The Road Turns

Dear Reader, 

I apologize for slowing my writing as of late. My adventures have taken a personal turn lately and thus spending time with family and friends has been the priority. Thankfully now things have opened up and I can now regale you with where I am now and how I got here. Last time, I was traveling through Colorado and here is what I wrote. Started in the mountains, finished for your enjoyment here it is!

Alright, I admit it. Getting back to help my friend is proving to be more challenging than I thought. This time we have a load taking us to Colorado…tiles. I asked, “why give a refrigerated trailer tile?” Well, at the end of the day, money is money and a trailer can haul many many things. Anyways, our journey has thus far taken us to the heart of Denver which looks to me similar to Atlanta but more spread out and with the beautiful backdrop of mountains.

What did I see while driving through the suburbs of Denver? A full service, public indoor dog pool. Granted it was next door to a canine rehabilitation facility and animal hospital, which I thought was awesome. A store titled “creative leather” made me question what they meant by the word creative.  Last, but by no means least there was a McDonalds almost every mile down the same street we rode. Crazy.

The best views came the next morning when we drove through Vail Pass, the highest pass in North America. Home to the Eisenhower Tunnel, this modern marvel is over a mile and a half long(though it felt longer)! 

Can you imagine looking at a mountain, a large one mind you, and saying, yeah, let’s blow a hole through it. A little knowledge for you, the tunnels took over a decade to complete, are one of the highest tunnels in the world and are 14 feet high on the inside. It is the gateway to America’s winter playground, some of the best snow you will ever encounter. Getting through the tunnel wasn’t the only thing (there were five other tunnels, just not nearly as impressive), it was amazing driving up a continuous grade and seeing raw nature, then turning a curve to find a bustling mountain town nestled in a nook with 5 star resorts that resembled castles. The high point of this leg of the trip was feeling the anticipation of dawn and seeing her break over the peak of a faraway mountaintop, majestic and bright.

Fortunately, we got to make a quick rest stop in one of these towns which turned out to be a sort of historic site/welcome center set next to a beautiful stream.

Once the sun was up and traffic a buzz, the mountain range broke into a beautiful gorge with a winding stream. Driving through the bottom of a gorge is awe-inspiring, slightly nerve-racking and breathtaking. You really get a feel for how tiny you are in the vast expanse. 

After rubbernecking myself for most of the morning, it was time for a well needed nap and the bunk made for a perfect rest to the last customer for our tile. I woke to find we were already docked and being unloaded with new orders coming for the next run: Texas, again. This time Laredo, a town set at the border of Mexico.