Monday, May 17, 2010

Safe Crossing


I have crossed safely and reached Colorado in one piece.

✱ Beautiful Day One, to Indiana. I believe the siting and the design of the Interstate highways across West Virginia was pretty much a series of random choices. (Hey, Jake! This holler or that holler?) There's not a straight two-mile stretch anywhere. But if the weather is good (and it was!) it's as pleasant as can be. I saw a beautiful male pheasant on the edge of the forest, all decked out in his Sunday best. Lovely!

✱ Rainy Day Two, to Kansas. Rain all day, at times a Florida-style Toad Choker. Was delayed by three fender-bender-generated slow-downs, but each was a welcomed break from the white knuckle driving.

✱ Western Day Three, from Kansas to the Front Range: my favorite day. This is where the land changes to high plains prairie and you see pronghorn antelope "grazin' in the grass". The clouds lay very (weirdly) low to the ground the first part of the day, obscuring everything higher than about 100 feet from the ground. (Which means my favorite wind farm was just a bunch of white stumpy tubes, vanishing into the void.) But the clouds broke up nicely in western Kansas and the drive across absurdly flat eastern Colorado was fine. I had my Zebulon Pike Moment on a ridge just east of Limon ("the 'Hub City' of Eastern Colorado", population 2,071). Halloa! Pikes Peak on the horizon. Yippeee! Aim for it!

So from today onward I am off the highway and am wandering. Today is to be a fairly nice day in these parts (Manitou Springs) but tomorrow is partly rainy again. Which means (possibly) snow and/or ice in the mountains west and south of here and around Taos. Hmmm! Take the high road through them or skirt around the edges?

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Major BONUS: St. Nic = Mine Forever. The sun shines today!

3 comments:

Miss E said...

I have heard only good things about Manitou Springs - it sounds ridiculously charming. Have a wonderful trip! I will look forward to more updates.

Lisa McShane said...

A great road trip! I am green with envy. Enjoy.

Observe Closely said...

Manitou Springs -- Yes, charm and quaintness tending a bit too much in the direction of crystals and kokopelli pottery. But what the heck? It's the Wild West. I feel comfortable here somehow.