We departed Carbondale/Aspen, heading for Denver for Suzanne’s next event, and traveled east on I-70 through one of the prettiest river gorges anywhere – Glenwood Canyon. This engineering marvel was only completed in 1992, and was one of the most expensive rural highways ever built. A two-tiered interstate runs parallel to the Colorado River through a very, very narrow canyon. At times one roadway had to be built above the other because of the steep, narrow path available.
Just east of Glenwood Canyon, there was a pullout marked with a sign for “Scenic Area”… what the heck had we been driving through, a “Hatefully Ugly Area”?
Readers who like engineering projects will find this photo interesting. At 11,158 feet, the dual-bore Eisenhower Tunnel is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world. It carries I-70 under the Continental Divide and the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Now aged 41 years, one of the “bores” is being repaired, and eastbound traffic was being routed on a temporary roadway above the Colorado River.
Our next campground was at Buckley Air Force Base, home of the 460th Space Wing, whose mission is to provide the USA with early warning of missile launches from potentially hostile countries (read Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, at least for the time being – with big cuts in missile defense made by our Golfer-in-Chief, the list may be getting longer and the mission more critical). The Air Force inherited this airfield from the Navy, when it was Naval Air Station Denver after WWII. Of course the Navy had inherited it from the Army Air Corps – I think they had neglected to pay their utility bills. We enjoyed this lovely sunset over the Rockies – the weather had turned warm and sunny, much appreciated after the rain and cold experienced in Steamboat Springs.
Suzanne gave the Sunday message and her Making the Connection presentation at the Denver Center for Spiritual Living, both of which were well received. Unfortunately, our staff photographer had to take care of moving The Coach to its new campsite, and was unable to properly document the event with digital images. Many thanks to Spiritual Director Mary Jo Honiotes for her hospitality.
My Lovely Bride has always had a “kid streak” in her. When we moved to our next campground in Fort Collins, she discovered that (1) this was the last day that the inflatable trampoline and slide were open for the year, and (2) adults were allowed (nay, “encouraged”) to enjoy the equipment. Here she is with a typical look of “enSuzyasm” on her smiling face… (I will not include the photo where she is bouncing on her butt… yes, I fear for my personal safety). Her loud “Woo Hoo!!!” could be heard over several counties…
Part Two of her excitement came when using the slide, which was fitted with an obstacle course. Here she is rocketing down the slide; fortunately, she completed the O Course and slide without injury.
The last entry for today’s blog requires an explanation. We took a short recon drive through Fort Collins, one of our favorite towns. This trailer with Harry and Nancy, two members of the equine family, were ahead of us on College Ave. I thought they would make a great photo. Any relation to two Democratic politicians in DC, the Senate Majority Leader and the House Minority Leader, is purely coincidental…