Well we arrived at the Chatfield State Park in Littleton, Colorado on a Wednesday afternoon. They only had three nights available, so we had to stay at WalMart Saturday night and return on Sunday.

On Thursday, we met our good friends Mark and Karen Greene who moved here from Florida about seven years ago. Mark showed us a couple of the sites that afternoon and then we ate dinner at their house that evening. We all had a great time catching up on old times.

Friday came and Mark had to fly out of town for the weekend. Cricket, the boys and I drove to Six Flags Elitch Gardens in downtown Denver. It was a lot of fun, but also very hot and crowded. The altitude must have affected us as well because we could only take it for about three hours and before being worn out. Around 1:30 pm we returned to the motorhome.

Of course on Saturday we had to leave the campsite, so we just drove over to the overflow parking area for most of the day. Then around 4pm we drove over to WalMart for the night.

Sunday morning we met the Greene's at their church. Being on the road, that is the one thing I miss the most. It is hard finding a place to worship when you're normally only in an area for a couple of days. Afterwards we went out to lunch and the assistant pastor and his family joined us as well.

After school on Monday, we went back over to their house. From there Karen, her son, and the four of us went to downtown Denver to visit the capital building. After a guided tour of the capital, we went to find this candy factory but we had an old address. Once we found the building we discovered they had moved and it was further away than we wanted to drive. So we continued to our final stop at the Denver Museum of Science. It was a pretty good museum and the boys had a lot of fun.



By Tuesday however Cricket had developed a pretty bad cold. So for the next several days she had stayed home.

In the mean time on Tuesday morning, Mark had driven the boys and I up into the mountains. We took I-70 west to US-6 stopping at Loveland Pass and the Continental Divide. The highway elevation was at 11,990 feet. We then hiked up about another 800 feet to get a view from the top. It normally would have been a fairly easy hike, but at that altitude the oxygen is a bit thinner which made it tough. While Adam and Lucas gave up about halfway due to the fact that it felt like 50 degrees with the wind chill, Mark and I continued to the ridge. It was worth it.



After a stop in the town of Dillon, Colorado for lunch, we continued back along Hwy 6. That drive offered some great views of the Rocky Mountains. We ended up back at the Greene house where our boys played with theirs while Mark, Karen and I talked for a while and then played some cards.

Yesterday we didn't do a whole lot. Cricket still wasn't feeling good and I did some Geocaching. Plus the boys had some school work to catch up on. Last night we were all set to leave today until I watched the news. The Grand Prix of Denver Champ Car race was this weekend so I couldn't pass up staying an extra day to attend.

So today Lucas and I drove downtown and watched some racing, took some pictures, and collected some autographs. By the time the day was over we were tired, our feet hurt, and we were ready to return home.

Tomorrow we'll drive by the Greene's once more to say goodbye. Afterwards we'll be heading east.

Until next time,
Mark









Exhibits from the museum:








Downtown Denver:


Views from Loveland Pass:






The river alongside US-6: