I guess while the Valley slept, some time last week we were all moved to Seattle or something… It has been raining up here, on and off, though definitely more on than off, for a week now.
This morning it is showing signs of letting up though: The sun is shining though my window as I type which is always good for improving my outlook on things.
Saturday after work I was going to drive down to Denver to drop off more paperwork to our accountant and spend a day or two with Lyon and Wolf down in Aurora. I got as far east as Vail before the hydroplaning from standing water on the highway and zero visibility from the deluge turned me back. I mean, there was a few times my LSC Lincoln turned into USS Lincoln… It was rough out there.
So I swung by the grocery store, stocked up on a few things to make chili and decided to spend the night at home reading…
Then, as fall has fell up here in the high country, it got *cold* outside. Take away the solar heat from us up here, for even a few days, and you get snow… Really. Saturday night and last night they sanded the highway over Vail Pass and Loveland Pass.
So, as I still have the heat off in the house, I spent Saturday night sitting in front of the fireplace in the living room, supping on fresh chili and finishing my last Dragon Lance novel.
Sunday morning rolled around and, after consulting the local weather channel which consists of standing on the back porch with a cup of coffee examining the clouds and watching what the deer are doing on the golf course, I decided that if I got an early start I could make it to Denver.
By 9am I was on the road, Yes’s “Magnification” blasting and barreling through the overcast, fog-laden drizzle that accompanied me all the way down the mountain as far as Floyd Hill. The peaks were shrouded in wispy clouds that clung to the pine trees like slow moving ghosts and the overall effect was much like a Led Zeppelin album cover, very pretty.
Once you crest Floyd Hill the sun comes out, the rain stops and the temperature shoots back up. Denver was hot, dry and about 90 degrees in the shade… Lovely. I think they’re being punished for something.
So I dropped off the package to the accountant at about 11, did a little running around and stopped by Lyon and Wolf’s place at about noon to take them out for lunch. Ate at Mimi’s again then trekked over to –the- book store, Tattered Cover, and bought the next Dragon Lance novel which, of course, is only available in hardback.
After that we went back to their place in Saudi-Aurora. Wolf and I sat around and talked for a few hours about metaphysical stuff like the puzzle that is the symbol of Baphomet while Lyon, much like his namesake, slept off lunch. Once he was back up and running, Lyon, his daughter, and I went to see “Freddy vs. Jason” which we knew would suck but in it’s ‘suckieness’ would provide much amusement. It did. Wolf isn’t a slasher-flick fan and opted to stay home in the peace and quiet to do some reading.
Following that, as it was 10:30 at night, I headed back up the mountain. Denver was still about 80 degrees and, once again as I crossed the magic Floyd Hill line, it started to rain and the temperature dropped like a rock. The external thermometer in the Lincoln was reading 37 degrees as I crested Loveland Pass last night…
The drive home really sucked. They’ve recently repaved most of I-70 and the new asphalt, once wet, is atrocious. The water sits on it like a thin film of grease, it absorbs your headlights like velvet, and the lines they put on the stuff turns invisible when hit with oncoming headlights. Then you have the downhill sides of the passes… Remember that sand I mentioned back there a ways? Well when they put that stuff down every freak in his big-ass dually pickup becomes a road hazard, shot gunning your car with gravel any time you’re within 50 yards of one… On top of that, as I came down Vail Pass, it turned into a biblical downpour out there and if you’ve never hydroplaned in your car, you will on the downhill side of the pass. The water runs down the highway about as fast as you’re driving and for some reason I haven’t figured out yet, this practically lifts your car off the road… It was a bad ride home.
Well, that’s over and a new day has dawned. I think I’ll go fix some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast as I missed out on dinner last night and lunch is several hours away.
TTFN