travel ‘ – Adventures in Colorado, 2023 edition

How to kill 8 hours at the airport

June 2, 2023November 21, 2024 Karen DLeave a comment

But before the misadventure, the adventure!

I only have a half day in Colorado left, so Caroline and I decide to spend a few hours at the Denver Art Museum, where I have reciprocal benefits from my membership at VMFA.

The first exhibit we see is the Northwest Coast and Alaska Native Art Galleries. I am wowed at the start (see, need better vocabulary!). There are ginormous wood carvings, a jacket woven from walrus intestine and Auklet feathers, intricately carved bowls and so many more fascinating items.

We go next to the Islands Beyond Blue exhibit, which opens with a huge installation created from leis and includes other works from the museum’s collection, including historical monumental sculpture, delicate bark cloth and intricate wood carvings.

Now starts the misadventure. Caroline drops me off at 1:20 for my 3:20 flight. I am through security and at the gate within 30 minutes, with boarding supposed to start at 2:40. At 2:10, we are advised that the plane that Delta sent is smaller than the one expected, so the flight is oversold by 19 seats. AND, the mechanics are on board “looking at something.” Another call for volunteers goes out at 2:20, and 2:30. By 2:40 we are now on a storm delay, because of lightning in the area. And the mechanics are still looking at that thing. At 3:00 we are still not boarding, and the “thing” is disclosed to be the computer system. Ok, sure, I’m down with fixing that before we leave….

3:20 comes and goes, the mechanics “believe” they have fixed the problem, but have to test it, and as I’m looking at my connection to see if I will make it, the departure time is changed to 4:35 and now I’m sunk. I go stand in line with the rest of everyone who will miss their connection, while trying to rebook myself on the app. I find space on the redeye, leaving at 1:00 am on Friday, a full 8.5 hours from now.

At long last, this is how you spend those 8 hours:

5:00 – 6:00 find a quiet spot and listen to a podcast: Park Predators.
6:00-6:15 get up and walk from Gate A39 to Gate A14. See a man doing Tai Chi.
6:15 – 7:30 sit at the end of the terminal and charge all your devices. Listen to a podcast: American History Tellers. Hold back a scream when a miller moth spazzes by. Note that your original 3:20 flight has not left yet and is now scheduled to depart at 7:00.
7:30- 7:45 walk from Gate A14 to Gate A39. Find a restaurant with space. See that your original 3:20 flight is now leaving at 9:00.
7:45 -8:45 have dinner and a much needed and earned glass of wine. Realize after you pay that Delta has given you a $15 voucher for your trouble.
8:45 – 9:00 walk from Gate A40 to Gate A52 because the people between A39 and A14 are sick of seeing you. Notice that restaurants, stores and kiosks are closing. Buy stress/boredom food with your $15 voucher.
9:00-9:30 browse a bookstore to find a book to add to your TBR pile. Pat yourself on the back when you resist a purchase.
9:30-9:45 walk to your gate. Only 3 hours to go! Realize that your original 3:20 flight is now leaving at 12:30 am and is at the gate right next to you.
10:00 – 10:15 wonder whether your bag, which they pulled from the original plane, will make it onto your new flight. Wait at the original flight gate to talk to a gate agent only to realize they are not Delta representatives.
10:15 -10:30 call and text Delta to talk to someone about your bag, which seems to be sitting on the tarmac at the old gate.
10:30 – 10:45 walk to another Delta gate and get confirmation that your bag has been rerouted.
10:45-10:50 walk back to your correct gate.
10:55 check your watch to see if you’ve met your step goal. Pat yourself on the back because you have. See that your watch is showing medium stress while you watch the plane for your upcoming flight arrive. Only 1 hour and 15 minutes until boarding!
11:00 work on your blog.
12:00 boarding!
1:00 you’ve done it! You are taxiing!

Here’s hoping there’s some sleep opportunity and smooth sailing for the rest of the trip!

Last full day

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 Karen DLeave a comment

It’s my last full day in Colorado, so there’s more to explore!

I got to bed late because I was chasing miller moths around the room. Caroline wounded one and killed one, and I finished off the first and killed two more. We decided to fumigate the house with bug spray before we left for the day, in hopes there would be nothing but carcasses when we returned.

After breakfast, we headed out to Eldorado Canyon State Park a short drive from the house. The canyon is impressive, with towering peaks surrounding us and the South Boulder Creek tumbling over the rocks in a hurry to get to the bottom. we walked a cross a footbridge and peeked in a cave, but didn’t go too far since we weren’t in appropriate shoes for the trail. We were able to watch some rock climbers when we walked back over the bridge, just specks at the top of the cliff.

We drove into Boulder for lunch and to wander around town. We found an excellent eatery, Avanti, which was a space filled with different local food vendors. Sort of like a food court, but no chains. The food was superb at Rooted, where we decided to eat. I wish RVA could find a way to do something like that in the West End, to give all those great Downtown and Fan restaurants the ability to open up a place without the exorbitant Short Pump rent!

There was a severe thunderstorm warning, so we headed home, where I could start laundry and get organized for the trip home. Hoping everything fits in the suitcase and that I don’t leave anything behind!

Flora and fauna of Colorado

May 31, 2023May 31, 2023 Karen D1 Comment

One thing I have been fascinated by here in Colorado is the variety of flowers that can thrive in such an arid climate. It’s so thrilling to be hiking through the craggy mountains or dry, rocky canyon and see pops of color. As we hiked there was a lot of “Oooh, look at this one!” and “Oh, so pretty!” followed by “I wonder what that is” with a sidelong glance to me, hoping I will pull out my plant identification app!

Trees and shrubs sometimes looked the same as one we have in Virginia, but were different enough that I had to look those up too.

Reds and purples were the best!

Not only were the flowers and trees amazing, but we saw some pretty fun animals, too!

We also saw some elk on our drives but no pictures to share. And I’m too busy swatting miller moths to grab a photo of them!

It was super fun to see all these different types of plants and animals! Pop a note in the comments if I’ve gotten any wrong!

A slower pace, sort of

May 30, 2023June 1, 2023 Karen DLeave a comment

Today, it’s just Caroline and I. And today, I lived up to my trail name. It was the nerdiest of days yet!

This morning, Caroline and I drove out to Red Rocks Amphitheater. What I didn’t realize when I agreed to go there, is that there are a LOT of stairs. I lost count of how many from the parking lot to the top of the venue, but suffice to say, I got a good workout today.

The venue is breathtaking, with views of the Denver skyline behind the stage area and the red rocks looming 300 feet on either side of the seating area. Although the visitor center was closed, we were able to visit the Trading Post, which houses history of the development of the amphitheater as well as the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. It was fascinating to read that concerts have been going on at the site as far back as 1906, although it was a rudimentary stage at best. And while I never equated Colorado with ‘music history’ the area has drawn big name acts for almost as long.

After a little music nerdiness, we drove over to Dinosaur Ridge for some old school (no pun intended) nerd moments. Dinosaur Ridge is where the first stegosaurus discovery was made in the late 1800s! And it is home to so many fossils and dinosaur tracks that are so easy to see from the walking path. Feelings of insignificance bubbled up again as I looked at these tracks made millions of years ago, when this part of Colorado was underwater.

After a morning of learning, we drove to Golden to have lunch. We had a very tasty meal at the Old Capitol Grill and Smokehouse. Even this building provided learning experiences…this was once the Capitol building when Golden was the capital of the Colorado Territory. There’s still a safe from the early days!

We walked off our lunch by browsing the shops downtown and walking the trail along Clear Creek. We caught a glimpse of the enormous Coors plant, and even saw some brave souls floating in the rushing water of the creek.

Around 6:30 pm we drove around to pick a location for some sunset photography. Shooting the sun sinking behind the mountain proved to be challenging, but it was pretty nonetheless.

Back we drove to Louisville and, for the second night in a row, we had to fight off “Miller moths” in the house. These critters apparently migrate through Colorado every year, but this year, they are hanging around due to the smoke from the Canada wildfires. Thanks, Canada. Last night, we were frantically trying to swat the erratic flyers, and when that didn’t work, we started spraying them with hair spray in hopes it would weigh down their wings so they couldn’t spaz around. Tonight, we bought flying insect spray, and sprayed frantically at them until they slowed down enough to swat them. I think both Caroline and I pulled a muscle on that swatting action.

Here’s to a hopefully moth-free sleep, and another day of adventure tomorrow!

Race day

May 29, 2023 Karen DLeave a comment

Yes, after all the adventures we’ve packed in over a week, we still have a race to run. Sort of the “point” of the trip is the Bolder Boulder 10k; we just used it as an excuse to take a trip to Colorado. I don’t think anyone of us is really feeling like running after sitting in the car for hours yesterday.

We stayed in a hotel about 15 miles away from Boulder, and with a start wave of 7:30, we figured we would need to leave by 6:30. Caroline had stayed at her house (probably happily away from us for a night!) so she picked us up at the hotel and we jumped on the highway where we sat in more traffic than expected. So, we missed our wave by 10 minutes, but the joy of this race is the 90 waves continue until 9:30, so we easily joined a later one.

I’m not sure if it was the long hours in the car, or not really having dinner, or lack of hydration, or the warm temperatures, but my legs were not feeling it. Vicki and Kim ran ahead of Carol, Caroline and I, and we barely made it a mile before walking. Carol wasn’t feeling well from a bout of food poisoning, so the fact that she was out there doing the race at all just proves she is the Braveheart that we said she is!

Soon we caught up with Kim, but Vicki was trucking along ahead. Kim, Caroline and I walked a lot after mile two…most of it actually, and it was so fun to take the time to see all of the shenanigans going on that I have missed in years past when I have focused on RUNNING!

There’s at least one Slip N Slide, a keg stand station, a cotton candy corner, someone cooking hot dogs for the runners, belly dancers, bands galore, a donut stand, a mimosa tent and many, many, many spectators offering shots of all kinds. And since it was hot, a lot of the spectators had their hoses out to lightly spray the runners, and kids had super soakers to help out.

Vicki, the little engine that could, kept running and finished 20th in her age group! The rest of us didn’t do quite as well and poor Vicki had to wait and wait and wait for us at the finish.

We finally all caught up with each other, got our snack bags and sat down in the stadium, but the heat and sun and tiredness had us taking off after about 15 minutes. We walked back to the car, which had overflowed its coolant upon our arrival earlier, by the way. We tried getting the radiator cap off but it wouldn’t budge, so we climbed in, crossed our fingers and headed back to the hotel to shower and check out.

There’s not much more to report for today. Carol, Kim and Vicki got to their hotel in Denver for their 5:45 am flight. I am staying with Caroline for a few more days of exploring. And yes, we’ve already taken care of the radiator issue, so stay tuned for more adventures!

America’s Switzerland

May 24, 2023May 25, 2023 Karen D1 Comment

After a good night’s sleep and a morning that did not require an alarm, we got our hiking gear together and headed out to our first hiking adventure in Ouray. Called “The Switzerland of America” due to the Alps-like peaks that surround the town, it’s elevation of 7760 meant our first hike of the trip would most likely be a struggle. After a quick stop in the visitor’s center, where we were greeted warmly by knowledgeable staff (and free cookies and sunscreen), we headed out to the Perimeter Trail, which encircles the town. This trail is no gentle hike..it starts out steeply uphill, and we were surprised at how difficult it was…we really felt out of shape, But the views we got of the town as we climbed were simply breath-taking, no pun intended. We made our way to Cascade Falls and stopped for some photos.

We hopped off the trail and headed into town for some lunch before tackling Box Cañon. We decided to dine outside at Maggies Kitchen,…the burgers were delicious and the staff delightfully entertaining. We found out one of them was from Virginia, so perhaps there was some kindred spirit thing going on!

After lunch we walked through town popping in and out of shops, eventually making our way to Box Cañon. What a site to see! The incredible force of nature on display with a 285 foot waterfall plummeting into a narrow canyon.

We were intrigued by the list posted outside the visitor center of wildlife recently seen…we felt bad for the “lesser chipmunk” (which I think is actually the “least chipmunk”) for its unfortunate name indicating a substandard species!

On our way back to Olathe, we took a side trip to view Mt Sneffels, one of the most photographed sites in Colorado. Words and pictures don’t do it justice, but I’ll leave it at this: wow.

The five of us had joked about giving ourselves trail names, like Appalachian Trail through hikers do. Well, I’m the first to get mine. I’m now called Nature Nerd, and I’m okay with that. As my niece said, it’s good to be a nature nerd because someday, someone’s going to have a specific nature question, and you’ll be able to teach them something. And considering we are striving to learn something new each day of this trip, I might be able o make sure that happens.

Early departure tomorrow….headed to Mesa Verde National Park!