The electric sign in Rifle, Col., flashed"Chains required after MM [mile marker] 184".
We went anyway. The sun was shining as we crossed the Rockies Monday, but it had just snowed that morning. It was a middling 30 degrees, where it can freeze or melt without warning. It was our punishment for missing the Minnesota winter.
We made pretty good time through the slush and salt, actually. After a stressful four hours of driving, we made Denver at noon. Stan never did see much of the beautiful landscape, because he had one hand tightly gripping the steering wheel and the other operating the windshield washer and eyes locked on the road. Eventually, we stopped at a gas station in Valquez, but not so much for gas, as a reload of the washer reservoir.Everyone seems to drive at different speeds in these conditions, so you're in a constant, gritty mist. Kathleen, meanwhile, enjoyed beautiful mountain scenery with fresh snow. She managed some fine drive-by shootings. We present three here. As always, click to enlarge these beauties.
We're home safe now, thanks for your notes and best wishes. It is 9:15 and Kathleen says everything has been unpacked and ready for the wash.We've got a few stories to tell and some nice photos to share: We stopped to see Cousin Larry and Carolyn Veeder in Cornville, saw gorgeous scenery on Route 191 and we celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Sunday in Grand Junction, Colorado, with Jennifer and her ultra cool landlady, who feted us with corn beef and cabbage, wore
purple cowboy boots and sang Kumba Ya by firelight under the stars! More later.
