Made it to Denver & Boulder!

Spent last night in a nothing Colorado town, camped out in a motel parking lot. That worked out well. The best surprise was waking up to sunlight after days of drizzle and rain. The sun felt good on my skin as I pushed the van down the highway pointed toward Denver.

We made great time and bypassed Denver for Boulder, where we got lunch at Snarf’s, self-proclaimed home of the world’s greatest sandwiches. But then we drove out into the mountains to Rocky Mountain National Park, where we picked up a 12-month pass to all parks. Only $80!

Anyway, as we climbed elevation the evergreens began to show snow on their limbs. Then a dusting leftover from the last storm appeared on the ground. We drove to Bear Lake, which was almost fully frozen over. By this time the place was deep in snow. Seriously, I haven’t seen that much snow since I was at W&L.

We set off hiking along a trail through the pines which skiers had packed down. The goal was to get to the crest of Flat Top Mountain, where we hoped we’d find views of the frozen lake and surrounding mountains. As I climbed and walked, my New Balances sinking into the packed powder, the thin 10,000-foot air had Matt and me both breathing as if we were running up the mountain. We kept up until we reached a clearing after 2-3mi, where the only sound was snow falling around us.

Headed back to Denver, where we’re staying with friends of Matt’s family. We’ll be in the area for a few days.