Denver

Thanks everybody again for the great gifts and coming to the party. I have eaten several things from the gift package (Stacie and Gerry) as well as listened to some of my gift cds. (I saved the books on tape for the Iowa drive. More on that in the following blog.) Tuesday I drove from Grand Junction to Denver. Again, I have pictures, but am unable to load them up. On my route, I saw a really cool rock formation that looked like a cougar or mountain lion. It flew by me and I wasn't able to get a picture. Believe it or not, it is hard to take pictures while one drives. The road to Denver was dandy. I bought some apples and plums from a road side stand. I have had two of the plums and they were delicious! The rock formations were awesome - so many colors! There were reds, yellows, browns and greys. There was one spot where the sedimentary layers were mainly reds and browns with a lone, flashy yellow-leafed tree in the foreground. I wish I had a picture of that. The Colorado River was spectacular. There were a couple of spots where it sprinkled, but for the most part, it was sunny and lovely.

Glenwood Springs is nestled in-between the grand walls of the Rockies. I wish I had been able to stop there for a jaunt in the springs. I did manage to pick up a hitchiker. Just kidding. I was at a rest stop there and asked a couple to take a picture of me by a sign. The woman asked if her husband could be in the picture, which I thought would make for a good story. We talked about traveling for about 10-15 minutes. They were from California too. On the way to Denver to visit their son. But the road is a long one, and I had to be on my way. Eagle was also a cosy town to drive to. I stopped there for a really exciting beef burrito from Taco Bell. I would like to say that my idea of PB&J sandwiches for the whole trip just never came to fruition. I am a little disappointed about that. I have eaten Arby's and Taco Bell. I am really tired of fast food. Every time I go eat at one of those crappy places, I think about Super Size Me, which you must see if you haven't. I think I have gained a couple of pounds from the "excellent" food choices I have been making. :-) Oh, another thing that I should point out about Eagle, is that it is the home of the notorious Kobe Bryant case. Hmmm. Mysterious.

I managed to get into Denver around 4:30, and went to ABC 7's building where my college friend, Debbie Stanley is a news producer. She showed me around the studio and I was able to sit in the control booth to watch the 5:00 news. That was pretty neat. She's been there for about three years. She's been in news for over 12 years. This is the first time I have seen her since college. After she got off of work, she took me around downtown where the capitol building is. She was a fabulous tour guide. We ate dinner at Macaroni Grill (there's one in Burbank) and chatted throughout the evening. I think we ended up going to bed around 11 or 12. Her condo is really comfortable and cosy. I felt quite at home there. Just for interest sake, I would like to mention that one of her neighbors was recently busted for running a meth factory in his apartment. She is one lucky lady. She also use to live fairly near Jeffery Dahmer, of serial murder fame. On Wednesday morning, she went to work and I did laundry (some of which was from before the drive.) I then went to the Denver Museum of Natural History and Science. I have to say that though Denver does a good job with museums, Los Angeles really has something on them. I have been spoiled by the likes of the La Brea Tar Pits and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Still, Denver had a nice exhibit of dinos and stuffed animals. (I find the stuffed animals a little creepy, but I suppose those are the only ones of their kind that some people will see.) After the museum, I went to Lakewood, a 'burb of Denver. Michele DeAndrea-Austin, is another friend from college. I haven't seen her since just after her son was born. I had never met her husband until now. She is married to Lance and has two kids - Jake and Shelby. Though Jake was a little shy with me (I know, hard to believe a kid was shy with ME!) Shelby was as cute as a button. We had pizza and pie and chatted for a few hours. Then it was on to Aurora to visit my Aunt Kathi. Kathi and I were able to visit for about three hours before I got pooped and needed to retire. I hadn't seen her in about 10 years, so that was really nice.

It was a joy to visit with my friends and family. Everybody was so hospitable. Thanks Deb for letting me sleep at your house on such short notice. You are a gracious and super hostess!

That's about it for Denver. It was a swell time.