Day One



Central City



This morning the trip started very early – 3:45am.  We all got up and got ready, completed last minute packing, and Lee made pancakes and banana milkshakes for breakfast.  Dad picked us up and took us to the airport and we were on our way.  The lines at the airport weren’t too bad and we didn’t have to wait too long for our plane, so it was a good experience at the airport.  Because Lee woke us up yesterday at 7:25am in order to check-in for our flight, we had pretty good seats.

Mines

Anyone wanting a window seat got it.  I was so tired from not going to sleep until late the night before that as soon as we got on the plane I fell asleep.  I even missed the take-off.  I got a decent nap in before my neck started hurting.  I had the neck pillow, but they can only do so much good.  After coming to my senses, I started looking around the plane and out the window.  As I was in the middle seat, I had a stranger sitting next to me in the aisle seat.  I looked over at him because he was sleeping as well.



Nevadaville



He must have had a sixth sense because as soon as I looked at him his eyes opened wide and he stared at me.  It was pretty scary.  I of course looked away quickly.  This happened a few more times on the flight.  I don’t understand how he knew, but his eyes would always pop open if I ever looked at him.  Crazy.  Once the plane landed, we were ready to get our taxi to the car rental place.  We all piled in a car and made our way to downtown Denver.  We got an Altima as our rental vehicle.  Luckily, it fit us and all our luggage.

Once we got our car, we were on our way to Central City and Nevadaville.  The whole area of Central City and Nevadaville were based around the mines.  Central city was a small, very old town that barely had anyone left in it.  Nevadaville is technically a ghost town.  It only had a few small buildings left that hadn’t fallen apart.  We thought it would be completely empty, but one building was actually open and running as a small local artifact store.

A woman that had to be 100 years old was running the place.  She showed us the paintings she had done of the area, one is even hanging somewhere in Santa Fe.  She was very proud of her little store.  We left because of our strict itinerary and because it was pretty chilly outside.  It was pretty cool to see the mines all around the cities though.  I wouldn’t go anywhere near them, they were falling apart and looked like they might fall down if you even stepped too close.

Once we left Nevadaville, we headed to Berthoud pass.  The pass is 11,307 feet high in the middle of a bunch of awesome mountains.  The strange thing was, only half the mountains were snow covered even if they were the same height.  It was very interesting.  We drove up to the top and the temperature dropped over 20 degrees.  We brought clothes to layer today, but it wasn’t enough.  It was snowing at the pass and was 32 degrees.

We took as many pictures as possible as quickly as possible.  Once we were thoroughly frozen, we jumped in the car and headed to Eisenhower tunnel.  Eisenhower tunnel has the continental divide right in the middle of the tunnel.  Once through the tunnel we continued through the mountains on our way to Glenwood Canyon.  On the way we saw several small ski towns.  You could see the bare lines on the mountains that are used for skiing in the winter.

(Look at how small the car is at the bottom)

When we arrived at Glenwood Canyon it was amazing.  It was a canyon to drive through, not one to stop and hike to, so we didn’t have to stop as we saw the intense beauty of this natural wonder.  I’m sure there are much more amazing sights to see on this trip, but every new one amazes me more and more.  After stopping at a rest area to take a few more pictures of the canyon, we continued on our way to Grand Junction.

Glenwood Canyon

As we continued our drive, the mountains began to look less like beautiful, snow-capped mountains and more like the Rocky Mountains you picture in your mind.  Everything dried and out lost its deep green color.  The ride to our next stop - Colorado National Monument - was an amazing drive.  The landscape changed so much over the hour and a half.  There were mountains the entire time, but they all looked very different.

Glenwood Canyon

We were trying to beat the sun to Colorado National Monument.  All our sight-seeing had left us slightly short on time.  We passed Grand Junction and headed into Fruita to see the monument.  Lee flew up the mountain, making me close my eyes.  There are no guardrails on those steep roads.  Scary!  He wasn' really driving dangerously, just a little too fast for my comfort.  We saw several bikers pedaling up the mountain on the edge of those steep roads.  I don't understand that at all - maybe because of my fear of heights.  We made it to the overlook and beat sunset.

The monument was amazing.  It looked like a picture.  I think the thing that amazed me the most was the silence at the top.  Being in the world we live in today, we go so fast and always have something going on.  At the overlook, viewing the monument, time just stopped and was completely silent.  You couldn't hear a single noise.  I don't know how long it's been since I've heard that kind of silence.  It was very peaceful.  Well, it was peaceful until that huge bird started squawking like crazy.  After examining the monument a little closer, we noticed there were two people climbing the monument.  Well, they weren't climbing, they were already on top and starting to head back down.  I thought they were birds when I saw them on my camera! 


Coke Ovens

 Independence Point and Coke Ovens were part of Colorado National Monument. We took several pictures at both and tried to see Big Horn Sheep, but we only saw some deer.  After we left the monument, we found a Walmart and Best Buy for some small essentials and then finally made it to dinner.  After a very long day of travel and sight-seeing, we finally made it to the hotel and crashed. 

Independence Monument

It feels like I've already seen enough for an entire vacation and it's only been the first day!