091018 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!
090418 – 090918 BLOG
090418 Steamboat Springs. There has to be a better word than Yuppies; the town is loaded with $$, upscale skinny snow-skiers making a living and waiting for snow. BEST Breakfast Freshies. Stores,stores and then a few more. I test rode a collapsible E-Bike. Lots of fun, fast enough, a little dangerous as you e used to acceleration without effort. Niiicce. He store was closing down – last day – free shipping – SG would have none of it. She wants to sweat!!
Route 40 up, into and over the Rockies. Often scary, Breathtaking views. Hairy, fast drives on two lane roads. I follow a tanker truck and this Caddy Escalade with Colorado plates and a lead foot and we fly through farms, fields, hills and breathtaking vistas and landscapes.
We hit I-70 and the rain and hail starts. This road is treacherous after the Eisenhower Tunnel and Georgetown Co – an oasis. Narrow, winding, two lane, tons of traffic and so much rain that the road is hydroplaning hell. Wayz redirects us through the city because the beltway is at a standstill. It pours all the way to Denver Audi where the A7 will get a checkup from the neck up. Emergency brake switch restored!
We get a loaner and drive to Bill and Cathy D’s home. We are privileged to join in the celebration of Janelle’s birthday – undisclosed but clearly under 40. Mark (her H) and Bill were Marine 2d lieutenants in Nam – talk about friends for life. I fall asleep face down in my dessert and a long travel day comes pleasantly to an end.
090618 – 090818
Denver is a clean, friendly city. 300 days of sunshine a year. Fast melting snow. Great restaurants, sports teams. Steve, when small, used to call the team the Denvro Broncos. We went there to meet an old law school buddy, Bill D. Two other fellas could not make it, so they get posted.
Jack E, a life-long hockey nut who knows the game and all the players. Back then he knew Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty. He is currently manipulating the state of Texas to the will of his clients.
John V, one of the brightest rednecks I ever knew. He and I have also talked sporadically and even sent each other cases. I missed seeing both these guys – next “reunion” in Texas – in the winter!
Bill is a retired federal judge. Fascinating stories from a friend that I hadn’t seen since Anne and I saw him for dinner in Mystic, Ct in 1974. Only 44 years, so we dropped in and stayed for 3 nights. Cathy, Bill’s wife, is beautiful, quiet, kind and a great host.
Cathy’s nickname is Nagagator, earned while traveling with friends while Bill drove his Lincoln Navigator. Not assigned by Bill; he is much smarter than that.
Bill and I have talked sporadically over the years. We hit it off like we talked and saw each other often. What a wonderful experience. And a life-long friend. Cathy and Susan hit it off and the days in the company of the D…s’s flew by. We saw the Denver Botanical Zoo, downtown Denver and Bill’s firm (all retired judges doing mediations and arbitrations), had dinner at CRU Wine Bar on Laramie Street, saw Union Station, all revitalized, and walked and rode 16th Street, a closed to traffic area downtown.
Friday night Bill and Cathy treated us to dinner at the Castle Rock Golf Club. Waaaaay up above the town: sunset over the Rocky Mountains…Wow…a once-in-a-lifetime experience even if we go back before the next 44 years go by.
Brian McN I saw a lot more often – at GU reunions – the last time was 2010 (only 40 years) right after Anne passed away. Brian knew Anne well. He and I were frat bros in an illegal (not recognized by GU) frat based around WGTB, GU’s radio station. Anne was at Marymount College in Northern Va and her best friend was Carol McN, Brian’s sister. So we partied a LOT back then. Brian and I supplied the boys and the Jungle Juice; Anne and Carol supplied the girls.
Brian is one of the funniest guys I know – we just start feeding each other one-liners. He also has a great heart and dedicated his career to the betterment of public education – the last stint coaching principals in inner-city schools and setting up an organization to carry the work on. Thanks Brian.
Susan met Brian at breakfast Thursday morning at Snooze, a breakfast place that should be on your list.. Donna came to breakfast the next morning while Susan and Cathy were doing other things. Too bad. Donna and Susan would have hit it off. Bill D went to that second breakfast and he, Brian and Donna hit it off. Made me feel really good. The unifying force was the Tweeter In Chief. Bottom line: we are all very scared about what he will do on any given day, especially if a crisis arises, and whether he will ever be held responsible for his conduct with a packed Supreme Court. We pray for Gens. Kelly and Mattis. Bill D had met Mattis personally and was very impressed – a regular guy.
090818 Saturday, we depart. We meet Rob Rancourt of the Svencer Clan and his friend Carita. We met at Syrup, another Denver breakfast place. Much better corned beef hash at Snooze. Carlta loaded us up with tomatoes and sent us on our way.
Heading north on I-25. No real alternative to get up north. We chose to go north because it’s getting cold, the leaves are turning in Jackson and Denver, and we want to see Montana, Glacier Park and east Washington state before it gets really cold. We packed for summer, so up we go!
Colorado north of Denver along I-25 is not pretty, and, like the city and its environs, is riddled with TRAFFIC!!
Another border. Glad to be back in Wyoming!! For me, the prettiest state yet.
Chugwater, Wy. The wind pushes the A7 like a toy on a perfectly clear day. Back in the land of mesas and buttes.
We watch huge storms miles ahead and to our left spit lightning as they move across our path ahead.. Getting dark and no where near Sheridan. We are both worried about animals crossing the highway. Big lit warning signs about animals every 20 miles and Colesie is roaring – A7 Smokin!! We arrive OK having murdered so many bugs that the bees are all over the car in the AM.
Susan picks a restaurant off TripAdvisor – Frackelton’s. Another solid pick. We sit at the bar as usual and the lady next to Susan chats us up. I mention that Wyoming is the prettiest state we’ve seen and the lady starts off with a description of all the sites in Sheridan. She states “I’ve never been in a town like Sheridan where all the people speak so positively about their town – love it and would not leave.” They introduce themselves as they leave as Mike and Melissa. I ask for the check – we’re exhausted after 6 hours on I-25 then I-90. Bartender says they picked up your meal, Wow. Little did they know that they bought us our lunch for the next day as well!
Susan and I are discussing the free meal and she decides the lady is a local promoter of the town etc. So morning comes and I track her down – the bartender spilled her last name. Melissa Butcher. Sheridan Wy. President of this and Chairman of that etc. LinkedIn of course. So I send her a personal invitation that opens “Ambassador Butcher…”. No response yet.
090918. We take the route Mike and Melissa recommended – through the Bighorn Mountains, State Route 14 and 14A (closed in winter). Another spectacular ride.
We take about two hours to see the Medicine Wheel. It’s a burial ground 5 miles from a paved road. Park Service pisses me off – they’ve removed all descriptive plaques, so I wind up walking a mile further than the Medicine Wheel. This pic is halfway back to the car.
Anyway, the Medicine Wheel appears to be a central stone grave with stone spokes radiating out to a stone wheel surrounding the center grave. There are other graves, some large, a few small. There are many small little pieces of cloth, velvet, colored that appear to either be wrapped around a rock or (my pick) someone’s ashes. There are hundreds of them, but strangely they do not detract from the solemnity of the site. I feel a strong urge to leave a piece of Anne there, so I do so figuratively. 7 places for Anne. I feel a piece of her resting on that pinnacle called Medicine Wheel.
All told, 6 hours for a 3 hour trip. Well worth it for what we saw.
SG Screamed as I Shot This One With a Sheer Drop on The Right
SG navigates glaring sun and BUGS on I-90 to get us in to Bozeman and dinner with Jake M.
Jake is the son of our dear friends Tom and Amanda M. He is on his way through Navy enlistment, a slow process because of the type of assignment Jake is pursuing. We have a wonderful dinner at Open Range.
I have a problem with these blogs. I’m running out of adjectives to describe how special each day is on this trip. It’s hard to imagine why all the folks in the east don’t move out here. One reason is the short summer; another is no salt water, but fresh is exactly that and easy to get used to.
Today I think of Matt and we explore Bozeman.