Dad's trip home

A linear collage of emails.



Roads were dry but snow covers the landscape.



(Arches)
First stop!



(Play Day)
Delicate Arch is 1 1/2 miles from parking lot, relatively smooth ground but some elevation gain. Cold. Last section skirts a cliff, trail was snow covered at that point. Glad I had my trail shoes, parka, hat, and gloves.



(Outdoor Pool)
Fed by hot springs! The air is still freezing but people are in the water.



(A bit "redrum"ish)
The Hotel Colorado interior. Completed 1893. Buffalo Bill Cody, Al Capone, and the Mayo bros. (founders of the Mayo Clinic) all have an association with it.



(Skiing)
Not the best day for taking pictures. If you like skiing in the sun, not the best day for that, either. But I've skied in worse and if you like shallow powder, this was great. Before today, I didn't know what the fuss was all about. Now I have an inkling.

The resort is Sunlight, south of Glenwood Springs on the way to Snowmass and Aspen. I believe it has a bit more terrain than Bluewood, close to White Pass but more vertical drop. Friendly people and not much of a crowd, particularly for a holiday. Just the type of resort I was looking for.



(Hot Springs - Good for What Ails You)
Sauna, steam room, they work too. I've never been in one much bigger than a coffin or broom closet. Well not one that would hold more than 8-10 people anyway. And yes that is large enough for a gathering, particularly in Europe where one attends sans clothing.

But if you have something bigger in mind for your après ski, check out the hot springs in Glenwood Springs, CO. It is huge and draws quite a crowd.

It was snowing but with the water temperature at 104 degrees F (40 C), the snow didn't matter.

From above it looks quite bright. Standing in the pool in the mist the feeling is completely different. Eerie - people come and go from sight as the mist shifts, even when they are just a few feet a way.



(Over the Mountains and Through the Snow...)
To Denver I Shall Go!

My picture looks amazingly similar to the CO DOT webcam pictures. It wouldn't make nearly as good a story if I sent a lesser picture.

It looks bad - and seeing the webcam pics didn't exactly ease my concerns. However, through a combination of caution, watching out for the other guy, the application of superb driving skills honed through years of practice, watching the weather, timing my approach, and a bit of luck, it was a rather uneventful, albeit harshly beautiful, trip.

I made it to Denver, washed the road crud from my car and had lunch with Kris. Didn't time my exit so well and ended up in Denver rush hour traffic. Even so, I made it to Colby, Toto, just into the central time zone.

Tomorrow I'm on to KCMO (Kansas City, Missouri)