Part Twelve

"WOW"
 

Day 12 was one or those days where you kept an eye to the sky but it wasn’t about thunderstorms or tornadoes as the Midwest is known for.  It was about snow…not a whole lot but something to watch. And the WOW in all of today was: where I was on the prairie; having lunch with a beautiful and intelligent young lady; and a place that I wanted to get to but the aforementioned snow got in the way. But still, today was one of those WOW days.

I left Cheyenne, Wyoming at 8:15am MDT and head south on I-25. It was very overcast this morning and we were under a winter weather advisory:

Snow was in the forecast with amounts at 9-15 inches at altitudes about 7000 feet and 2-5 inches below 7000 feet. In Cheyenne, there is the possibility of up to 3 inches, but when I make my way thru there on Thursday to start working my way back to Omaha, we should be OK. At least they won’t be lowering those highway blocking gates any time soon. Up in the hills: that may be another story.

Heading south to Denver is uneventful and I arrive there just before 10am. And as you can see from the skyline: 

The city is in good shape. And before I forget, I’d like to give a SHOUT-OUT to my youngest brother Jay, who lived out here for a while some years ago. And here is a picture of something close to his heart:

Sports Authority Field at Mile High: home to his beloved Denver Broncos. As must as I thought this was Mile High Stadium, Jay informed me that this is the replacement for the original Mile High. Still, this blog would not be complete without a salute to the Broncos. Something to take his mind off of his other beloved team, the New York Yankees. But that is for another day. Jay Bird, Enjoy!!

Soon after my arrival, I met up with that young lady I was talking to you about. She is my oldest niece Alison: Ali for short. She is on a 3 year scholarship to Regis University here in Denver. She lives in a very modest house with 3 other roommates going to Regis….and they are all boys. Sort of like Three’s Company Plus One only in reverse. But Ali is queen of the house and her roommates are all good eggs. Ali is doing her doctorate in physical therapy and is about halfway there in her studies. Without embarrassing her, I am very proud of my oldest niece as I am of my other two nieces, Abby and Caroline, as I am of my two nephews, Stephen and Mark. But Ali was the first one to make me an uncle. And I find that to be quite cool!!

And without any further ado, to her Mom/sister-in-law Janey and her Dad Paul, here is your #1 child at Regis:

And while we are here, a little info on this fine institution courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia.Org:

Regis University (formerly known as Regis College) is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuit university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Based in Denver, Colorado, Regis University is divided into three colleges: Regis College, The Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, and the College for Professional Studies.

Regis University was established by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits in 1877 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. That institution was named Las Vegas College.

In 1884, the Bishop of Denver invited the Jesuits to create a college at Morrison where Sacred Heart College was opened. In 1887, the two colleges merged and moved once again to the present location of Regis University. The name from then on was College of the Sacred Heart. In 1921 it adopted the name of Regis College in honor of Saint John Francis Regis, a 17th century Jesuit who worked with prostitutes and the poor in the mountains of Southern France. In 1991, it was renamed Regis University and consists of three colleges: Regis College, the College for Professional Studies, and the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions.

So after getting situated, it was off to a tour of this beautiful campus:

 And the one place always near to me wherever I go:

The campus chapel: outside and in:

 And inside the chapel, this wonderful picture:

A meeting between former president Bill Clinton and his holiness, the late Pope John Paul II, occured here back in 1992. Very cool indeed.

After the tour, it was on to downtown Denver and a great restaurant called Ale House @ Amato’s. This is one of many restaurants in the Denver area that feature their own micro beer brewery. I did not partake of the brew but there was an interesting item on the menu. Burgers made from bison, better known as buffalo. At Ali’s recommendation, I gave it a try and it was quite tasty. A bit of flavor like that of Angus beef. A very good lunch indeed.

We then walked across the pedestrian bridges that go across I-25 and the Platte River in downtown Denver:

And I am not too sure what the above art work was. Neither did Ali. Something good for a captioning contest.

At 1pm MDT, Ali and I said our goodbyes as she had class and I went on to my next location: The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, a place recommended to me by a ham radio friend here in Denver. And may I say it had quite the collection:

Soon I am on the last leg of my trip today: to find Moffat Tunnel up in the Rocky Mountains due west of Denver. Some background on the tunnel, courtesy of Wikipedia.Org:

The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first railroad traffic passed through in February 1928.

Fifty miles west of Denver, Colorado is the East Portal in the Front Range, about 10 miles west of the town of Rollinsville, Colorado. The West Portal is near the Winter Park Resort ski area. The railroad tunnel is 24 feet high, 18 feet wide, and 6.2 miles long. The apex of the tunnel is at 9,239 feet above sea level. 

The Moffat Tunnel finally provided Denver with a western link through the continental divide, as both Cheyenne, Wyoming to the north and Pueblo, Colorado to the south already enjoyed rail access to the West Coast. It follows the right-of-way laid out by Moffat in 1902 while he was seeking a better and shorter route from Denver to Salt Lake City. The water tunnel and the railroad tunnel parallel each other; the water tunnel delivers a portion of Denver's water supply.

Now with that all in mind, this was one of the places I wanted to get to today, railfan that I am. And the WOW factor?? Driving west on I-70 to get there. This highway has one of the most intense driving patterns of highways I have ever driven on. Curves are tight in some places, even going at 60-65 MPH thru them. An array of steep inclines and declines with many warnings to truckers to make sure that your big rig is in top shape. And may I say that having the Hyundai Sonata was an added bonus. This car has a 6-speed automatic transmission and 2 modes of operation: automatic and speed-select. In automatic, the transmission operates as normal. In speed-select, you pick the gear you want to run at. Tap the shift stick up and you go up one gear. Tap the stick down and you down one gear. With the grades on I-70, the speed-select is very good when doing down hill. As locomotives use a type of braking called dynamic braking where the traction motors that move the train help in slowing down the train without using a lot of the brakes, speed-select allows you to use the compression of the engine to keep your car in a controlled speed without having to use the brakes unless you have to.

That was fine on I-70. Going onto Colorado state route 40 is another thing. Per the folks at Delorme Mapping, here is the road profile for Route 40 from where it leaves I-70 in Empire to where I wanted to go in Winter Park:

In the beginning, it is pretty much a steady uphill climb until you hit the first tight turn about 10 miles in. At this point, automatic goes out the window and you now select what gear you want. So far so good. The Sonata handles everything just right…until this:

That’s snow falling in them there hills. I am at Berthoud Pass at an elevation of 11,307 feet. And the temperature is 28 degrees. I happen to talk to a construction engineer named Tom who was doing some work at the rest stop. Asking him about the snow and he says there is a good chance that snow is falling at Winter Park, some 20 miles ahead. 

So much for trying to get to the west portal of Moffat Tunnel. Up here in the Rockies, you gotta respect Mother Nature and you gotta take the word of the locals. So after getting my picture taken at the pass:

It is turn-and-burn and back I go on Route 40. And may I say the Sonata does just wonderful going thru those downgrades and tight turns. And then it’s back on the Colorado raceway known as I-70.

WOW!! Quite the day.

And today’s issue was slightly delayed due to dinner with a ham radio buddy of mine, Nate, WY0X, and his lovely wife, Karen. And dinner was at a special place: the restaurant at the Centennial Airport (APA) about 3 miles from my hotel. The restaurant is located about 3 stories up and it gives you a great view of the prep areas for the Lear jets located and you can see takeoffs and landings right at your dining room chair. And tonight was quite the night: what began as rain about 6pm MDT changed to snow right before our eyes. There is about an inch on the grassy areas and car surfaces but the streets are still wet. Tomorrow will be an interesting day for driving. Just how the driving will be depends on the snow right now. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Thursday we head back up to Cheyenne via Greeley, Colorado and then it’s a hard right at Cheyenne as we begin our trek back to Omaha. Should be fun. I knew I should have brought my knitted hat, scarf and gloves. Didn’t want to jinx the trip. But…oh well.

I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Denver, Colorado.