Not Quitting My Day Job: What I did on my summer vacation – Part (how many is this now?) Colorado Edition

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 13^th.

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.