Today was the final leg of our eastbound journey and it got off to a rocky start. To the people that were in room 21 last night with the TV cranked up and conversing loudly at 4am: may the fleas of a thousand camels infest the fur of your nether regions. In my failed attempts to fall back asleep, I also realized that I forgot the parking pass I printed out for Denver. This caused a detour to print out the pass at the local FedEx office.
Once we got underway, all of that previous nonsense was forgotten. Interstate 70 follows the landscape that the Colorado River has carved over millions of years. I find it amusing that this was the first time seeing it in Colorado rather than on the CA/AZ border or in the Grand Canyon. I wish that it was as green back home as it is here.
The further east we went, the more often we saw peaks with snow on them. Passing through Vail, we started to climb in earnest and stopped at the top of the pass at over 10 thousand feet. I felt winded just pushing my motorcycle into its parking space; my hat's off to the people I saw bicycling up the pass. Vail pass was just the warmup though; the continental divide awaited.
A while back, I saw a truck towing comparison that the testers referred to as the "Ike Gauntlet" since it went from the bottom of the grade to the Eisenhower tunnel at the top. Having ridden up it myself now, I can agree that it's one hell of a stress test. 11,158 feet at the west end of the tunnel caused my bike and I to both feel short of breath. Descending on the other side soon brought relief and the cool, refreshing air grew much warmer.
Approaching Denver, we could see the great plains further east, stretching on with all of the excitement of a tortoise on ambien. I can't imagine how monotonous diving out there must be, especially after going through Utah & Colorado. I'm looking forward to our return trip in a few days.
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