Well, it's been a whirlwind couple of days . . . I landed in Denver at about 10:00 am yesterday. My brother and I immediately took off for Golden to see my youngest niece, Whitney, at work (she's the assistant manager, and soon-to-be manager, of the deli at Wild Oats, a Whole Foods clone). As it turns out we were able to have lunch with her, which was really nice. I haven't seen her in about six years, back when she was about sixteen. She's quite grown up now!

Then we toured the Coors brewery, an unremarkable tour, really, but the samples at the end were nice. I didn't realize that Coors makes Blue Moon, a Belgian-style ale that I quite like. And I'd never tried Zima before; it seems to be Coors' answer to Ripple, which didn't prevent me from enjoying it at all . . . I really liked the black cherry variety!

Then it was off to downtown Denver, where we walked up and down the 16th Street Mall (a street closed off to cars, and very reminiscent of Leeds, although much newer). We ended up at the bar at the Brown Palace, a very upscale Denver hotel that is just incredibly gorgeous. It's Mike's spot when he's in Denver; it's just a few blocks from his apartment. He told me many stories about the people he's met there - including the one about the time he nearly bumped into Michael Jordan when he was here for the all-star game in February . . .

Then Whitney called and invited us back to her and her boyfriend Zak's new condo. I was really touched that she did that! We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant for appetizers and conversation, and I had a fabulous time. It was enormously fun to reconnect with her . . .

Then back to the apartment, where we crashed.

Today we did a Massive Road Trip - over 400 miles of driving - to Steamboat Springs, which is Mike's favorite ski resort, and I could sure see why. The Colorado River flows through town, so in addition to the mountain, there's a park and bike path along the river. (Next time I'm bringing a fly rod!!) It was spitting rain intermittently, so we didn't get to ride, but we did get to poke around in gift shops, and we hooked up with one of Mike's good friends for lunch. Then it was back to Colorado Springs through Winter Park and more mountains - we went over five mountain passes today! One of the highlights for me was seeing the Neversummer Range, immortalized for me in Mary O'Hara's novel My Friend Flicka (which I want to track down before I leave). The scenery was just gorgeous everywhere we went; I did take some pictures, which I'll try to upload as soon as I can. But pictures, of course, can't do justice to the scenery because they can't convey the feeling of immense space, immense height, and the concomitant feeling of smallness I got . . . Several times during the day - for instance, while watching the trains (some of them are a mile long, with engines at the front and back and in the middle) loaded up with coal moving across the valley - I was amazed by the scope of human endeavor in such a vast land . . . How did anyone ever settle this place? Are we amazing, or what? Just think of the tools and machines we build, and the ingenuity we display . . .

On the way home we stopped at the Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs for some Maple Nut Ale (for me) and Alpine Glacier Lager (for Mike) and a plate of nachos. Then it was back to Colorado Springs, to the house Mike and Cheryl are renting. It's awesome! I'll take some pictures tomorrow . . . Cheryl and I went out and brought home barbecued ribs and chicken, and we sat and ate and talked. Now they're asleep and I will be soon, too - as soon as I finish this entry.

I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow, but I'm sure it'll be fun. Then on Saturday I'm off to San Francisco, to spend a few days being a Victorian Houseguest at Kevin and Doug's. I'm sure I'll be online from there, if not before.

Well, it's been a long day, so I better go hang it up . . . Pictures to follow asap.