Rocky Mountains 2007

We had a great time on this trip.  My best friend Patricia and my daughter Lisa and I said goodbye to husband and boyfriend and hit the trail again.  The first day we picked up our rental car and drove into Denver.  It was really hot when we arrived at our hotel, the Embassy Suites.  We rested for a while and then went to the Buckhorn restaurant known for its wild game.  We were adventurous and had Rocky Mountain Oysters, antelope, buffalo, and elk.  It is an interesting place, an old building with all kinds of hunting trophies on the wall.  Service was excellent.

The next day we hit the road to Nebraska.  We drove through the grasslands of the western plains and had lunch in the small town of Kimball, NE.  We chose a cafe for lunch where the locals eat and it was one of the places where they don't get a lot of strangers and of course they all stared at us as we walked in.  But, everyone was pretty friendly and the food was good.  We checked out the town and found a little shop on the main street where the owner stocked a lot of souvenirs of Nebraska so I could add to my shot glass collection.  We left Kimball and headed to Cheyenne, WY. 

There was a big festival going on in Cheyenne  -  Frontier Days -  so we had a hard time finding parking.  In fact we never did find parking.  So, we just stopped in front of the state capitol for a photo op, went to a convenience store to buy a snack and then left town heading south back to Denver. 

The next morning we went to Colorado Springs.  A very pleasant town.  We had a tour scheduled at the U.S. Olympic Complex.  It was a great private tour.  We met a gymnast and saw wresting and weightlifting practice.  Our tour guide was a delightful young woman who was going to study sports medicine.

Next we went to the U.S. Air Force Academy.  We had lunch there, went to the visitor's center and gift shop.  Then we walked to the Chapel which is stunning.  Outside there is a huge plaza with statues and aircraft on display.  The chapel itself is very impressive and the stained glass is incredible.  We visited the main chapel, the Jewish chapel and the Catholic chapel.  Afterward, we drove back to Denver for dinner and a good night's sleep.

The next day was a bit wet to start out.  We were scheduled to drive up to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  When we arrived, it was raining slightly and overcast.  We managed to drive up into the mountains and take some spectacular pictures.  We shopped at a very large gift shop and ate lunch.  By the time we finished lunch, it was raining pretty steadily so we decided to head back to Denver.  We saw a bighorn sheep in a meadow on the way out of the park.  As we drove, the rain became heavier.  We got caught in a horrendous downpour with flash flooding and slow traffic - actually standing still on the freeway!  We had tickets for a baseball game for the next night and wondered if we would be able to go.  We made it back to our hotel safely.  We stayed inside and went to bed early.

The next morning the rain had stopped and the sky was clear again.  We went downtown to see the layout and make sure of where Coors Field was so we wouldn't have to figure it out on the way to the game.  We drove by the Colorado State Capitol Building which was covered with scaffolding.  We parked downtown and went to the Colorado History Museum.  There were nice exhibits on women in Colorado history and on Italians in Denver.  Both very nicely done and entertaining.  My friend Jane came to the museum and met us in front.  We chatted for a while and then we went and had lunch before heading to our hotel for a rest before the game.

The weather had turned absolutely beautiful and the sky was gorgeous for the ball game.  It was a clear blue and as night fell, it turned pink and violet before going dark.  The Rockies beat the Dodgers to our delight.  Many home runs were hit.  We had hot dogs and ice cream served in tiny little Rockies batting helmets.  We shopped in the gift shop and had a great time.  This was a great last night in Denver.

The next day was our last day in Colorado.  We ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel.  We went downtown to the 14th Street Mall and did some last minute shopping and soaking up the Denver vibe.  After we exhausted our shopping urge, we drove toward the airport intending to eat at a Sonic that we saw the day we landed but we couldn't find it.  So instead, we  went to a mall and ate at a sandwich shop.  As we drove away, we found that we had a flat tire.  Hertz sent someone out to fix it for us.  It seems we had run over some enormous screw that did a lot of damage.  We had started out with plenty of time but by the time we got the car turned in and got through airport security, we just made our flight.  The flight was a good one though and we arrived at home on time.   Another fabulous, exciting, memorable vacation was over!