopped at a rest area, got
out my laptop, and looked for hotels in Fort Wayne or northward.
I decided on a Holiday Inn Express in Auburn, even more so because I
had enough frequent stayer points for a free night there.
On the
way to the hotel, I stopped at an Arby’s for takeout, planning to eat
it in my room. I got checked in and set up to record Pushing Daisies
in HD. Setting it up was not a trivial process: first, I had to
connect everything, then I had to scan for channels. Then I had
to retrieve program information for those channels. As it was,
the program had started already, so I started to watch it in regular
definition on the hotel TV, switching over to the laptop’s HD when it
was ready to go. I had my supper, which wasn’t as good as I
thought it would be. Then I received a phone call, so I started
to record the show manually. And it worked! Wish I could
say the same for the remote for the TV -- well, it worked, just not
very well. There were far too many times I had to repeat a key
press to get the TV to respond.
Top
Thursday
October 9
I
woke up once in the middle of the night to use the restroom, then
didn’t wake up again until 6. That was the soundest night of
sleep on my trip for a while, for some reason. Did it have to do
with being on Eastern time again? I don’t know. I turned on
the TV, put on the Weather Channel, and saw that sunrise wasn’t till
7:45. I looked out the window and saw that it was foggy.
There was no need to hurry to hit the road, so I enjoyed my breakfast
down in the lobby rather leisurely. However, I didn’t feel like
staying around town until the Auburn Cord Duesenburg museum opened at
9; I did want to get home. So I left around 7:40 and headed north
on I-69. WJR was booming in this morning, so I listened to that
for a while.
The drive into Michigan was uneventful, both along
I-69 and I-94. I didn’t encounter much construction, so I made
good progress. When I turned onto M-14, I considered myself in
the home stretch. It wouldn’t be long before I was home.
Nothing seemed unusual to me on the way home, except for the sharply
lower gas prices. And so, at around 10:40 in the morning, I
pulled into my garage. I was home.
As soon as I made it
home, the first thing I did was hit the restroom. The second was
to check on my iMac, the one that had stopped on me and wasn’t visible
remotely any more. I noticed that the clocks in the kitchen
showed signs of power failure. Checking the iMac, I saw it was
completely off, as opposed to being asleep; it shouldn’t have been
either. I turned it on, and it came up normally. There were
signs of TV recordings cut off, which told me when it had
happened. Apparently, the power went out the first Monday of the
trip, when I arrived in Colorado. The iMac was not configured to
restart when the power came back on; I configured it so that it would
do so in the future. Then I took the bike off of the rack,
unloaded the SUV, and removed the bike rack. Later in the day,
the backlog of mail would arrive, and life would gradually return to
normal.
THE END
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Back
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©2008 R. W. Reini.
All
rights reserved.
Written
by Roger Reini
RevisedOctober 13, 2008
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