Mixed emotions -- and a lot of catching up to do!

Many people to thank since I have last given voice to gratitude! So let offering thanks be my first priority this time. Most sincere thanks! Camping in the rain for two nights prior to crossing Vail Pass was not terribly comfortable, but would have been much more difficult had it not been for the attention and help of the host at Gore Creek campground.  More road angels have been instrumental in Silverplume and Idaho Springs, on this side of Loveland Pass, and most recently in Denver and here in Ft. Collins, where I am visiting a long-time friend.  A shower, a cold drink, a place to sleep out of the elements and somewhere to charge my phone (faster than it can be done with a solar charger in cloudy weather!) -- each of these amenities can make a great difference in the course of a day, and have done so with a frequency that blows my mind.

Scenery has also been mind-blowing for days on end. The Rocky Mountains.  I will not need another reminder of the origin of that emphatically literal (if rather unimaginative) appellation. Huge, soaring cliffs, teetering slabs and walls of upthrust book-like rows of sedimentary stone, and great fields of fallen rock that stretch for square miles, in shapes and sizes (from pea to dinosaur-size) as variable as one could imagine.  Maintenance crews have their work cut out for them year-round, just keeping the rocks off the roadways. The town of Silverplume sits under an enormous cliff called Bull Head Cliff, that looks as if it could fill the entire narrow river valley if it were to fall. But many of the buildings there are over 100 years old, so I guess the residents are justified in their confidence in its stability!

Wildflowers have also been prolific and startlingly colorful, thanks to all of the extra rain this season. Sometimes it becomes necessary to stop every few minutes and take a photo; too bad they never do justice to the actual subject matter!

The walk from Golden to Denver was a different experience.  I had not yet had to negotiate the outskirts of such a large metropolitan area.  No road shoulders, cracked and broken sidewalks and a string of seedy looking businesses along the route I had chosen as being the most direct.  Also a surprisingly nice library, where I took a break along the way.  At one point I was approached by a belligerent  and (probably) drunk young man who wanted to know what I thought I was doing.  I took refuge in a liquor store, and the argument was avoided.  Getting into the city proper I spent about a mile walking along a bike path on a massive elevated structure that crossed the North Platte River, many railroad lines, and intersecting freeways.  

After spending a pleasant evening and night with my Denver host, on a tree-lined street in one of the old neighborhoods, I took a bus to Ft. Collins to meet a friend I had not seen in some years.  Ft. Collins seems more interesting and 'visitor-friendly' then it did when I was here years ago, probably due to my more interested attention.  I'm enjoying the new bike paths, public art/sculpture and downtown University Ave. neighborhood.  Lots of old street trees and interesting architecture. (Right now there is an event going on involving colorfully painted upright pianos set up here and there around the downtown area, for anyone to play.)  One very sad note(!) was that the friendliest of the three cats where I am staying went missing and turned out to have been hit by a car and killed, this on the day after I arrived. Yesterday we went to identify his poor body at the local shelter.  Having a small ceremony for him helped, but I am still feeling rather heavy-hearted, and pained for the friend I am visiting...

It will be difficult to leave, but this is the plan for later in the week.  It makes the most sense not to return to Denver, but rather to head east from here (more or less) and rejoin Route 6 about half way to the Nebraska state line. Leaving the mountains behind for a while, I am prepared for a very different sort of scenery -- headed into the Great Plains!

Near Vail Pass

At the top of Vail Pass

A museum in Silverplume

PS -- Occasionally I get a message that I've received a comment on this site.  Those never include any contact information, so I haven't figured out how to respond when I would like to.  So I just want to say thanks for any comments or feedback.  And be sure to include an email address in the comment if you want to, and I'll be able to respond!  Sorry for my blogging illiteracy!