Time to Take Down Those Welcome Signs?

"Yep, this is Colorado. Just keep on moving." 

Clyde and I left the unusually hot temperatures of Denver to view the changing aspen in the high country today. Kenosha pass was particularly colorful - and crowded.

We've never seen so many people up there. The traffic was terrible and parking lots were packed at every trailhead with cars parked along the sides of the roads for miles.

There are too many people in this state. It might be time to take down those "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" signs at the border and replace them with something like, "Yep, this is Colorado. Just keep on moving."

 They say that you can't hike any trail, even in the most remote corners of the state, without running into hordes of other hikers. So many people want to climb every fourteener (mountain over 14,000 feet) that they're like city parks up there.

 I have to confess, I've become kind of indifferent to the mountains in the past few years. Yes, I "oooed" and "ahhhed" at the aspen today, and there were some spectacular views if you could see over the roofs of the SUVs parked along the roadsides. But I hardly ever go to the mountains anymore. I've seen more of the Pacific Ocean in the past few years, more than 1,000 miles away, than the Rockies in my own back yard.

It's not that I don't like the mountains. They are very pretty. When I'm driving around the city, I admire them from afar. When I'm driving around a city where there are no mountains, like Houston, I wonder how people can live without any mountains nearby.

 It's just become a pain to actually go to the mountains. Today, for example. On Highway 285, the alternative to busy I-70, we were in two major traffic jams before noon, on Saturday. I'd rather go to, say, downtown Denver, where the crowds aren't so bad.

Postblog from the Arkansas Valley: Cramming a Lot of River into One Weekend

Arkansas Headwaters Official Page

Lake Pueblo Official Page

John Martin Reservoir Official Page

In a manic effort to see as many state parks as possible this summer, I decided to hit three this past weekend.

I don’t recommend it. It’s a lot of driving. One inch on my AAA map is actually a pretty long distance.

I had a lot of time to think in the car. I kept wondering if people call Southern Colorado, “SoCo.”

A lot of people shorten the names of places in Colorado. Everyone knows that “The Springs” is short for Colorado Springs. If you’re from Grand Junction, you might refer to your hometown as “Junction.” Likewise, I’ve heard people call Fort Morgan, “Morgan.” But I’ve never heard Fort Collins referred to as “Collins.” I have heard it called “Fort Fun.” There’s also the popular “LoDo” for Lower Downtown Denver. Some people call Aurora, “Saudi Aurora,” but that’s a different topic, a comment on the number of trees or lack thereof in the sprawling suburbaplex (I just now made up that word).

If you’re expecting a travelogue about my visits to the state parks, you may be disappointed.

To tell you the truth I tried to cram too much in. I was too busy worrying about the drive to enjoy the parks adequately. Sure, they’re all real pretty and interesting in their individual ways. Basically I followed the Arkansas River from its spectacular headwaters high in the mountains (Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area) down to the city of Pueblo (Lake Pueblo State Park) and out to the lowland plains (John Martin State Park).

Presumably, if I’d kept on going I’d have followed the river through Kansas, Oklahoma, and I suppose into the state of Arkansas, right to the Mississippi River.

In case I didn’t get it before, I’m positive now that the Arkansas is a major river. It cuts through SoCo’s near desert landscape like a wide ribbon of green. Following along on Highway 50, windows down so I could smell the sweet spring air, I had the opportunity to see some towns I’d only heard of such as Rocky Ford (home of those incredibly sweet, juicy cantaloupes) and La Junta (where some of the natives say they live in “Lunta”).

The big city on the Arkansas, however, is Pueblo.

I’ve always liked Pueblo. It has real character. From rusting factories to modest southwest-style homes, it’s kind of a cross between Youngstown, Ohio, and Tucson, Arizona. There’s no phoniness in Pueblo. No districts of fake lofts, no faux gingerbread (come on Vail, it’s cute, but maybe you’ve overdone it). Just regular people, in a normal, unpretentious town.

The point of my State Parks venture isn’t just to visit the state parks but to explore the rest of my home state. I saw a big chunk of it over the weekend.

So with something like 38 state parks left, I’ll keep going, but I’ll try to plan the driving a little better.

Stuff that Bugs Me - A BillsWeek List

Ever have one of those days where everything, but EVERYTHING, got on your nerves? I was in a terrible mood yesterday when I banged these out. I'm better now. I promise to do a nice list soon.

• How many years have we had those automated checkouts at the supermarket? And people STILL don't know how to use them? I hate being in line behind a bunch of shoppers who look at the thing like it's from outer space and have to ask the clerk for assistance every step of the way ...
• Denver drivers. Denver has a mix of big city speeders and country bumpkins driving on the same freeway. The person going 20 mph is in the far left lane and the rest of us have to pass on the right, only to come up behind a pickup loaded with lawn equipment going 35, as if looking for a lawn! I enjoy my annual trips to southern California where the drivers are skilled and consistent - except when I have to suddenly slow down to think about whether to take that exit or wait til the next one. Geez people, I can hear that your horns are working.
• Speaking of freeways, more often than not, the person driving slow in the middle lane is on the phone. HANG UP and frickin' drive! What's so important that you have to have that conversation now? Sometimes, they manage to balance coffee or a hairbrush while simultaneously driving and yapping.
• Speaking of driving, when did stop signs lose their meaning? I go nuts when I'm at a corner, appropriately stopped, when the person approaching the intersection from the direction that doesn't have to stop, also stops, and waves at me to go ahead. JUST DRIVE LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO and everyone will get where they're going.
• Glen Beck
• People in my neighborhood who let their cats go outside where they are exposed to feline leukemia, FIV, foxes (yes, that's right), and now even coyotes, and worst of all, cars.
• AM "News" radio which is really talk radio, actually "yell" radio, where ignorant people call in and pollute the airwaves with their stupidity. Why is their opinion worth broadcasting instead of the opinion of an expert on the subject?
• Same for cable TV "news."
• For that matter, why is just anyone allowed to have a blog so they can bitch and moan on the internet?
• Why does Internet have to be capitalized? It's not a real place, nor a proper noun - it's the internet, for crying out loud.
• Daylight savings time
• Clergy persons who take credit for all the new people who've joined a church, but none of the responsibility for those who have left.
• Special interest scare tactics that make people fear universal health insurance, which would actually be good for everyone.
• Wal Mart
• Proponents of "Family Values" who's definition of family is too narrow to include many of the people I know. It's too bad I can't say I have family values because people will think I'm a bigot, when in fact, I just happen to value my family.
• Tofu disguised as meat. Come on, I mean really.
• Reality TV. Reality my ass.
• Donating to a political party or candidate only to be hit up endlessly and constantly with emails saying, "just a little more money will ensure ..." I know they need it, I just hate being bugged for it all the time.
• Speaking of donations, my university calls me every night at 6:30 to ask me to increase my annual gift. While I fully intend to give, a reminder letter or one phone call should be enough. If I haven't answered their call (because I recognize the 402 area code number) 28 days in a row, why do they keep trying?
• FOX News. Fair and balanced my ass.