Glenwood Canyon – Quiet Walk Photography

Saturday November 16: After saying good-bye to our friends in Loveland, Colorado, Clifford and I drive to the Embassy Suites Hotel in Boulder. The accommodations arranged for us are quite luxurious. Our 4^th floor room is as far away from the elevator as possible, a ways to lug our stuff, but the room is nice. From our vantage point, we can see a Trader Joe’s just a little over a block away. While Clifford naps, I walk there to get fixings for meals in our room.

Sunday November 17: We are both up by 5:30 a.m., which is way way early for our routine. We get ready and arrive in plenty of time for the interview, which is in a small neighboring town. The televised interview is an hour and the focus is on Clifford’s research. This is a venue that is different than our usual ways of dispersing information, and hopefully an opportunity for more people to become aware of the work.

After the interview, we return to Boulder and the rest of the day is spent at our hotel. Clifford naps and I write in the journal, post a blog, and other such stuff.

Monday November 18: We forgot we were entitled to a complimentary breakfast and have fruit & yogurt in our room before we pack up and begin the journey back to Monticello.

It is a bit tricky getting back on I-70, as GPS is confused, but eventually we are heading west on a road that takes us through Golden Canyon before joining I-70 west of Denver.

Going through the Glenwood Canyon, we pull off at Bair Rest Area and Clifford naps while I saunter about taking photos of the river.

Rested, we continue on to the Econolodge in Grand Junction, finding the hostess to be friendly, fresh-baked cookies at the check-in counter, and a comfortable room. I fix soup and sandwiches for our dinner and then, since we have had a jam-packed few days, we head to bed earlier than usual.

Late afternoon sunlight turns formation at Grand Junction a golden color

Tuesday November 19: Temperatures are still mild today, but it is very windy and spraying mars the sky. At least we are ahead of the winter storm that has been forecast.

Soon after entering Utah, we leave I-70 at the junction to 191 south. Road construction is still going on between Moab and Monticello, but luckily our wait time is fairly brief.

Once we reach home-base, we unload Suburban and then relax for the evening. Rain starts here in the evening, but in Colorado, where we just were, the snowfall is heavy, and some roads in Boulder, part of I-70, and the Golden Canyon are closed. Whew – that was a close call.

Thursday November 14. After a good complementary breakfast at our Rodeway Inn in Glenwood Springs, Clifford and I continue east on I-70, a very scenic drive. Glenwood Canyon is regarded as an outstanding engineering achievement due to running an interstate through this narrow canyon.

Glenwood Canyon – the westbound lane is raised

Vail Pass at over 10,000 feet and then Empire Pass over 11,000 feet are quite impressive and we are glad to see that snow reaching down the mountainsides has retreated from the highway itself.

Nearing the Eisenhower Tunnel – snow all the way to the edge of the highway

Tunnels through sections of the mountains, including the long Eisenhower Tunnel, over a mile and a half in length, are another engineering and construction accomplishment along this stretch of highway.

We are constantly aware, with the steep grades and the curves, that this is not a highway that we would ever want to tow our RV, and we see very few RV’s as we travel.

The Eisenhower Tunnel is is followed by 44 miles of downhill curves all the way to Denver, where we leave I-70 and enter I-25 north.

Arriving at Loveland, we make out way to our friends’ place, walk about seeing the neighborhood, have good pizza for dinner, and chat until late. I was also able to make contact with a “Celebrate What’s Right With the World” friend. Since it is a chilly dark evening, we decide on a phone conversation rather than a get-together, and have a good talk about how each has come to have photography as a priority.

Friday November 15: Our friends make a good yummy breakfast and then, after Clifford does some work on the interview coming up, we all head up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. After lunch at a coffee & sandwich joint next to some outdoor instruments, we go to the Stanley Hotel, famous as the location of the creepy Steven King movie, The Shining.

Then we head on up to the park to a waterfalls created years ago by a dam breaking and flooding all the way to Estes Park. After that is a scenic drive with amazing views of the great mountains that are the reason for a national park here. Due to the short days this time of the year, we don’t go further, as it is necessary to return down the winding mountain road before dark.

Back at their place, after dinner, we watch a very interesting documentary on country music, a good way to end the day.

Quiet Walk Photography

Portfolio and Travel Blog

Tag: Glenwood Canyon

Colorado Interview – November 2019

Glenwood Springs to Rocky Mountain National Park – November 2019