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Had a great vacation with your help

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peteinct:
I got back from New Mexico and Colorado on Sunday. We had a great time and your suggestions helped alot. We drove 1800 miles. The furthest south we went was the Very Large Array (which is a giant radio telescope complex). That was amazing. I believe sometimes that our society has lost its courage to try and do big things but after seeing that I know it isn't true.  While we were standing and watching one of the antennas, 4 stories tall and 200 tons weight, it started moving. Wow.  
   
   I was surprised by how the temp. changes with the altitude and how it would be cold at night and hot during the day. We camped in Northern N.M. and it is gorgeous there.  We saw some museums and churches in Santa Fe. We were in a cofee shop one morning reading the paper and overheard two professors talking. Bush, global warming, income inequality, Iraq, you name it. It would have been funny if they wern't so obviously very wealthy. " I thought we might go to live in Spain but I think it's important that we stay here to protest" It must be nice to be rich and so publicly care more than everyone else. I think Santa Fe is part of a New York city, Miami Beach, Vail, circuit more than a real part of the West .

   We took the train to Pike's peak but it was cloudy on top. As we came back we stopped for lunch in Colorado Springs. We ate it in a park where there was some some of party going on. As we tried to find our hotel in Denver the last night we got stuck in traffic. It was sunday and the main highway had bumper to bumper traffic. What do people do during the normal commute?

   The altitude did take a toll on me. It's either that or I am in far worse shape than I realized. But hiking or walking out was great. The land is big, clean edged and wide with a huge sky overhead. It is alot different than here. It is good to come back and see green though. You don't realize how much you miss it.

Thanks everyone,
pete

Larry Ashcraft:
Glad you enjoyed it.  Yes, Santa Fe has its share of lefties.

Denver traffic usually isn't that bad except for rush hour.  Were you on I-25?  Normally the traffic on the I stays around 65+ MPH.  When my granddaughter Sadie was being born, I hit Denver right at afternoon rush hour.  I was supposed to take the Colfax Exit, but traffic was so slow I took the Colorado Blvd exit and took Colorado north to Colfax.  I got there ten minutes before Sadie was born.  If I had stayed on I-25, I would have missed it.

Normally between 9:00 and 4:00 and after 6:00, the traffic flows pretty smoothly (unless you hit the end of a Broncos game).

I find it takes about three days to get acclimated to the altitude.  I live at 4800' and if I go over 10,000 feet, I have to take it easy for a while.

--- Quote from: peteinct ---You don't realize how much you miss it.I got the same feeling when we returned from Kentucky and few times.  "All that green is nice and all, but it sure is nice to be back where there are wide open spaces and horizons."

The hot days and cool nights are common here also.  Not enough atmosphere to trap the heat in at night.  Our temperature differential between day and night is normally about 50 degrees.  That is what makes our chile peppers so great.

crt360:
Sounds like you had a really nice trip.  I've always enjoyed New Mexico and Colorado.  Growing up in Texas, right between the flat farmland and hill country, I was fortunate to have parents that liked the mountains.  We always took a few weeks every summer to travel somewhere northwest of here.  I spent many summer vacations in the Aspen area, hiking, four-wheeling, flyfishing on the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan, cycling and otherwise just screwing around back in the 70s and 80s, before it became a touristy, high dollar mecca.  Although I've spent plenty of time in Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, B.C., and every state west of the Rockies, I'm always blown away standing on a mountaintop in Colorado.  It doesn't matter if it's mid-winter and I just got of the lift or August and I'm in shorts and hiking boots, I seem to feel at peace when viewing tall peaks as far as the eye can see.  For the last few years, work has kept me from taking enough time off to do more than spend a few days in New Mexico.  I look forward to being in the mountains again, soon.

280plus:
Did you run into that statie in Iowa that looks just like John Denver and says, "Catch you later!" as you exit his vehicle with your ticket?

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