This is a nice place. Pike's Peak, AF Academy, Cripple Creek, many more things to see. I'm in a Passport America park (1/2 price) parked high on a ledge overlooking the town. Fun view. I went through Manitou Springs today just to check it out. A great town with hundreds of tiny shops and eateries. This seems to be a shoulder season around here, as it was pretty quiet. I suspect summer and winter are the seasons around here. Weather is coming in...
I'll head to Colorado Springs tomorrow, which involves getting through Denver. The weather has been perfect; warm during the day, cool at night. I took a day trip to Estes Park, a favorite of mine. The road has been restored since the flood last year. It's a little odd to see a road constructed in the river through a rock canyon, but you see a lot of strange roads in Colorado. Damage from the flood is everywhere, debris is on the river banks....
"Next Services 55 Miles" said that I got an hour's drive through the Wyoming Rockies to just enjoy the huge sky, the infinite rangeland, and thousands of pronghorns. Perfect weather, though cold. I decided to bypass Cheyenne, a favorite of mine, and take the shortcut to Loveland, Colorado. This is a populated area, sprawly, but nice. I'm in a Passport America park along the river alongside the road to Estes Park, up by the Rocky Mountain...
Wyoming is one of those places I forget I like. I've gone over the continental divide here a couple of times, but it was bad weather so I never saw it. This time I laid up in Ogden to be sure it would be clear. Wow. I am going over the top of rockies but this flat spot is so big I can't see mountains. Who would've thought the biggest big-sky country is in the Rockies? Neat. It's cold up here (5200 feet) and it looks like as long as I'm mile-high...
I mentioned yesterday that Colorado enacted rules that look a lot like Washington's model. Two can play that game: Washington has no medical marijuana (MMJ) regulation and taxes, and could use something. WA passed it's MMJ initiative in 1998. That made it legal to grow, distribute, posses, and use marijuana by those with a medical "recommendation". In 2011 the legislature tackled the issue and passed out a bill to the governor regulating and...
I had the chance to hear the chatter about the upcoming vote in Oregon to legalize cannabis. As of a few days ago, the pro-legalization side had accumulated several million dollars, while the against side reported they had nothing. Neither had spent anything on their campaigns. Today the pro side started campaigning, a month before the vote. The against side has, of course, not spent anything. When it passes, Oregon will be hugely under what...
OK, enough of the I-84 experience. I caught up with the weather here, and am going to have a down-day tomorrow to re-provision (go to walmart) and be sure it's clear sailing for a few days. I've been over the pass a few times, each time in bad weather so I couldn't see what the place looked like. This time I'm determined to cross it in clear weather, which is expected. And hopefully have a pretty drive across Wyoming. The idea is to go south...