It’s like this. Mom has wanted to go to Mesa Verde for as
long as I can remember. We’d get her
ornaments and pictures from there, assuming that at some point her and my Dad
would go. Well, this year has been
traumatic and wonderful so far and we decided that for her birthday, we’d take
her to Mesa Verde and fulfill a wish for her.
Starting in the summer
(while I was in PA after my trip to CA), my sister and I talked, discussed,
checked on airlines and hotels and finally planned the visit for late
September. Mom’s birthday is on the 13th.
The day finally came. TDH and I got up before light to get to the
airport for my 7AM flight. Sister and Mom had a slightly later start in
the Northeast. The flight had no issues,
although full, and arrived on time. I
got the rental car and waited in the lovely cell phone lot at the Denver Airport. It has a gas station, food
court, clean bathrooms and convenience store.
The only thing it lacked was clocks.
Ah, well. Sister texted me that
they’d arrived and I drove around to pick them up (with coffee for both of
them). It was all very smooth and easy
to navigate. It reminded me of Tampa and how airports can be great if the folks who build
them are forward thinking.
Driving around Denver was also very easy.
Signs were plentiful and Google Navigation is right on the money. We drove West on I70 headed towards Grand Junction, CO. It was
picked because it takes 8 hours to get to Mesa Verde and I wanted to break the
trip up into easy chunks, Grand Junction is 4 hours West. It was funny to
hear Sister and Mom exclaim “Oh my goodness!” and “Look at that!” each time we
came around a bend in the road. I
remember doing it just 4 months prior on TDH and my trip to Yellowstone. I told
Sister and Mom that after a while, I ran out of superlatives and started saying
“words!”. Sister thought it was great
and started saying it too.
We stopped at an overlook
off the highway called Summit, CO. The views
were magnificent and we stomped around the hill a bit behind the overlook
picking up various rocks, some fallen Aspen leaves and a
stick or two. It was a nice stop and the
fresh air was great.
On the way, we also saw some
Mountain Goats and an Elk.
Unfortunately, when you are on an Interstate, you can’t really stop or
slow down too much for pictures.
After a bit, we got hungry
and stopped in a town called Wheat Ridge and had to park in a lot next to the restaurant
because we missed it at first. I went
into the shop to tell the owner that we were eating lunch and would be back to
shop after. He said,
“No problem, you just have
to spend $500.” I laughed, said, “You
got it.” and went to eat.
The restaurant (Joe’s Café) was
nice and the waitress was really funny and friendly. Food was good and fresh. When we went to pay, the waitress had all
these little animals glued all over the counter. I commented on it, and she said that all the
families that come in give them to her (they came from a gumball machine in the
lobby) and that she had a special display beside the counter on a shelf. I looked up as she explained “I like to tell
folks that I’ve got all my ducks in a row!”
We walked to the Antique and
Thrift store to shop. There was a huge display
of seals; ceramic, clay, stone, pictures, advertisements and anything else you
can imagine all in 2 china closets and a glass display case. Only $500 for the lot. None sold separately! Sister saw a wooden float in the window and
asked about it. Apparently, it had been
a float on a lobster or crab trap on a boat in Alaska. The owner
had bought it from the boatman and subsequently sold it at an estate sale. Being the fisherwoman that she is, Sister had
to have it. It is really pretty and was
only $5. The owner said you are a long
way from the $500 so I said, we’ll catch him next time!
Back on the road, we got to Grand Junction around 7PM
or so and were told that there was a festival going on in the Main St area. So we
drove over and saw street musicians, art, many tables and displays.
We ate at the Rockslide Brewery and had some
locally crafted beer.
We all got really silly because the rolls were really airy and one looked like it had big eyes. We talked about the Thanksgiving years ago that we made faces with the leftover dinner rolls. Well, you see, we had to, we really had to.
Sister had researched
Geo-Cache sites prior to the trip, so she and I looked for one that was close
by. We did not find it and decided to
call it a night as we were all tired.
Our room was on the first floor, so luckily, no issues with steps or
anything. We all fell asleep pretty
readily.
Here are some things I've made in between traveling and gallivanting around the country (or so my TDH says).
Have a great day folks. I love sharing with you, hope you enjoy catching up.
