DAY 40: Friday, May 25, 2007 (Denver,
CO)
This sixth week has been a somewhat lazy
week for Jonathan and me. Monday through Wednesday were spent basically lollygagging
at the park, going to the movies, eating ice cream, going for jogs (to offset the ice
cream eating), reading, writing post cards and the like. I have to say, staying with
friends has been wonderful. It is, as Jonathan likes to say, a vacation  from our vacation.
We decided on
Thursday that we should do something we could only do in Colorado - so we drove to the top
of Pike's Peak, which is located in the Rockies about 2 hours away. To get there, we
drove through the beautiful red rocks, and up Pike's Peak Highway. From the bottom
of the mountains to the tippity top, the views were just incredible. Starting at
about 8,000 feet above sea level, what you notice first are the lush contrasting greens;
the blue mint green of the lichen on the rocks, the emerald green of the grass and mosses,
the vibrant lime green of the newly budding birches, and the deep, dark evergreen of the
pines.
As we climbed higher into the
mountains, we began to see patches of snow. Then as we reached 10,000 feet, it
looked as if we were inside a gingerbread village- millions of pines covered in snow stood
glistening all around us. The road was extremely narrow and curved steeply up the
mountain, testing the minivan's ability to corner hairpin turns (without guard rails),
which was a little frightening at times - especially when the road became icy mud and we
actually slid about five feet. Due to the icy conditions and a snow storm the
previous night, the road was closed off at  13,000 feet (the summit is just over
14,000 feet). So even though we would have loved to see the 360 degree views at the
top (and enjoy a free, famous Pike's Peak doughnut), we were unable to make it to the
visitor's center at the summit. However, we were able to enjoy the heavenly view of
being above the clouds, with the blue Rocky ridges in the distance. It was
glorious! The weather was beautiful (though freezing at the top), the sun was
shining, and there was a perpetual rainbow that completely encircled the sun the entire
day (this was our second experience encountering this phenomenon. We also saw this
in Greensburg - we hear it is a sign of good luck!).
After our trip to Pike's Peak we
made salmon and shrimp for dinner for our gracious hosts, and shared our bottle of
champagne (from Thelma in Arkansas) with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
We topped off the evening with the movie "Little Children", (opinions about the
movie varied, but I liked it. It seemed like a genuine portrayal of how the
seemingly "perfect" family/marriage is often anything but. Good, but
intense).
Today (Friday) we did some more chillin' out, maxin', and
relaxin'. We went for a jog in the morning, browsed at the mall this afternoon, and
walked to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner. Tonight we may take in another movie,
or not, depending on how long it takes Jonathan to upload the pictures from our drive
yesterday (we took over 700 pictures- so be sure to check out Pike's Peak in our photo
gallery). So far, Colorado is just beautiful and we are really enjoying our
stay. We may be leaving early next week, so until then we hope to soak in more of
the natural beauty of this state. We send love to all our family and friends, and
hope you are all well. ~E
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DAY 42: Sunday, May 27, 2007 (Denver,
CO)
We continue to relax here in Denver with Kevin and Stephanie. They have been
terrific hosts as we find things to do on our own, as well as all together. We have
really enjoyed Washington Park here  in Denver, spending some
time there over several days this week. We went to the Boulder Creek Festival
yesterday, where they had good food, rides (which we did not partake in), and
vendors. Many of the vendors were touting ecological- or environmentally-friendly
advice (e.g., solar energy, recycling, and vegetarianism). Kevin even bought a pair
of flip-flops made out of recycled rubber from tires (see picture on right). There
were thousands of people at this festival, some of whom I captured with my camera and made
into a collage (in the "art gallery"). When we left the festival, we
headed to the nearby Boulder Falls, which was beautiful as you might imagine.
I know there weren't a lot of journal entries this week; hopefully the pictures will help
tell the story of the week. We'll probably be leaving Denver and our gracious hosts
in a few days as we plan to head to southern Colorado, and then to New Mexico. Until
then... ~J
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