Blogs from Colorado, United States, North America

The Valley of Happyness. Known greater widely because the Male Valley (or Vail Valley). Some who stay down valley refer to it as Eagle Valley. Starting at the threshold of East Vail wherein Vail Pass descends and persevering with into Eagle-Vail, Avon, Edwards, Gypsum, and Eagle. The Valley of Happyness. Wonderful winters. Beautiful summers. No offense. Not ill. Not one "horrific" community. No minorities. Absent culture. Like something out of a e-book; in a dream, perhaps. Everybody is stunning." The Valley of Happyness. Once, a near pal said, "This location pierces your soul." This location pierces the soul of anyone, in a single way or another, for higher or unwell. The Valley of Happyness. My house between September 2010 and April 2011. A file 524" of snow have been stated in Vail! Being a ski bum ... read more

All of us who travel must do the layover, whether we like it or not. Some stops are better than others. My personal favorites are Denver, Chicago, and Phoenix. My least favorites are Dulles, JFK, Hotlanta, and Dallas. Thrillist has a few thoughts on the subject: These are the top five airports for layovers, based on the methodology: 1. San Diego International Airport 2. Logan International Airport 3. Philadelphia International Airport 4. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport 5. Miami International Airport San Diego International Airport came out as the top airport, with 36 restaurants, 41 shopping options, and 13 charging stations per mile. California is also represented by the second spot, with Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. The airport has fast Wi-Fi, easy navigation, and a stress-free layover, according to the study. Meanwhile, some o... read more

Now to start this blog, an important announcement - the wildlife count took a dramatic increase on Day 18 - please add 3 x Longhorn Sheep, 1 x Deer & 1 x Fox (the chicken stealing kind, not the kind you find at nightclubs!) Let's hope the count continues to increase! Day 16 - Here we are in Colorado Springs, sitting in Applebee's for dinner, looking out at Pikes Peak complete with a fresh dusting of snow and ominous black clouds gathering. Hopefully they'll be gone in the morning when we ride past the 14,115 feet high peak. Glad to get out of Garden City this morning, the air had the pungent odor of cattle, millions of cattle, so we've been told that there are 7 feedlots around town & two abattoir's which process 11,000 head ... read more

As I was anticipating from previous crossings, it was to be a day of contrasts. From flat endless plains to ragged snow capped mountains. A rider's visual feast. Before heading out it was the Days Inn breakfast, thankfully not Fruit Loops but Raisin Bran. Kudos to the backroom folks at Days Inn for sculpting a muffin looking object from a piece of cardboard. Earlier in the trip I was chatting to a visiting German fellow and was actually embarrassed as we sat at breakfast. European hotels do so much better. As you might imagine Lamar does not have the top 15 things to do according to Expedia. Rather they say a popular place to visit are cities outside of Lamar. Not to be deterred I headed for the petrified wood gas station. You can't make this ... read more

Today we spent the day in Mesa Verde National Park. We saw dozens of Ancestral Pueblos six months ago on our trip to Texas, but nothing we saw then can hold a candle to Mesa Verde. Unfortunately, we weren't able to tour Balcony House because those tours didn't open until after Memorial Day, but we were able to go on the Cliff Palace tour. It was amazing. Another fantastic day.... read more