Asheville weekend Part 1

Stacy and I decided to meet in Asheville, NC. It is about halfway for each of us.

I beat her to the hotel by several hours since she had to work all day. I tossed my stuff in the closet, claimed which bed I was going to take, dragged my book out, and opened the curtains so I could enjoy the daylight while it was there.

I noticed there were 2 men in the parking lot next to an unmarked white van and they had about 7 coolers set up. They were wearing gray t-shirts with "EPA contractor" on them. After a few minutes, the 2 men put on heavy rubber gloves and began taking containers wrapped in bubble wrap out of the coolers.

It did seem a bit bizarre but I figured it couldn't be anything serious since they were doing all this activity next to the road.

An hour later they were still at it with yet more men and more coolers. I still wasn't overly concerned but I did mention it to the Bassman when I talked to him. He had a much different reaction.

"Call the hotel! Ask them what is going on! You have a pregnant daughter that will be staying with you and they are mixing chemicals in the parking lot? You should be concerned!"

His response made me way nervous. All sorts of things started drifting through my mind. Terrorists. Drug concoctions. Bombs.

I called the front desk and the woman who was working said she would go check it out. I could see out the window that she never did.

The next time I talked to my husband, he had ratcheted up his concern. "Call 911. Someone should check it out."

"But what if it is just some guys who are working for the EPA? How embarrassing will that be?" I asked.

"Better safe than sorry."

So I called 911. And they told me they would send out the fire department since it involved chemicals.

They didn't send firemen but they did send police. I watched them check out the containers then get in their car and leave. No one seemed too concerned.

On the news at 11 that night was a story about how the EPA was in town testing well water all over the city. Oops.

What happened?

Okay, I don't get what is happening with the gas prices this week. I know that much of the oil is refined in the Houston area but the damned hurricane hadn't even hit land yet and gas went up $.30 a gallon. What kind of garbage is that?

One station in our state had $5.99 for regular on their sign. The only explanation for that is plain old greed. I hope that once this area comes to its senses, we remember which stations tried to gouge us and we no longer do business with them.

Unfortunately for the mom and pop operations, the oil providers often determine what must be charged. This makes the proprietors look like snakes for raising their prices when, in actuality, it is the oil companies.

The hurricane is headed inland, no major damage, yet gas prices are still up there. Somebody should be embarrassed.

Homeward Bound

This shot was taken on the way to Grand Junction. It clearly shows the 'high desert'. Everything was brown. Maybe this is actually the moon.



I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get my camera out fast enough for this picture. It is either a natural gas well or an oil well on fire. A petroleum engineer was in the dining car when we passed this and he expressed some concern that it might blow up. Considering how close the tracks were to it, I am very glad it didn't.




We followed the Colorado River for quite awhile. I saw a mule deer swimming across the river, a man on a white water raft moon the train (boy did that take some delicate balance!), and a snake. When I saw the serpent I called the Bass Man and told him it was going to get me for sure. He was pretty positive I would be safe from the evil snake while I was inside the train.



Once again, headed into tunnel country. Steep cliffs surrounding us constantly. Not for a claustrophobic person.



I think this was the West's way of saying goodbye. It was a stunning sunset just as we were leaving the Rockies. At dinner we all compared our pictures of it.

When I booked the trip, I didn't realize the Democratic Convention would be happening in Denver the same time I would be traveling through there. About an hour out of Denver, we stopped and several armed guards (Amtrak police. Amtrak has its own police?) with dogs boarded the train. I was in the dining car when they came aboard. Everyone at the table was a bit surprised to see them come storming through.

After dinner I went back to my roomette and was getting ready to watch a video on my computer when there was a knock on the door.

"Open up please. Police."

Boy those words will get your heart started! They asked to see me ID. When they were satisfied I was not a potential threat, they continued down the car.

I asked our attendant if this happened often. He assured me it was pretty routine. However, no one else on the train had ever seen such a thing.

When we pulled into Denver, there were police with dogs everywhere. Apparently the train station was not only near the convention site but there were big wigs from the convention staying in private rail cars on either side of our train. Many of us detrained to try and see into the windows of the cars.

The owner of the 1953 Pullman came out and answered questions for us. His was a car that he rented out to people staying in Denver. The car never left the station. He said a lot of bigwigs like to rent it because it is right downtown, private, and has a kitchen with staff. Wouldn't that be a sweet way to live?

After Denver, it was a fairly routine ride. Well, except for getting tossed out in Galesburg, Illinois and put on a Trailways bus to Indianapolis (we couldn't make our connection in Chicago in time). The bus is nowhere near as comfortable as the train.

But these are the things that make a trip even more memorable. Anyone can have a nice, quite ride across country seeing grandeur that makes your soul smile. How many can talk about police and dogs and guns and ex-cons (on the bus) and bigwigs and riding a zillion miles an hour on a bus (we passed EVERYBODY)? It was a trip of a lifetime.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

I knew that other than the trip to the train station, this was going to be my last day trip in Colorado. It was close to Montrose so we waited until Bass Man finished work for the day and all 3 of us climbed into the car for the trip.

The road to the top of the canyon was climbing but not too curvy. Once on top of the plateau it began to follow the curves of the rim. Descending into the canyon itself was another s, n, o, p, q curve adventure (surprise!).

Lining the road are posts that are approximately 10' tall. Their purpose is to keep the snowplows from driving over the edge in the winter. Who in their right mind would want that job?

At the bottom is the Gunnison River which is responsible for the entire canyon. Due to the addition of 3 dams, the river is calmer than it was during the formation. It is still considered dangerous and anyone who is less than an experienced rafter is discouraged from traversing it. At its narrowest point, it is only 40' across.

Sometime this year a boulder had tumbled down the hill and landed on the road by a rest area. The force of the falling rock broke the road in half. It was still there on the busted pavement.



After exploring by the river we headed back up to the visitor center. There I got to see my first marmot (stuffed unfortunately), learn about the Gunnison tunnel (dedicated by President Taft, it supplies water to Montrose), and buy stuff at the GIFT SHOP (my nirvana). Until that point in time, I had lived my entire life without a Black Canyon refrigerator magnet! I can cross that off my 'to do' list now.

Telluride and Mesa Verde

One thing I definitely wanted to do while I was out west was to visit the cliff dweller sites. Another was to see a prairie dog. I know, highbrow to lowbrow, I covered it all.

On the way to Mesa Verde we passed a sign that said "Telluride 10 miles". Now I had absolutely no desire to see that area but the Bass Man and I agreed that since we were so close we really should go see what all the hoopla was about.

I still can't tell you what is so wondrous there (other than the obvious skiing in winter). But before you get to Telluride, right on the outskirts of town, is a massive prairie dog field. Hundreds of the little buggers. And as soon as you stop, they go shooting down into their holes.

I discovered if you wait a minute they will come back out. But if you focus your camera the movement sends them back underground. As does any kind of noise. You can see why picture taking was such a challenge.

We took the photos and then hopped back into the car for the trip to Mesa Verde. The Cliff Dweller area is not far from the prairie dog land but Colorado has no straight roads through the mountains. It took us a little over an hour to get to the Anasazi Center. The guidebooks recommended stopping there first so we would have some idea of what we would be looking for.

We toured the center, learned some history (the crux of which is that no one really has any idea of who these people were), then climbed the hill behind the center to get an up close view of a pueblo.

At that point I was chomping at the bit to get over to Mesa Verde. Again, not far as the crow flies but 30,000 miles of switchback roads. Or close to it.

It was absolutely stunning. I was a bit nervous about going since I am afraid of heights but my awe overcame most of my fear. I didn't go to the edges of the cliffs but I was close enough to see the buildings.

To see these sites perched on tiny ledges high on the cliffs is worth every crooked mile it takes to get there. I am thrilled to be lucky enough to live in a country where I can see such marvels.

Ouray and Silverton

Ouray is a very small town (800) nicknamed Switzerland of America. It's a National Historic District where many of the buildings are still standing from the 1880-1900 mining boom. There are several natural hot springs. At the other end of the extreme is the worlds first artificial ice climbing park. It is free and attracts climbers from all around the world.

We didn't know any of this. I just knew it was a scenic town we would be passing through on our way to Silverton. Fuchsia knew that it was home to one of the best chocolate shops west of the Mississippi and that we would be stopping there on the way back.

As we drove through town the first time, a mule deer walked down someone's front steps and slowly meandered across the street. It was our Northern Exposure moment.




Silverton is a former silver mining camp (go figure!). Even smaller than Ouray (531) but at 9,305 feet it is one of the highest towns in the United States. The biggest draw is the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad which roughly parallels the Million Dollar Highway.

We didn't do the railroad but we did do some major touristy shopping (major for me. Probably not so major for most people). After shopping, we hit one of the many restaurants that dot the town. The one we chose was a former brothel. Then again, most of them made that claim.


Fuschia and I had our picture taken at an old tyme type studio. We donned chaps, vests, guns, and hats. The photographer decided he wanted to take a few shots outside where 'the light was better'. That also made us free advertising for the other tourists. Half an hour later we had our sepia toned photos. He used sepia to mask my daughter's hair color. I liked the cowboy look so well I decided I would have to buy a hat before I went home.

On our way back to Montrose we stopped in Ouray at Mouse's Chocolates. Between the 2 of us, we spent close to $100 on candy. I was on vacation after all.

Unfortunately it was 90+ degrees. Needless to say we scooted straight home and put the goods in the fridge. For all I know, they are still eating it a week later. I know for me, one piece a day was plenty.

We interrupt this blog...

Yes, the west is fantastic and yes, I will write more about it tomorrow but, for now, I must say Nine Inch Nails in Lexington last night was absolutely every complimentary adjective you can imagine! Plus one! Over 2 hours of chest thumping, head banging music. A sing along with 5,000 people.

I love live music because it makes you feel so alive. Thanks for the great time Trent!