I had to run down to Denver tonight to drop off some paperwork to the accountant. I got there at about 8pm, dropped off the stuff, then met up with Aryntha to have some Chinese before heading back up the mountain. I left Aryntha’s place at about 10pm…
That’s when the fun began…
I left Aryntha’s place and went down the street to top off the gas tank as gas is $0.40 cheaper in Denver than in Vail. It started to get really windy as I pulled out of the gas station and headed west on Morrison road. By the time I got to C-470 the wind was gusting hard enough to pick up golf ball sized rocks and toss them at the traffic on the highway. I got hit by one of these rocks just above the windshield on the trim and as I watched it come at me I thought for sure I’d be buying a new windshield tonight. I guess I got lucky.
Onward I went, getting onto I-70 and heading west again as 70+ mph winds threw semis around like toys. It started raining at the top of Floyd Hill and it became a full fledged deluge from Idaho Springs to Georgetown. Once past Georgetown two state cops had closed down one lane for a car that was firmly embedded in the mountain side near Silverplume. The torrential rains turned into sleet, then snow on the East side of Loveland Pass and on the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel it was a full blown blizzard with 10 foot visibility and icy roads all the way down to Dillon.
Then on the East side of Vail Pass it got *real* foggy, followed by a boulder the size of a small car sitting in the right lane (in the fog) at mile marker 186 on the West side. Once in Vail the trip got easy and the lightning was neat to watch… It took about 2.5 hours to get home and I think I’m gonna go to bed now. 🙂